Cribbage

Full rules

1. Overview
2. Card values
3. Keeping score
4. Setup
5. The play
6. The show
7. Winning the game
8. Tips for beginners
9. Variants

Overview

Cribbage is a classic two-player game in which you score points for card combinations: cards that add up to 15, pairs, runs (consecutive ranks) and flushes (cards of one suit). Points are scored twice in every deal – first while the cards are played one by one onto a running total (the play), then when each player counts the combinations in their hand (the show). The dealer also owns an extra hand, the crib, made from cards both players throw away. The first player to reach 121 points wins.

• Players: 2 (3 or 4 are possible, see Variants).
• You need: one standard 52-card deck without jokers, and a cribbage board with pegs – or just paper and pencil (see Keeping score).

Card values

For adding up, every card has a value:

For runs, cards go in their natural order A 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 J Q K. The Ace is always low: A-2-3 is a run, Q-K-A is not. Suits only matter for flushes and for the Jack called his nobs (see The show).

Keeping score

Points come in small amounts all through the game, so you record them the moment you earn them. This is called pegging.

With a cribbage board: the board has a track of holes for each player (the usual board has 120 holes plus a final game hole at 121). Each player has two pegs. When you score, take your rear peg and move it that many holes in front of your front peg. The front peg always shows your total; the gap between the pegs shows your last score, so your opponent can check it.

With pen and paper: draw two columns, one per player. Each time someone scores, write the new running total in their column (e.g. 2, 5, 11, …) – not just the points, so you never need to add up long lists. Say every score out loud so both players can check it. It helps to draw a line under the totals at the end of each deal.

Setup

1. Cut for deal: each player cuts the shuffled deck and shows the bottom card of their cut. The lower card deals first (Ace is lowest). Equal cards: cut again. After that, the deal alternates every deal. In the next game, the loser of the last game deals first.
2. Deal: the dealer shuffles, lets the opponent (the non-dealer) cut, and then deals 6 cards to each player, one at a time, face down, starting with the non-dealer. Put the rest of the deck face down on the table: this is the stock.
3. The crib: look at your cards and discard 2 of them face down into a separate pile. Both players do this, so the pile gets 4 cards. This pile is the crib: an extra hand that belongs to the dealer and is counted by the dealer at the end of the deal. Nobody looks at it until then. You now keep 4 cards in hand.
4. The starter: the non-dealer cuts the stock, and the dealer turns up the top card of the lower half and puts it face up on top of the stock. This is the starter. It is not played, but it counts as a fifth card for both hands and the crib in the show.
5. His heels: if the starter is a Jack, the dealer pegs 2 points at once.

Tip for discarding: as dealer you are happy to put good cards (fives, pairs, cards that add up to 15) in the crib, since it is yours. As non-dealer you throw cards that are unlikely to help your opponent.

The play

Now the four cards in each hand are played one at a time, and a running total (the count) is kept.

1. The non-dealer starts: play one card face up in front of you and announce the count (e.g. "seven").
2. Then the dealer plays a card and announces the new total ("fifteen"), and so on, alternately. Each player keeps their own played cards in a row in front of them.
3. The count may never go over 31.

Scoring in the play

You score when your card makes one of these:

• Pairs only count with cards played directly in a row. Two Queens, or a Queen and a King, are not a pair: pairs must be the same rank, not just the same value.
• Runs in the play count even if the cards were played out of order, as long as no other card is in between. If the last cards played are 4, 6, 5, the 5 completes a run of 3. If a 3 or 7 follows, that makes a run of 4, and so on.
• One card can score several things at once: a card that makes 15 and a pair scores 4.

Go

If you cannot play any card without going over 31, say "Go". Your opponent then keeps playing as many cards as they can without going over 31 (scoring pairs, runs and 31 as usual). Then:

• If they reach exactly 31, they score 2 for the 31.
• Otherwise, whoever played the last card before the stop scores 1 for the go.

Then the count starts again from zero. Cards played before are turned face down and no longer form pairs or runs. The player who did not play the last card starts the new count. Carry on until all eight cards have been played. The very last card of the play scores 1 (or 2 if it makes exactly 31).

Example (the play): Anna is non-dealer and holds 7 6 5 10. Ben holds 8 9 K Q. Anna plays 7 ("seven"). Ben plays 8 ("fifteen") and pegs 2. Anna plays 6 ("twenty-one"): 7-8-6 is a run of three, 3 points. Ben plays 9 ("thirty"): 6-7-8-9 is a run of four, 4 points. Anna's 5 and 10 would both go over 31: she says "Go". Ben's K and Q don't fit either, so Ben pegs 1 for the go. New count, Anna starts: 5 ("five"). Ben plays K ("fifteen") for 2. Anna plays 10 ("twenty-five"), her last card. Ben's Q would make 35, so he says "Go" and Anna pegs 1. Ben plays his Q alone on a new count – last card, 1 point. Play total: Anna 3 + 1 = 4, Ben 2 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 1 = 10.

