What is Twos draw two?
In the standard game here only the eights are special: an eight can be played on anything and names the next suit, and every other card just follows suit or rank.
With twos draw two switched on, playing a two makes the next player draw two cards. They can avoid it only by playing a two of their own on top of yours, which passes the penalty on and adds two more: the player after them then faces four cards, and so on round the table until someone has no two to play. That player draws the whole penalty in one move, and their turn ends.
While a penalty is waiting, a two is the only card you can play. An eight does not cancel it, and neither does a card of the named suit. The cards you draw as a penalty stay in your hand until your next turn. If the stock runs short, the discard pile is shuffled to make a new one, and if even that runs out you draw what there is.
If a two is turned up as the first card of the discard pile, the first player faces a draw of two at once and may answer it with a two. A two that is your last card wins the hand straight away, and nobody draws.
Rule changes
| Rule | Standard Crazy Eights | Twos draw two |
|---|---|---|
| The two | Standard Crazy EightsAn ordinary card: follow suit or rank. | Twos draw twoThe next player must draw two cards, unless they play a two. |
| Answering a penalty | Standard Crazy EightsThere are no penalties to answer. | Twos draw twoOnly a two answers a two. Eights and cards of the named suit can't be played until the penalty is drawn. |
| Stacking | Standard Crazy EightsThere is nothing to stack. | Twos draw twoEach two adds two more cards, and the first player without a two draws them all: two, four, six or eight. |
| Drawing the penalty | Standard Crazy EightsYou draw one card, and only when you have nothing to play. | Twos draw twoYou draw the whole penalty in one move, your turn ends, and the drawn cards can't be played until your next turn. |
| A two as the first card | Standard Crazy EightsPlay starts normally. | Twos draw twoThe first player faces a draw of two and may answer it with a two. |
| Other options | Standard Crazy EightsThe queen of spades drawing five, jacks skip, aces reverse, draw until playable and the points game can be chosen. | Twos draw twoTwos draw two works with all of them. A two can't answer the queen of spades, and the queen can't be played on a run of twos. With draw until playable, a penalty is still drawn exactly as it stands. |
History
Crazy Eights belongs to the large family of shedding games, in which players race to get rid of their cards by matching the top card of the discard pile by suit or rank. Its basic rules give a special power to the eights alone, so the action cards of its relatives are common house rules.
A card that makes the next player draw two is the most widespread of them. In the British game Switch the two does it, and in Mau Mau, also on this site, the seven does. Groups differ on whether the penalty can be passed on. Here it stacks as long as each player answers with another two, and the drawn cards can't be played until the drawer's next turn, as in common descriptions of the rule.