Crazy Eights vs Rainbow Rush
Crazy Eights is the original shedding race: match the top discard by suit or rank, play an eight to change the suit, and be the first to empty your hand. It needs nothing but a standard deck, which is why so many families know it.
Rainbow Rush keeps the same core, match by colour or symbol and race to go out, but plays with a custom colour deck full of action cards: Skip, Reverse, Draw 2, Wild and Wild Draw 4. If you know the commercial colour-card games, it will feel familiar.
Side by side
| Crazy Eights | Rainbow Rush | |
|---|---|---|
| In one line | Match suit or rank, eights are wild. First to empty their hand wins. | Match colour or symbol, play action cards and wilds. First to empty their hand wins. |
| Players | 2–6 | 2–8 |
| Family | Shedding | Shedding |
| Type | Table game, bots or friends | Table game, bots or friends |
| Options | Drawing: Draw until playable or Draw one card | Stack draw cards: Off or On |
| Online turn timer | 30 seconds | 30 seconds |
The differences that matter
- Deck: Crazy Eights uses a standard 52-card deck; Rainbow Rush uses its own colour deck with action cards.
- Wild cards: in Crazy Eights only the eights are wild; Rainbow Rush has Wild and Wild Draw 4 cards.
- Attacks: Crazy Eights has no penalty cards; Rainbow Rush lets you skip, reverse and make the next player draw, with optional stacking.
- Drawing: Crazy Eights can make you draw until you can play (or just one card); in Rainbow Rush you draw one and may play it if it fits.
- Table size: Crazy Eights takes 2 to 6 players; Rainbow Rush takes up to 8.
Which should you play?
Choose Crazy Eights if you want the traditional game with an ordinary deck and a calmer pace.
Choose Rainbow Rush if you want chaos: more interaction, more comebacks and bigger tables.
How to play Crazy Eights
Play a card that matches the suit or the rank of the top discard.
An eight is wild: play it any time and name the new suit.
If you cannot play, draw cards from the stock (until you can play, or just one in the one-draw variant).
The first player to get rid of all cards wins; others are ranked by points left (8 = 50, face = 10, Ace = 1).
How to play Rainbow Rush
Play a card matching the colour or symbol (number, Skip, Reverse, Draw 2) of the top card.
Skip jumps the next player; Reverse flips direction (acts as Skip with two players); Draw 2 makes the next player draw two and lose the turn.
Wild lets you name the colour; Wild Draw 4 also makes the next player draw four and lose the turn.
If you cannot play, draw a card; if it fits you may play it or keep it. With the stacking option, penalties can be stacked.
First player out wins; others are ranked by points left (numbers = face value, actions = 20, wilds = 50).