Macau (card game)

Macau, also spelled Makaua or Macaua, is a shedding-type card game from Hungary, with similar rules to Crazy Eights or Uno and uses a standard 52 card deck. The object of the game is to be the first player to remove all cards from one's hand. Macau involves tactical play where players manage their cards to maximize their hand's efficiency and strategically respond to opponents' moves. Bluffing is a core element, as players may choose to withhold playable cards to preserve them for later use. The game belongs to the broader Crazy Eights family, which first appeared in the 1930s and shares fundamental shedding mechanics with games such as Mau-Mau (Germany), Pesten (Netherlands), and Switch (United Kingdom). The name Macau is distinct from the unrelated 18th-century banking card game Macao, a forerunner of baccarat.