Card Games guide
How to play Cribbage: rules, pegging and counting hands
Cribbage is a card game for two in which you score points for card combinations and mark them by moving pegs round a board. Each player is dealt six cards and throws two into the crib. Points are scored twice: during the play, as cards are laid one at a time up to a count of 31, and in the show, when each hand is counted with a shared starter card. The first player to 121 wins.
What you need
Two players, a standard 52-card pack and a cribbage board (or pencil and paper). Each player has two pegs and leapfrogs them: the back peg jumps over the front one by the number of points scored, so the gap between them shows the last score.
Card values for counting: court cards 10, aces 1, others their number. For runs, the order is A 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 J Q K, with the ace low.
The deal and the crib
Deal six cards each. Each player chooses two cards to throw face down into the crib (called the box in Britain). The crib is a third hand of four cards. It belongs to the dealer and is counted at the end of the hand, so the dealer throws helpful cards and the non-dealer tries to throw useless ones.
The non-dealer then cuts the pack and the dealer turns up the top card: the starter (or "the cut"). It is not played, but it counts as a fifth card in both hands and the crib at the show. If the starter is a Jack, the dealer pegs 2 at once: "two for his heels".
The play (pegging)
Beginning with the non-dealer, the players take turns to lay one card face up in front of themselves, calling out the running total of all the cards laid so far. The total may never go above 31.
| You make… | Peg |
|---|---|
| The count exactly 15 | 2 |
| The count exactly 31 | 2 |
| A pair (same rank as the card before) | 2 |
| Three in a row of the same rank (pair royal) | 6 |
| Four in a row of the same rank (double pair royal) | 12 |
| A run of three or more with the last cards laid, in any order | 1 a card |
| A go (the other player can't play) or the last card of all | 1 |
If you can't lay a card without passing 31 you say "go". The other player then lays any cards they can, and pegs 1 for the go (or 2 if they reach exactly 31). The count goes back to zero and the player who did not lay the last card starts again. This carries on until all eight cards are down; the last card pegs 1.
Worked example
You lay a 7 ("seven"). The other player lays an 8 ("fifteen for two") and pegs 2. You lay a 9 ("twenty-four, and a run of three") and peg 3. They can't lay their King, so they say "go"; you lay a 6 ("thirty, and a run of four"), peg 4 for the run and 1 for the go.
The show: counting a hand
After the play each player picks up their four cards. The non-dealer counts first, then the dealer, then the dealer counts the crib. The starter counts as part of every hand.
| Combination | Points |
|---|---|
| Each different group of cards adding up to 15 | 2 |
| Each pair | 2 |
| Each run of three or more | 1 a card |
| Flush: all four cards in your hand the same suit | 4, or 5 if the starter matches |
| His nob: the Jack of the same suit as the starter | 1 |
Count out loud in a fixed order so nothing is missed: fifteens first, then pairs, then runs, then flush and nob. "Fifteen two, fifteen four, and a pair is six."
Worked example
Hand 7♠ 8♠ 8♦ 9♣ with the starter 6♥. Fifteens: 7+8 twice and 6+9 = 6. Pair of eights = 2. Runs: 6-7-8-9 twice (once with each eight) = 8. Total 16.
A flush in the crib counts only if all five cards, including the starter, are the same suit. The highest possible hand is 29: three fives and a Jack, with the starter the fourth five in the Jack's suit.
Winning
The game is to 121: twice round a traditional 60-hole board plus the game hole, or once round a 120-hole one. The game ends the instant a player reaches 121, whether in the play or the show. This is why the order of counting matters: the non-dealer counts first and can "peg out" before the dealer counts at all.
Winning before the loser reaches 91 is a skunk (in Britain, the loser is "in the lurch") and traditionally counts double.
Muggins
Muggins is an optional rule for players who like a sharp game. If you miss points when you count your hand or peg in the play, the other player may call "muggins" and take the points you missed. On Yuzool muggins is off by default. To play it, turn on "Count my hands myself" and then "Muggins" in Options.
What to throw to the crib
- Keep the four cards that work together: runs, pairs and cards that add to fifteen (7 and 8, 6 and 9, any ten-card with a 5).
- Your crib: throw a pair, a five, or two cards that add to fifteen or sit next to each other.
- Their crib: throw cards that are far apart and don't add to fifteen, such as a King and a nine. Avoid giving a five, a pair, or neighbours.
- Think about the starter. A hand that needs one of many cards to improve is better than one that needs a single card.
In the play:
- Lead a four or lower so the reply can't make fifteen, or lead one of a pair so you can make a pair royal if they pair it.
- Avoid making the count 5 or 21, which a ten-card turns into 15 or 31.
- Keep low cards for the end of the count to win the go.
- Counting a run twice but forgetting the pair that made it double.
- Throwing a five to the other player's crib.
- Forgetting the nob.
Questions
How many cards are dealt in Cribbage?
Six each in the two-player game. Each player throws two to the crib and plays with four.
What does "fifteen two" mean?
It is how a hand is counted aloud: each group of cards adding up to fifteen scores two points, so "fifteen two, fifteen four" means two such groups, four points so far.
Who owns the crib?
The dealer. It is counted last, after both hands, and the deal changes sides after every hand.
What is the difference between his heels and his nob?
His heels is a Jack turned up as the starter: 2 points to the dealer at once. His nob is a Jack in your hand of the same suit as the starter: 1 point when you count the hand.