How to play Mau-Mau
Mau-Mau is Germany's national shedding game — the game every German child learns before Uno, played with the small 32-card deck. Match the top card by suit or rank, watch out for the three special cards, and be first to empty your hand.
Just want the rules? Read the complete Mau-Mau rulebook.
- 7 — draw two - the next player draws two cards... unless they answer with their own 7, which raises it to four. And so on.
- 8 — skip - the next player simply misses their turn (“aussetzen”).
- Jack — wish a suit - plays on anything and names the suit that must follow. Worth 20 painful points if caught in your hand.
- Drawing - once per turn you may buy a card from the stock, then still play. When the stock runs dry the pile is reshuffled.
- Scoring - hand over, losers count their cards (ace 11, jack 20, courts 10). Cross 100 and the game ends — lowest total wins.
Strategy tips from the German school playground
- Save your Jacks. A Jack is both a skeleton key and a 20-point liability. Play it when stuck — or as your very last card, which doubles everyone else's penalty.
- Keep a 7 as a shield. The only answer to a draw-two is another 7. Holding one turns an attack on you into a bigger attack on your neighbour.
- Shed points early, keep options late. Aces and courts hurt at the count; dump them while you still have safe matches.
- Wish into your length. When your Jack names a suit, name the one you hold most of — you control the next few turns.
- Watch the 8s near the end. A well-timed skip robs a one-card opponent of their winning turn.
Frequently asked questions
What are the rules of Mau-Mau?
Mau-Mau is played with a 32-card deck (7 up to ace in each suit). Everyone gets five cards and one card is flipped to start the pile. On your turn, play a card matching the top card's suit or rank. Three cards are special: a 7 forces the next player to draw two (and 7s stack), an 8 skips the next player, and a Jack can be played on anything to "wish" the suit that must follow. Once per turn you may draw a card instead of or before playing. First player to shed every card wins the hand; the others score penalty points for the cards they still hold.
Is Mau-Mau the same as Crazy Eights or Uno?
They are close cousins but not the same game. All three share the match-suit-or-rank core, and Uno descends from this family. Mau-Mau is the German branch: a smaller 32-card deck, the 7 as a stackable draw-two, the 8 as a skip, and the Jack — not the 8 — as the wild suit-wisher. If you grew up in Germany, THIS is the version you know.
What does saying "Mau" mean?
In the living-room game you must call "Mau" when you play your second-to-last card and "Mau Mau" when you play your last one — forgetting costs you penalty cards. Online the announcements are automatic, so you can concentrate on the cards; the round banner announces the finish for you.
How does scoring work in Mau-Mau?
When someone goes out, everyone else scores what they hold: 7s to 10s count face value, queens and kings 10, aces 11 and jacks a painful 20. Going out with a Jack doubles everyone else's penalty. Points are bad — when a player crosses 100 the game ends, and the lowest total wins.
Can you stack 7s in Mau-Mau?
Yes. If someone plays a 7 at you, you may answer with your own 7 instead of drawing — the next player then faces a four-card draw, and a third 7 makes it six. The penalty keeps growing until someone has no 7 and has to drink the whole thing.
Can a Jack be played on another Jack?
House rules differ across Germany ("Bube auf Bube, das stinkt"). This version allows it: a Jack always plays and always re-wishes the suit. The one thing a Jack cannot do is answer a live 7 penalty — only another 7 does that.
More free card games
Like fast shedding games? Try Crazy Eights (the 52-card cousin), Switch with its trick cards, or Germany's deeper classic Skat.