Play Switch Online

Overview

Switch is a shedding game where players try to be the first to get rid of their cards. Switch is a popular British version of the game Crazy Eights and can be played by 2 to 12 players.

Presets

• Classic: Aces change suits, eights skip the next player's turn, Twos cause the next player to draw extra cards, Kings reverse the order of play. Black Jacks cause the next player to pick up 4 cards unless they can defend with a Red Jack
• Modern: In addition to classic, Sevens allow suit dumping, Tens allow playing a run

The Deck and the Deal

Switch is played with a standard deck of 52 playing cards. The dealer begins the game by passing out 8 cards face down to each player. The remaining deck is placed in the middle of the gameplay area to form the stock. After every player views their cards, the dealer draws the top card from the stock and flips it face up. If the top card is an Ace, the card is placed in the center of the stock and a new card is drawn.

How to Play

Beginning with the person left of the dealer and moving clockwise, players try to play, or shed, their cards onto the pile started by the stock's top card. A player can get rid of a card if it is of the same suit or rank as the top card in the pile. A player can discard only 1 card on their turn. If a player cannot discard any of their cards, they must draw from the stock. If they can discard the drawn card, they can do so. If not, they must keep the card and the next player takes their turn.

When a player has one card left, they must say Knocking. Failure to do so means they must draw a card from the stock. This is not something that we support at CardzMania today.

The round ends after a player has discarded all of their cards.

Scoring

After a player has discarded all of their cards, the remaining players must tally the cards in their hand. Cards are worth the following value:

• Cards 2 through 10 are worth their pip value
• Face cards are worth 10 points
• Aces are worth 50 points

Winning

When a player reaches 50 points, rounds of the game stop. The player who has the least amount of points at that time wins that game.

Variations

CardzMania supports several customizable rules and options so you can play Switch exactly how you like or how you grew up playing with your friends and family. In addition to the classic way of playing, we often have new creative options for you to try to spice up the game if you are interested in trying different spins for fun.

Points

Players determine a set amount of points when the game ends.

Rounds

Players determine a set amount of rounds (also known as hands or deals) that the game will go to (instead of the points selection above).

Timer

Players only have a set amount of time to make their turn after which a turn is automatically played for them and the game proceeds: Fast is 7 seconds, Standard is 15 seconds, Slow is 30 seconds, and Very Slow is 60 seconds. Players can also choose to disable the timer, but that is only for private tables.

Cards per player

Players can decide how many cards are distributed at the start of every round.

Deck

Players can decide whether to play with a standard 52 card deck or a 32 card deck (7 through Ace).

Wild Card (Suit Change Power Card)

Players can decide which card is the wildcard, which changes the suit being played. The card can be an 8, King, Jack or Ace.

Skip Power Card

Players can decide which card forces the next player to skip their turn, or players can disable this option.

Draw Power Card

Players can enable a card that forces the next player to draw two cards, unless they can play a card of the same rank. If they do so, the next player is obliged to pick up double the penalty cards or play a card of the same rank, and so on, until someone is forced to pick up the cards. This card can be set to 2,7 or Ace, or it can be disabled entirely.

Draw Penalty

Players can determine how many cards a Draw Power card requires from the next player. This can be set to 2 or 4.

Reverse Power Card

Players can decide which card reverses the direction of play. This card can be set to 9 or King, or it can be disabled entirely.

Suit Dump Power Card

Players can decide which card allows them to play any number of cards of the current suit. This card can be set to 7 or 10, or it can be disabled entirely.

Run Power Card

After playing this card, the player can play a run of cards of the current. This card can be set to 7 or 10, or it can be disabled entirely.

Set Power Combo

Players can enable the possibility of playing multiple cards of the same rank at once.

Suit Change Finish Allowed

Players can enable the possibility ending with the Suit Change power card.

Reuse Pile

Players can determine the number of times the discard pile can be reused to refresh the draw pile. This can be set to 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, or it can be disabled entirely.

Shuffle Pile

Players can determine if the discard pile is shuffled before refreshing the draw pile.

Max draws

Players can determine the maximum number of cards that can be drawn from the deck in one turn.

Jack Power Cards

Playing a Black Jack forces the next player to pick up 4 cards, unless that player can play a Red Jack.

Black Queen Power Card

After playing the Black Queen, the player swaps their hand with the next player.

Climbing/Shedding Basic Rules

Climbing games typically center around players getting rid of their cards as fast as they can. Each climbing game has its own rules for discarding cards and its own implications for getting rid of your cards first. Some games run on a points system where the player who gets rid of their cards first gets the most points. Other games run on a ranking system where the player who gets rid of their cards first is in a better position for the next round.

Card Game Basics

A deck of cards consists of 52 cards, with 4 distinctive subgroups. Each of these subgroups is recognised by a symbol and are referred to as suits. They consist of Clubs, Spades, Hearts and Diamonds. Each suit contains 13 cards which, generally, are considered in this order, Ace (A), 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jacks (J), Queen (Q) and King (K). Some games include the two Jokers found in a standard deck but most games don't.

Feedback

Would like to discuss new features or variations for Switch? Need a custom rule? Have a question? Got a suggestion? Don't see a game you want to play? Please contact us by email, facebook or twitter - we really value your feedback and love hearing from all of you!

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