How to play
Cribbage is a race to 121 points. Here is one hand, in the order it happens, then every score in one table. You play Mabel, the computer opponent.
The cut for first crib
At the start of a game you and Mabel each cut a card. The lower card deals first; an ace is low. If the cards tie, cut again. After that the deal goes back and forth, one hand each.
The deal
The dealer gives six cards each, one at a time, the other player first.
The discard to the crib
Each of you puts two cards face down in the crib. The crib is a third hand. It belongs to the dealer and is counted last. When you deal, throw cards that help your crib; when Mabel deals, throw cards that help her least.
The starter and his heels
The deck is cut and the top card is turned over. This is the starter, the cut card. It counts as a fifth card in both hands and in the crib at the show. If the starter is a jack, the dealer pegs 2 for his heels.
Pegging
The player who did not deal lays the first card, face up, and says its value. Then you take turns, each adding a card and saying the new count. Face cards count 10, an ace counts 1. The count may never go past 31. You peg points as you play:
- Fifteen. Make the count exactly 15 and peg 2.
- Thirty-one. Make the count exactly 31 and peg 2.
- Pairs. Play the same rank as the card just played and peg 2 for a pair. A third of that rank in a row is a pair royal, 6; a fourth is a double pair royal, 12.
- Runs. If the last three or more cards played make a run, in any order, peg 1 for each card in it. A 4, then a 6, then a 5 is a run of three.
- Go. If you cannot play without going past 31, say go. The other player keeps playing while they can. Whoever lays the last card under 31 pegs 1 for the go. Then the count starts again at zero.
- Last card. Whoever plays the very last card of pegging pegs 1, unless that card made 31.
The show for the player who did not deal
When all eight cards are played, each player picks up their four cards and counts them with the starter. The player who did not deal counts first. That matters near the end: the first to reach 121 wins, even if the other hand would have scored more.
In the show you count every fifteen (any cards that add to 15, 2 each), every pair, every run, a flush and nobs. Nobs is the jack of the same suit as the starter, held in your hand: 1.
The dealer and the crib
Then the dealer counts their hand with the starter, and last of all the crib, also with the starter. A flush in the crib counts only when all four crib cards and the starter are one suit.
The pegboard and 121
Every point is pegged on the board as it is scored. The first player to peg past 120 to 121 wins at once, in the middle of pegging or the show. If the loser has not passed 90, that is a skunk; under 61 is a double skunk.
Scoring
| Score | When | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Fifteen | Cards that add to 15 | 2 |
| Pair | Two of a rank | 2 |
| Pair royal | Three of a rank | 6 |
| Double pair royal | Four of a rank | 12 |
| Run of 3 | Three in sequence | 3 |
| Run of 4 | Four in sequence | 4 |
| Run of 5 | Five in sequence | 5 |
| Flush of 4 | Your four cards in one suit (not in the crib) | 4 |
| Flush of 5 | Four cards and the starter in one suit | 5 |
| Nobs | The jack of the starter's suit, in a hand or the crib | 1 |
| His heels | The starter is a jack, to the dealer | 2 |
| Thirty-one | Pegging the count to exactly 31 | 2 |
| Go | The last card under 31 | 1 |
| Last card | The last card of pegging | 1 |
Help while you play
Press Hint and the game marks the cards a strong player would choose, for the discard or for your next card in pegging. If you throw two cards to the crib that are worth well under the best choice, the game asks first; you can choose again or play anyway. And if you like to count your own hand, turn on "Count my own hand": at the show you enter your count, a wrong count gets one more try, and then the right count is shown and pegged.