The show

Now the hands are counted, always in this order:

1. the non-dealer's hand,
2. the dealer's hand,
3. the crib (for the dealer).

Each hand (and the crib) is 4 cards plus the starter, 5 cards in all. Count every combination below. A card may be used in as many different combinations as it fits.

Hints for counting:

• Count fifteens first, saying "fifteen two, fifteen four …", then pairs, runs, flush and nobs.
• Double runs: a pair inside a run gives two runs. 5-6-6-7 has two runs of three (6 points) plus the pair (2) = 8, before fifteens.
• A run is only counted at its longest: 4-5-6-7 is one run of 4, not two runs of 3.
• The starter never counts for a 4-card flush: a flush needs all 4 cards in the hand.

Example (hand): you hold 5♥ 5♠ J♣ K♦, and the starter is 5♦. Fifteens: each of the three fives with the J (3 × 2 = 6) and with the K (3 × 2 = 6), plus 5 + 5 + 5 (2) – that is 7 fifteens = 14. The three fives are a pair royal: 6. The J♣ is not the suit of the starter, so no nobs. Total: 14 + 6 = 20 points. (With the J♦ instead of the J♣, it would be 21.)

Example (crib): Ben's crib is 3♥ 4♥ 5♥ 9♥, the starter is 6♠. Fifteens: 9 + 6 and 4 + 5 + 6 = 4. Run 3-4-5-6 = 4. The four hearts do not score a flush, because in the crib the starter must match too. Total: 8 points.

The 29 hand: the highest possible hand is three fives and a Jack, with the fourth five of the Jack's suit as starter – e.g. 5♣ 5♦ 5♥ J♠, starter 5♠. Fifteens: the J with each five (4 × 2 = 8) and each group of three fives (4 × 2 = 8) = 16. Four fives = 12. His nobs = 1. Total 29.

A hand with no score at all is jokingly called a "nineteen", because 19 is impossible to score.

Winning the game

The game is played over as many deals as needed. The first player to reach 121 points wins immediately – during the play, in the show, or even with his heels. That's why the order of the show matters: the non-dealer counts first, so they can win before the dealer counts.

Skunk: if the loser has not reached 91 points, they are skunked, and the win counts double. If the loser has not even reached 61, it is a double skunk (triple). The British word for this is a lurch – depending on the source, for a loser below 91 or below 61. Agree on the details before playing if you keep a running tally of games.

Tips for beginners

• Fives are gold. With so many 10-value cards, every 5 makes easy fifteens. Keep them – or give them to your own crib, never to your opponent's.
• Discard with the crib in mind. As dealer, throw a pair or two cards making 15 into your crib. As non-dealer, split your discards (e.g. a King and a 2) so they don't help each other.
• Avoid leading a 5 in the play – any 10-card makes 15 for your opponent. Leading a 4 or lower is safe: no single card makes 15.
• Avoid a count of 21: a 10-card brings it to 31.
• Be careful with pairs in the play. If you pair your opponent's card, they may answer with a pair royal for 6.

Variants

All of these are optional – agree on them before the game.

• Short game: play to 61 instead of 121 (once round a board with 60 holes).
• Muggins: after a player has counted and pegged a hand, the opponent may call "Muggins!" and peg any points the player overlooked for themselves. Makes careful counting important.
• Three players: deal 5 cards each and 1 card straight into the crib. Each player discards 1 card to the crib, so everyone has 4 cards and the crib has 4. The player to the dealer's left starts the play and counts first in the show. When two players have said "Go", the third keeps playing alone. Deal passes to the left. Game to 121, everyone for themselves.
• Four players (partners): partners sit opposite each other; one of each team does the pegging for both. Deal 5 cards each; everyone discards 1 card into the dealer's crib. The player to the dealer's left starts the play and counts first. When three players have said "Go", the fourth keeps playing alone. Team scores are added together; game to 121.
• Five-card cribbage: the older game. Deal 5 cards each, both discard 2 to the crib, so hands have 3 cards. At the start of the game the non-dealer pegs 3 points (for "last"). The play only goes up to 31 once – there is no new count after a go, so some cards may stay unplayed. In the show, a flush is 3 points (4 with the starter); a crib flush needs all 5 cards. Game to 61.