Cribbage

This game is said to be the creation of the 17th Century English poet, Sir John Suckling. Basically, it’s a conventional 52-card deck game. In cribbage, the goal is to score either 121 or 61 points first.

Cards rank from highest to lowest, with Kings being the top and Aces being the lowest.

A cribbage board and pegs, traditionally made from wood, are used to keep score. A player has 2 pegs of the same colour, which is different from their opponent’s colour.

Furthermore, the board has 60 counting holes and two resting holes for each player.

How to play

In this step-by-step guide, we’ll cover all the basics of how to play this entertaining game.

Game set up

Each player places their two pegs in their resting holes on the Cribbage board. The card deck is shuffled. Then each player cuts the deck and picks a card at random to determine who will be the first dealer.

Cutting and reshuffling of cards will happen again if there is a tie between the cutters. Subsequently, the player with the lowest card value becomes the first dealer.

Pegging

This is how players keep score by moving their pegs along the cribbage board. Players alternately advance their pegs forward on the board when they score points. The peg in front indicates the player’s current score, while the peg behind indicates their previous score. Each hole on the cribbage board denotes one point.

The deal

The First Dealer shuffles the cards and the non-dealer cuts the deck. The Dealer then deals 6 cards alternately to each player starting with the non-dealer. Each player discards 2 cards face down. These 4 cards form the Crib, which will count for the Dealer at the end of the game.

The non-dealer cuts the deck yet again. The Dealer selects the top card from the lower pile and reassembles the deck. The Dealer then places the card they have just taken face up on the deck. This is the Start card.

The rules of play

Play now begins with the non-dealer laying down the first card and announcing its pip value. The cards’ pip values are as follows:

• Face Cards: 10
• Ace: 1
• Numbered cards: face value

The dealer then plays their first card and announces the total pip value of both cards. The non-dealer plays their next card and so on.

If the pip total is exactly 31 after playing a card, that round ends and the cards are turned face down. The pip score will be reset to zero and play continues with the remaining cards.

When a player can’t play without going over 31, he or she announces “Go” instead of playing a card. If their opponent can also not play without going over 31, that round ends. The cards are turned face down and a new round begins.

However, if the opponent can keep playing cards, they do so. They continue counting the pip value until the total reaches exactly 31, will exceed 31 or they run out of cards.

Counting

Points are scored throughout each round in numerous ways.

• If the start card is a Jack, the dealer gains 2 points.
• During each round, if a player is forced to say “Go”, their opponent scores 1 point.
• The player placing the last card in a round where the score is less than 31 scores 1 point.
• Playing a card during a round that brings the pip score to exactly 15 or 31, scores 2 points.
• Playing a card of the same value as the previously placed card creates a pair, and scores 2 points
• If the next player places a third card of the same value a pair royal is formed which gives that player 6 points.
• If the fourth matching card is played, this forms a double pair royal and is worth 12 points.
• The player who plays a card that either creates or continues a run of three or more cards having consecutive values, e.g. 4, 5, 6. scores points equal to the number of cards in that run. The card values do not have to be played consecutively to count either, but the sequence can not be interrupted.

Once both players have played all the cards in their hands, further points are gained by tallying the cards in their hands and the crib.

The non-dealer counts first and combines the start card with the four cards that were played. Cards can be used more than once to create different combinations.

Once the non-dealer has finished scoring, the dealer then scores their hand including the start card. Finally, the dealer takes the crib and start card and scores them.

The basic scoring combinations are the same as those during a round, plus the additional combinations below.

• Flush: Players get 4 points if all four cards are the same suit. If the start card is also the same suit, 5 points are scored.
• One for his nob: If the player’s hand holds a Jack of the same suit as the Start card, the player scores 1 point.

How to win

The subject of how to win plagues everyone learning to play cribbage.

Everyone understands that the winner is the first individual to score 121 or 61 points. It does, however, demand ability and skill. So, here are some suggestions:

• Getting a lot of runs is the key to scoring big hands. As a result, don’t interrupt runs.
• If you’re not the dealer, avoid putting fives in the crib because any ten-valued card will result in a fifteen.
• As a dealer, you have to put similar cards into the crib to boost your chances of a crib run.
• If you’re not the dealer, try tossing cards into the crib that are far apart. This combination eliminates the possibility of a run.