Cribbage is a card game for two, scored with pegs on a board. Make fifteens, pairs and runs, and be first to peg 121.
It's often just called crib. The English poet Sir John Suckling is said to have made it in the 1600s.
At a glance
- Players: 2. Three or four can play, with the variations below.
- Deck: One standard 52-card deck, no jokers, and a cribbage board
- Time: 20 to 45 minutes for a game to 121
- Goal: The first to peg 121 points
The cards above are from The Cowboy Edition.
Setup
Cut the deck. The lower card deals first. Aces are low.
Deal six cards each, one at a time. Each player then puts two cards face down to one side. Those four cards are the crib.
The crib belongs to the dealer, who scores it at the end of the hand. The deal swaps each hand.
The non-dealer cuts the deck. The dealer turns up the top card of the bottom half. That's the starter.
If the starter is a jack, the dealer pegs 2 at once. This is called his heels.
An ace counts 1, face cards 10, and other cards their number.
The play
The non-dealer lays a card face up and says its value. Then the dealer plays, saying the running total.
Keep taking turns. The count can never go over 31.
If you can't play without passing 31, say go. Your opponent plays on if they can.
The last player to lay a card pegs 1, or 2 for exactly 31. Then the count starts again at 0.
Keep going until both players have played all four cards. You peg points as you play:
- Bring the count to exactly 15: 2
- Match the card just played, a pair: 2. Three of a kind: 6. Four: 12.
- Complete a run of three or more, in any order: 1 for each card
The show
Pick your cards back up. Each hand is counted with the starter, as if it were a fifth card.
The non-dealer counts first, then the dealer, then the dealer's crib. Count every combination:
- Fifteens. 2 for each group of cards that adds to 15.
- Pairs. 2 for each pair. Three of a kind holds three pairs, for 6.
- Runs. 1 for each card in a run of three or more.
- Flush. 4 if all four cards in your hand share a suit. 5 if the starter does too.
- Nobs. 1 for holding the jack of the starter's suit.
A flush in the crib counts only if all five cards share a suit.
Scoring
| Combination | Points |
|---|---|
| Fifteen | 2 |
| Pair | 2 |
| Three of a kind | 6 |
| Four of a kind | 12 |
| Run | 1 a card |
| Flush | 4, or 5 with the starter |
| Nobs, in the show | 1 |
| His heels, a jack turned as starter | 2 to the dealer |
| Go, or the last card | 1, or 2 for 31 |
Say you keep 4, 5, 5, 6. Two fifteens score 4, and the pair of 5s scores 2. Two runs of 4, 5, 6 score 6. You have 12 before the starter.
The highest hand is 29: three 5s and a jack. The starter is the fourth 5, in the jack's suit.
How to win
Peg every point on the board as you score it. Each player uses two pegs, leapfrogging the back one past the front.
The first to reach 121 wins at once, even partway through a hand. That's why the non-dealer counts first.
Win before your opponent reaches 91, and you skunk them. Many players count a skunk as two games.
Tips
- Keep 5s in your hand when you can. Every 10 and face card makes a fifteen with them.
- When it's your crib, throw it cards that score. When it isn't, throw cards that don't fit together.
- Don't lead a 5. Any 10 or face card gives your opponent a fifteen.
- Lead from a pair. If your opponent pairs it, you may make three of a kind.
- Count slowly and say each combination aloud. Missed points stay missed.
Variations
- Muggins. If a player misses points in their count, the opponent calls muggins and takes them.
- A short game. Play to 61, once around the board.
- Double skunk. Win before your opponent reaches 61, and it counts as more games still.
- Three players. Deal five each, and one card to the crib. Each player puts one card in the crib. Play each for yourself.
- Four players. Deal five each. Each player puts one card in the crib. Play in partnerships, with partners across the table.
- Five-card cribbage. The older game. Deal five each and put two in the crib. The non-dealer starts 3 points ahead, and the game is 61.
History and where it's played
Cribbage comes from 17th-century England. The writer John Aubrey credited the poet Sir John Suckling with creating it. Some writers think Suckling only wrote down a game people already played. Either way, it grew from Noddy, an older English game. The crib was the key addition. Its rules were in print by 1662.
It has been called Britain's national card game. Charles Dickens put it in The Old Curiosity Shop. In the American West, prospectors played it too. Nelson, Montana, still has a sign calling itself the Cribbage Capital of the World. The phrase level pegging is thought to come from the board.
Its most famous American home is the submarine force. In April 1943, USS Wahoo was on patrol in the Yellow Sea. Its commander, Dudley Morton, played cribbage with his second-in-command, Dick O'Kane. Morton dealt O'Kane a 29, the highest hand in the game. The Navy puts the odds at 1 in 216,580. The crew took it as an omen, and Wahoo sank two freighters the next day.
O'Kane's original board went down with his next submarine, USS Tang, in 1944. Its replacement now passes to the oldest fast-attack submarine in the Pacific Fleet.
Where these rules come from
These rules follow Wikipedia's rules of cribbage, the standard game for two. The history draws on Wikipedia's Cribbage article, the SAGE Encyclopedia of Play and the US Navy's account of the O'Kane board.
Common questions
What does 15 for 2 mean in cribbage?
Cards that add up to 15 score 2 points. Face cards count 10, so a king and a 5 make one.
What is the crib?
The four cards both players throw away at the start. They're the dealer's extra hand.
What is his nobs?
The jack of the same suit as the starter, held in your hand. It scores 1 in the show.
What is his heels?
A jack turned up as the starter. The dealer pegs 2 straight away.
What does go mean?
You can't play without passing 31. Your opponent keeps playing, and the last to play pegs 1.
Do you need a cribbage board?
It helps, since points come quickly. Pencil and paper work too.
What is a skunk?
Winning before your opponent reaches 91. It usually counts as winning two games.
What is the highest cribbage hand?
29. Hold three 5s and a jack. The starter is the last 5, in the jack's suit.
Can three or four people play cribbage?
Yes. See Three players and Four players under Variations.
More games
Gin Rummy is another classic for two. Euchre is a trick-taking game for four. War is a game of pure luck for two.
Cheat sheet
Download the Cribbage cheat sheet, a one-page PDF to print.