How to play Cribbage

Cribbage is a classic two-player card game with a scoreboard all of its own: a wooden board with rows of holes, where each player moves two pegs forward, leapfrogging one over the other, for every point they score. Points come from combinations of cards that add up to fifteen, from pairs and from runs, both while the cards are being played and when the hands are counted afterwards.

It rewards judgement more than luck. Every deal you decide which two cards to give away, which cards to keep for the play, and when to hold back a card so your opponent can't score off it. Here you play against the computer, to 121 points or a short game to 61.

How to play on skill.games

When you open the game, the settings popup appears. Choose a difficulty (Easy, Normal, Hard or Crazy), the length of the game, how hands are counted and whether skunks are announced, then press PLAY.

• The board runs across the top of the screen (up the left side when the screen is wide). Your pegs are green, the computer's orange, and each player's score is shown at the end of the board.
• The discard: tap two cards to choose them for the crib (tap again to change your mind), then press TO CRIB.
• The cut: when the computer deals, tap the deck to cut it, and the starter card is turned up.
• The play: tap a card to play it. The running count is shown above the cards in the middle. A card that would take the count past 31 is refused with a message, and when none of your cards fits, "go" is said for you.
• The show: each hand, and then the crib, moves into a row with the starter and is counted one combination at a time. The cards of each fifteen, pair or run light up with their points, and a panel adds them up. Press CONTINUE to go on.

The menu button in the top-left corner pauses the game, starts a new game or turns the sound off. The game is saved at every turn, so you can close the page and press CONTINUE later. At the end, the results screen shows the final score, the hands played, your points from the play and from the hands, your best hand and your statistics for that level and game length.

Rules

The cards. A standard 52-card deck. For adding up, an ace counts 1, number cards their face value, and jacks, queens and kings 10. For runs the order is ace (low only), 2, 3 up to 10, jack, queen, king.

The deal. The dealer gives six cards to each player. Each player then lays away two cards face down to form the crib, an extra hand that belongs to the dealer. The deal alternates every hand, so the crib does too.

The starter. The non-dealer cuts the deck and the dealer turns up the top card of the lower part: the starter. It belongs to every hand in the count. If it is a jack, the dealer scores 2 at once for his heels.

The play. Starting with the non-dealer, the players take turns laying a card face up and calling the running total of the cards played. The total may never go past 31. Points are scored for the card you have just played:

• Fifteen: bringing the count to exactly 15 scores 2.
• Thirty-one: bringing the count to exactly 31 scores 2.
• Pairs: a card of the same rank as the one before scores 2; a third in a row scores 6 and a fourth 12.
• Runs: if the last three or more cards played form a sequence in any order (for example 4, 6, 5), score 1 per card.
• Go: when you can't play without passing 31, you say "go". Your opponent keeps playing as long as their cards fit, and when neither player can go on, the last player to lay a card scores 1. The count then starts again from zero, led by the other player.
• Last card: the player who plays the very last card of the deal scores 1 (2 if it makes 31, for the 31 alone).

The show. After the play, the hands are counted in a fixed order: first the non-dealer's hand, then the dealer's hand, then the dealer's crib. Each hand of four cards is counted together with the starter:

• Fifteens: 2 for every different combination of cards that adds up to 15.
• Pairs: 2 for each pair; three of a kind is three pairs (6) and four of a kind six pairs (12).
• Runs: 1 per card for each run of three or more. With a pair inside a run, both runs count, so 3, 4, 4, 5 is two runs of three plus a pair: 8.
• Flush: four cards of one suit in the hand score 4, or 5 if the starter matches too. In the crib a flush counts only when all five cards are the same suit.
• His nobs: the jack of the same suit as the starter, held in the hand or crib, scores 1.

The best possible hand is 29: three fives and the jack of the starter's suit, with the fourth five turned up as the starter. A hand that scores nothing is jokingly called a "nineteen", because 19 is a total no hand can make.

Winning. The first player to reach 121 points (or 61 in the short game) wins at once, even in the middle of the play or before the other hands are counted. That is why the order of the show matters: the non-dealer counts first and can win before the dealer counts.

Skunks. With skunks on, winning while your opponent still has fewer than 91 points is a skunk, and fewer than 61 a double skunk (in a game to 61, under 31 is a skunk). The results screen announces it.

Muggins. With the Muggins counting option, you count your own hand and crib: set your total with the - and + buttons and press OK. The game then shows the true count. If you claimed too few points, the computer takes the ones you missed. If you claimed too many, you simply score what was really there.

Strategy tips

• Think about whose crib it is. When the crib is yours, give it cards that work together: a pair, two cards that make fifteen, a five. When it is your opponent's, give away cards far apart in rank, such as a king with a two.
• Fives are precious. Every ten, jack, queen and king makes fifteen with a five. Keep fives for your own hand or crib, and never throw one into your opponent's crib if you can help it.
• Keep hands that score with many starters. A hand like 4, 5, 6, 6 scores well whatever turns up; a hand that needs one exact card often scores little.
• Lead safely. A card under five is a good lead: your opponent can't make fifteen with one card. Leading a five, or taking the count to 5 or 21, hands your opponent an easy fifteen or 31.
• Watch for runs and pairs. If you play a card next to your opponent's, they may extend it into a run. If you pair their card, they may make three of a kind for 6.
• Hold your last card when you can. Keeping a low card lets you score the go or the last card.
• Know the score. Near the end, the non-dealer counts first. If your hand alone will take you home, it may be safer to play defensively than to chase points in the play.

Difficulty levels

• Easy: the computer keeps cards that already score among themselves, but often makes a careless discard, and plays a random card about half the time.
• Normal: the computer keeps the best four cards as they stand and plays for points: it takes every fifteen, pair and run it can, avoids giving you an easy fifteen or 31, and leads low cards.
• Hard: the computer keeps the hand with the highest average score over every possible starter card, and before playing a card it weighs how many points your likely reply would score.
• Crazy: the computer chooses its discard by working out the average of its hand and the crib over every possible starter, counting the crib for itself when it deals and against itself when you deal. In the play it looks ahead to the end of the play for many possible versions of your hand that fit everything it has seen, and picks the card that does best across them.

Game options

• Game to: 121 points (the standard game, twice round the board) or 61 points (a short game, once round).
• Counting: Automatic (every hand and crib is counted for you, step by step) or Muggins (you count your own).
• Skunks: On or Off.