Switch Card Game Rules

Switch is the British and Irish version of Crazy Eights: a fast shedding card game where you match the last card played by suit or rank and try to be first to empty your hand. What makes it Switch are the power cards: Aces change the suit, Twos make the next player pick up two, and a Black Jack can land someone with seven cards. It is also known as Black Jack, Two Four Jacks and, in New Zealand, Last Card. This guide covers the Switch card game rules, every power card, the house rules you will meet in the UK, how Switch differs from Crazy Eights, Mau-Mau and Uno, and the odds behind your hand.

Switch Rules at a Glance

How to Play Switch

1. Deal. Shuffle and deal seven cards to each player. Put the rest face down as the draw pile.
2. Turn up the start card. Turn the top card of the draw pile face up to start the discard pile. If it is a power card, keep turning until you reach an ordinary card.
3. Match it. The player to the dealer’s left plays a card of the same suit or the same rank: on the 9 of spades, any spade or any 9.
4. Can’t go? Draw. If you cannot (or choose not to) play, draw one card. If it can be played, play it; if not, your turn ends.
5. Use your power cards (see below) to change the suit or make the next player pick up.
6. Say “last card”. When you are down to one card, announce it before the next player takes their turn. Forget, and you draw two cards as a penalty.
7. Go out. The first player with no cards left wins. If the draw pile runs out, shuffle the discard pile (except its top card) to make a new one.

Switch Power Cards

These are the classic power cards, found in nearly every version of the game:

• Ace – change the suit. An Ace can be played on any card. Name a suit, and the next player must follow it.
• Two – pick up two. The next player draws two cards, unless they play a Two of their own, which passes on four to the player after them. The chain carries on until someone without a Two picks up the lot.
• Black Jack – pick up seven. The Jack of Spades or Clubs makes the next player draw seven cards.
• Red Jack – cancel. A Jack of Hearts or Diamonds played on a Black Jack cancels the pick-up.

Common UK house rules

Almost every family plays Switch slightly differently, so agree the power cards before you deal. The most common extras are:

• Four – pick up four: works like a Two, but for four cards (hence the name Two Four Jacks).
• Eight – skip: the next player misses a turn.
• King – reverse: play changes direction.
• Queen – cover: you must play another card on top of a Queen.
• Black Jack – pick up five instead of seven, especially when only five cards are dealt.
• Runs and sets: some tables let you lay several cards in one turn, such as all your 6s, or a run in one suit.
• No finishing on a power card: your last card has to be an ordinary one.

Switch Variations

Switch vs Crazy Eights, Mau-Mau and Uno

Switch belongs to a large family of shedding games. They all share the same core – match suit or rank, draw if you can’t go, first out wins – but use different cards for the special moves.

Note that the British card game called Black Jack has nothing to do with the casino game blackjack, where you try to beat the dealer to 21.

Switch Odds and Tips

Because the pack is a standard 52 cards, you can work out exactly what a hand is likely to hold:

• Power cards are common. Eight times in ten your seven cards include an Ace, a Two or a Black Jack.
• Don’t count on a rescue. When a Two is played on you, you hold a Two to pass it on only 36% of the time; when a Black Jack comes, you have a Red Jack to cancel it just 26% of the time.
• Save your Aces. An Ace can go on anything, so it is your way out when nothing else matches. With an Ace as a wild suit-changer, a seven-card hand can play on the start card 96% of the time; without it, 93%.
• Change to your longest suit. When you play an Ace, name the suit you hold most of.
• Hold a Red Jack if you have one: it is the only answer to a Black Jack.
• Watch the counts. When a player calls “last card”, that is the moment for your pick-up cards.

More Card Games

If you like Switch, try the other family favourites on this site: rummy, gin rummy, canasta and Chase the Ace, or the pub classic Three Card Brag.

Another shedding game with a twist: in Cheat you can lie about the cards you play.

Like shedding games? Try President, the race to get rid of your cards and claim the top seat.

For younger players: Old Maid – pairs, a blind draw and one Queen nobody wants.

For two players who like it fast: Spit, where there are no turns and the quickest hand wins.

The American version: Crazy Eights, where every 8 is wild and changes the suit.

The UK version with more power cards: British Black Jack, where 2s and Black Jacks make the next player pick up.

Switch card game: frequently asked questions