Mau-Mau

👥 2–6 players 📍 Indoor📍 Anywhere ⚡ Calm 🧩 Moderate ⏱ 10-30 minutes 🎂 Ages 6+

Quick Pitch

Mau-Mau is Germany's most popular card game — a fast shedding game where you play cards matching the suit or rank on top of the pile, and special cards punish your opponents or change the game's direction.

Hook

On your turn, play a card that matches the suit or rank of the top discard, or play a special card to shake things up. 7s force the next player to draw two cards. Aces let you change the suit. Jacks reverse the direction of play. When you play your last card, you have to shout "Mau!" — forget to announce it and you have to draw penalty cards. It's quick, chaotic, and works for any age.

Equipment Needed

  • One standard 52-card deck
  • Paper and pencil for optional score tracking

Setup

  1. Shuffle and deal 5 cards to each player, one at a time
  2. Place remaining deck face-down as stock
  3. Flip top card face-up to start discard pile (if special card, apply effect)

Rules

Objective

Be the first to empty your hand by playing cards. Play continues in turns; first to shed all cards wins.

Valid Plays

  • Play card matching suit of discard
  • Play card matching rank of discard
  • Play special cards per their rules
  • Aces are wild (can be played anytime; declare next suit)

Special Cards

7: Next player must draw 2 cards (or play another 7 to stack effect)

8: Next player must draw 4 cards (or play another 8 to stack)

Jack: Reverse play direction

King: Skip next player

Ace: Wild card; player declares suit for next play

Gameplay

  1. Play order: Players take turns starting with player to dealer's left
  2. Valid play: Play card matching suit, rank, or special card power
  3. Drawing: If cannot play, draw from stock until playable card drawn OR draw is automatic then pass
  4. Playing drawn cards: Newly drawn card can be played immediately (if playable)
  5. Going out: When player plays last card, they must say "Mau-Mau!" (or "Mau!" in some variants)
    • Failing to announce forfeits win (must draw penalty cards)
  6. Winning: First to empty hand wins

Scoring (Optional)

  • Remaining cards count as negative points
  • First to zero (or agreed accumulation) loses/wins

Expert Player

Tips

  1. Special card tracking: Remember which special cards have been played
  2. 7/8 management: Use draw cards strategically to disable opponents
  3. Suit declaration: When playing Ace, declare suit where you have most cards
  4. Draw prediction: Anticipate when you might need to draw; keep 2s and 3s
  5. Mau-Mau announcement: Never forget to announce when going out!
  6. Reverse/Skip timing: Use to manipulate play order to your advantage

Variations

  • Stacking variant: 7s/8s can be stacked by next player (accumulating draw requirement)
  • Alternative special cards: Different ranks assigned different powers
  • Simplified: Remove some special card powers for easier play
  • House rules: Many playgroups add/modify rules (common in casual play)
Learn More — History & Origins

History & Origins

Mau-Mau emerged in Germany in the mid-20th century and became one of the most widely played card games in the German-speaking world. The game belongs to the Crazy Eights family — a group of shedding card games that spread across Europe and North America through the 20th century, all sharing the core mechanic of playing matching suit or rank. Mau-Mau's German identity comes from its specific set of special card powers and the ritual announcement ("Mau!" for the second-to-last card, "Mau-Mau!" for the last) that punish inattentive players.

The game is very likely related to the Austrian game "Neuner" (Nines) and the Swiss "Tschau Sepp," all members of the same family that evolved in parallel across the German-speaking world. The name Mau-Mau has no documented etymology — it may be purely invented or may derive from an older game name that has been lost.

Cultural Context

Mau-Mau is the card game that most German children learn first, playing it with grandparents and siblings before any other structured card game. It's a fixture of family game nights, school trips, and anywhere a deck of cards appears in a German context. The special card powers are consistent enough across Germany that strangers can play together without lengthy rules negotiations, but regional house rules do exist — particularly around stacking draw-two effects.

The game's name became internationally known through the Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya (1952–1960), though the card game predates or is contemporary with the uprising and the naming connection is coincidental. In Germany, the card game meaning is the primary association for most people.

See Also