How to play cribbage

Play a game against the computer

What you need

A standard 52-card deck with no jokers, and a cribbage board with two pegs for each player. (You can keep score on paper, but the board is half the fun.) Aces are low, so an ace is worth one. Every card counts its face value, and jacks, queens and kings count ten.

1. Cut for the deal

Each player cuts the deck. The player with the lower card deals first. If the cards tie, cut again. After the first hand, the deal alternates.

Dealing matters because the dealer owns the crib. Over a game the deal passes back and forth, so it evens out.

2. Deal six and throw two to the crib

The dealer shuffles and deals six cards to each player, one at a time. Each player looks at their cards and chooses two to throw face down into the crib. The crib is a third hand of four cards that belongs to the dealer and is counted at the end of the deal.

This is the main decision in cribbage. You want to keep four cards that will score well together, and you want to give your own crib good cards, or give your opponent's crib bad ones. Fives and pairs are generous gifts. Cards far apart in rank, like a king and a two, are stingy ones. The Suggest a throw button in our game works this out for any hand.

3. Cut the starter

The non-dealer cuts the remaining deck, and the dealer turns up the top card of the lower half. This is the starter (also called the cut or the turn-up). It isn't used in the play, but it counts as a fifth card in both hands and in the crib during the show.

4. The play (pegging)

Starting with the non-dealer, players take turns laying one card face up in front of themselves and saying the running total of all cards played so far. The total may never go past 31.

You score points during the play for:

The go

If you can't play a card without taking the count past 31, you say “Go.” Your opponent then keeps playing as many cards as they can without passing 31. When neither player can play, the last player to lay a card pegs one point for the go. If they made exactly 31, they score the two for 31 instead, not an extra point.

The count then starts again from zero. The player who did not play the last card leads the next round. Play continues until both players have played all four cards.

Runs during the play

A run counts when the most recent cards, in any order, form a sequence with no gaps or repeats. 3 5 4 is a run of three. If a 6 comes next it becomes a run of four. A card that breaks the sequence, like a repeated rank, stops the run: 4 5 4 is not a run. Runs only count among cards played since the count last went back to zero.

5. The show (counting hands)

After the play, each player picks their four cards back up and counts them together with the starter. The order matters, because the game can end the moment someone reaches 121:

1. The non-dealer counts their hand first.
2. The dealer counts their hand.
3. The dealer counts the crib.

A flush in the crib only counts if all five cards, including the starter, share a suit. Counting a hand quickly takes practice. The scoring guide walks through it with examples, and the hand calculator will count any hand for you.

6. Winning: 121, skunks and double skunks

The first player to reach 121 wins, and the game ends at once, even in the middle of the play or the show. That's why the non-dealer counting first can decide a close game.

If the loser hasn't reached 91 (hasn't passed the skunk line) it's a skunk, and it often counts as two games won. If they haven't reached 61 it's a double skunk. Some players count a triple skunk below 31.

Moving the pegs

Each player has two pegs. To score, move your back peg past your front one by the number of points earned. The peg left behind shows your previous score, so your opponent can check your count. A standard board has 120 holes per player plus a game hole, usually laid out in streets of 30 holes split into groups of five.

Common variations

• Muggins. If a player miscounts their hand and misses points, the opponent can call “muggins” and take the missed points. It's optional, and casual games often skip it.
• Five-card cribbage. The older form: five cards each, one to the crib, play to 61. To make up for the first crib, the non-dealer of the first deal pegs three points before play begins.
• Three players. Five cards each and one to the crib, with one card dealt straight to the crib.
• Four players. Partners sit across, five cards each, one to the crib.
• Shorter games. Some players play to 61 on a once-around board.

Playing with other people

Cribbage is at its best across a real table. The American Cribbage Congress runs ACC Grass Roots, more than 200 local clubs across North America that meet weekly, every other week or monthly for friendly round-robin tournaments. Its club directory is the place to find one near you.

Words you'll hear at a cribbage table

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