Crazy Eights

I've often wondered whether these all-the-rage online card game websites can really compare to the pulse-inducing tension that can dominate a face to face encounter. Can you really convey a poker face through an online avatar?

Of course, if this is a genuine problem then it's one that also applies to the legions of mobile card games that have hit the market over the last few years.

Crazy Eights (also known as Mau Mau in other parts) is a game determined to rectify that flaw, albeit with a few small, and perhaps token, gestures built into what is an intentionally uncomplicated recreation of the card game of the same name.

This isn't going to have a profound effect on your life or even dominate your play time, but if Crazy Eights is your bag, then Intent has served up a one-stop shop.

For those new to Crazy Eights, it's a relatively quick and simple card game that borrows elements from more mainstream efforts such as Rummy, presenting them in a more palatable manner for the green amongst us.

Using just eight different cards (ace, seven, eight, nine, ten and the three face cards), the aim of the game is to rid yourself of your entire hand (consisting of five random cards, assuming you play with the default setting of four players), dropping them off in the discard pile.

There are, of course, rules as to which cards you can place and when, and the effect that they have on the player that follows you.

In normal circumstances, you can only place down a card that matches the top card in the discard pile by either suit or number, though an '8' of any suit can be placed whenever you like, allowing you to choose the suit of the card that follows.

On a similar note, placing a '7' forces the next player to pick up two cards, while dropping a queen causes him to miss a turn, though these cards don't have the added bonus of being universally playable.

These aren't the only key cards you can play. It's also possible to activate others via Crazy Eights's settings, but the general principle of play - making sure that you have an option to place a card every time and hold back your '8's until the last possible moment - remains.

Of course, such is the restless nature of Crazy Eights that your best-laid plans often don't come to pass, your opponents throwing a spanner in the works and managing to rid themselves of their pack before you've had a chance to put your tactics into action.

There's a genuine sense of rage that grips you when this happens, mainly because of Crazy Eights's attempt to personalise your opponents.

Each one animated in clay-like form, rather than simply doling out their cards with little interaction, your rivals make their intentions clear by talking their way through their moves, a speech bubble appearing above their heads letting you know what card they're playing.

It's a practice that feels a little odd at first, but soon enables the smooth transition between each character. It also adds just enough spice to make it humanly possible to bear a grudge against these fictitious foes, adding just the right amount of colour to what would otherwise be a plain take on a clear-cut card game.

Instead, Crazy Eights has character, is utterly playable, and doesn't make any mistakes. But that's because it doesn't take any risks, either. As such, Crazy Eights's score below is anything but a slur, but rather a reflection of the fact that it almost exclusively preaches to the converted.