Cribbage
A deep 2-4 player game involving clever card play and a scoring peg board.
Setup
Deal 6 cards each (2 players). Each player puts 2 cards into the crib (extra hand for the dealer). Cut the deck to reveal the starter card.
How to Play
- Players alternately play cards, announcing the running total.
- Score points for 15s, pairs, and runs during play.
- After play, each hand is scored (15s, pairs, runs, flush, nobs).
- Dealer scores the crib hand last.
How to Win
First to peg 121 points on the board.
The crib is powerful for the dealer — discard cards that work well together.
Is Cribbage Right for You?
Cribbage is the brilliant two-player counting game played across a pegging board, mixing card play for fifteens and runs with a separate scoring phase and a secret extra hand called the crib. Reach for it whenever two people want a portable, fast-pegging classic with a satisfying tactile board.
Maybe skip it if: Folks who dislike mental arithmetic; you are constantly adding to fifteen and thirty-one.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Failing to count your hand correctly and missing points, since unclaimed points can be pegged by an alert opponent under muggins rules.
- Forgetting that the crib belongs to the dealer, so you should discard weak cards to your opponent's crib and helpful ones to your own.
Strategy Tips
- When discarding to your own crib keep fives and card pairs that combine for fifteens; starve your opponent's crib of those.
- Pay attention to pegging counts, leading cards that avoid handing opponents a fifteen or thirty-one.
Popular Variations
Muggins
If you overlook points in your own hand, an opponent may call muggins and peg those points themselves.
Three- and four-handed
Cribbage adapts to three players each for themselves, or four in partnerships, with adjusted dealing and crib rules.
Our Take
We adore Cribbage as possibly the finest two-player card game ever made, blending luck of the cut with genuine skill in discarding and pegging. The board itself makes it feel like an heirloom you will play for decades.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many points do you need to win Cribbage?
A standard game is 121 points, twice around a standard board, though a shorter 61-point game is also common.
What counts for points in a Cribbage hand?
Combinations totaling fifteen, pairs, runs, flushes, and holding the jack of the turned starter suit all score, counted during both the play and the show.