Crazy Eights vs Rainbow Rush
Crazy Eights is played with an ordinary deck: you match the top discard by suit or rank, and the eights are wild. If you cannot play you draw, either until you can or just one card, depending on the variant. It is two to six players and easy to teach.
Rainbow Rush matches by colour or symbol instead, and it fills the deck with action cards: Skip, Reverse, Draw 2, Wild and Wild Draw 4. There is an optional rule that lets penalties stack. It seats two to eight players and turns on tactics against your neighbours.
Crazy Eights and Rainbow Rush at a glance
| 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 |
| Type | Table game | Table game |
| Family | Shedding | Shedding |
| Options | Drawing: Draw until playable or Draw one card | Stack draw cards: Off or On |
| Turn timer (online) | 30 seconds | 30 seconds |
| Cost | Free, no download | Free, no download |
Choose Crazy Eights if…
- You want the classic version with a normal deck.
- You prefer a calmer game with fewer special cards.
Choose Rainbow Rush if…
- You want more chaos and more ways to hit your opponents.
- You are playing with a big group of up to eight.