Ups and Downs
While I’m waiting for Peaks and Pits to be listed on pagat.com [update: it's been added since I wrote this], I thought I’d start talking about card games that were/are frequently played in my family. For me, such games often have a lot of sentimental value.
The name of Peaks & Pits is in part an allusion to one of those games, which we knew as Ups and Downs. It’s a variation of Crazy Eights, which I expect everyone reading this knows how to play. Not surprisingly, therefore, it’s a game for children and the young at heart (a term which encompasses most adults to some extent). I’d recommend it for 3-5 players.
First, a quick revision of Crazy Eights. Each player gets seven cards and the top card of the stock is turned face-up to start a discard pile. On a turn, a player may add to the discard pile a card that’s either of the same suit or the same rank as the previous card on the pile. Alternatively, an eight (wild card) can be played, in which case the player announces the suit that the card played by the next player must belong to (assuming the next player doesn’t also play an eight). If you can’t play then you must pick up a card from the stock instead. You win when you have no cards left. End of revision.
Most variations on Crazy Eights simply add other ranks with special effects, Uno-style. However, Ups and Downs is different from that. An explanation follows.
In a game of Ups and Downs, one of two modes is in effect at any given time. You can always play an eight, and you can always play a card of the same rank as the previous card, but the twist comes when you want to play a card (other than an eight) of the same suit as the previous card. When the mode is up, your card must be of higher rank than the previous card, and when the mode is down, your card must be of lower rank than the previous card. Aces are low. So for example, if I play the Jack of Hearts while the mode is up, then you can play an eight (wild), another Jack (same rank) or the Queen or King of Hearts (same suit, higher rank). But you can’t play a lower heart.
How is the mode changed from up to down or vice versa? This happens in three situations.
- At the start of the game, the dealer announces what the initial mode will be. (When we play, everyone including the dealer looks at their own cards, and then the dealer announces the initial mode, and then the dealer turns over the top card of the stock to start the discard pile.)
- Every time someone plays an eight, they get to announce not only the suit the next player must play in, but they can choose the new mode as well.
- Every time someone plays a card of the same rank as the previous card, they can change the mode if they want to.
It is perfectly legal to announce a mode of “Down” upon playing an Ace upon another Ace, or a mode of “Up” upon playing a King upon another King. In fact, this is a sensible move if you hold a third card of that rank in your hand.
When the stock runs low, replenish it by shuffling together all but the most recent card of the discard pile, and putting these cards face-down underneath the remaining stock. This is a standard tip in many card games.
The game can go on for some time, largely because children often enjoy making huge leaps from high to low and vice versa. In my family, it was nicknamed The Everlasting Game. Even when played among adults, it is common to hear the cry, “Not that far!” in a playful, faux-annoyed tone of voice (verbal banter is an essential part of card-playing in general as a social activity).
The game is reasonably old (judging from the fact that my mother learned it from her aunt when she was young) but unlike other variations of Crazy Eights, it doesn’t seem to be very widespread. It was well-loved in our family, though, so if you enjoy simple games for the young at heart, why not give it a go.
