The Game of Cribbage

The goal is to get to the end of the cribbage board first. You reach the end by scoring 121. This is may be one or two trips around the board, depending on the number of point holes on your board. You earn points by playing a hand of 6 cards.

The Cribbage Board

The board is how you keep score. Each player has two pegs. The forward one shows the number of points earned. As you earn points your second peg jumps over your first according to the number of points you earn. The board is one aspect of cribbage which makes it fun. Some people collect boards. At Stowe Craft Gallery we have full size game tables with cribbage around the border as well as handcrafted boards made of hardwoods.

Cribbage History

The history of Cribbage is also interesting. The credit for inventing the game goes to a notorious English poet and gambler, Sir John Suckling. He was an expert at cards, dice and bowls as well as being a womanizer. Sir John established and published the basic rules for cribbage making it a popular game. His most notorious feat began when he distributed large numbers of packs of marked cards to the aristocratic population around England. He then followed up this preparation by going around the country playing the local gentry at Cribbage. He managed to earn himself over what would be $4 million dollars in today's money. He committed suicide by poisoning himself in 1642 at the age of 32. Cribbage also has similarities to an ancient Egyptian game called Dogs and Jackals as well as the African game Awali or Mancalla. A limited supply of African crocodile Awali games may be seen in our game section

Playing Cribbage

Starting the Deal
Players cut for the deal - lowest card wins. After the first hand, players take turns to deal. The dealer shuffles, asks his opponent to cut and then deals six cards each. Both players discard two cards face down and these two cards are then called "the crib" . This crib is an extra hand for the dealer. So the dealer aims to discard cards into the crib that will give a good chance of a high scoring hand whereas the opponent aims to give away low scoring cards. Deciding which cards to keep and which to discard is a huge part of the skill and excitement of the game of cribbage.

The Cut
After the discard, the dealer asks his opponent to cut the cards again. The new topmost card is turned face upwards. If this card is a Jack, the dealer earns or "pegs" two points and says "Two for his heels".

The Play
The opponent begins by laying one of his four cards face up while clearly stating it's numerical value. All royal cards count ten, the ace counts one and other cards are worth their number value. The dealer then lays a card in front of himself and announces the total of both cards. Play continues like this with each player alternately laying a card on the pile in front of himself while verbally keeping tally of the current joint total. The total must not go above 31.

When a player cannot play without taking the total above 31, that player says "go" and, if possible, the remaining player must carry on alone until that player, too, cannot play without taking the total above 31.

When neither player can play any card without taking the total above 31, the player who laid the last card pegs 1 point. Should either player manage to take the total to exactly 31, that player pegs 2 points instead of 1. Then the cards already played are turned over and the player who did not lay the last card starts a new play.

Playing the cribbage cards continues until the cards are gone. If one player's cards are gone, the other player continues alone. You do not score a point for laying the last card unless it makes exactly 31 in which case you score 2 points. So far, the points possible are:

Cutting to a Jack 2 points
Last Card ( or if exactly 31) 1 / 2

During the play, laying down a cribbage card that does the following earns points which are immediately (gleefully) pegged on the cribbage board:

* 3 of a kind is also known as a royal pair, 4 of a kind is a double royal pair
** The cards do not have to be of the same suit nor do they have to have been laid in sequential order. Aces count low so Queen, King, Ace is not a run. For example, if the cards were played in this order: Jack, 9, 7, 8, 10 The fourth card would score 3 points, (Run of 7,8,9- Say "3 for a run of 3") and the fifth card would score five points. (run of 7, 8, 9, 10, jack- Say "5 for a run of 5")

The Show

Each player gathers up their 4 cards and counts the score of the cards in their hand plus the turned up card on the deck. The non-dealer shows first. In a close game, going first is important because it can often make the difference between winning and losing.

Fifteen - All combinations of cards that add up to fifteen count 2 points. (say "15 once, 15 twice" etc.)
A pair, a pair royal or a double pair royal - count 2, 6 or 12 respectively.
A run - A point for each card in a run.
A flush - Four or five cards of the same suit. A point is scored for each card. A 4 point flush can only be scored using cards from the hand. The turned up card can ONLY be used in a five card flush. Note that flushes do not count in the play.
One for his nob - a jack of the same suit as the turned up card. This is always scored last so that the score is tallied by finishing with the satisfying phrase "and one for his nob".

The highest possible score in the show is 29 points - 3 fives and a Jack in the hand with the turned up card another five of the same suit as the held Jack.

Cribbage Points in "The Show"

for each combination adding up to 15, 1 point per combination:
2 - 3 - 4 of a kind earns 2 - 6 - 12 points

Run of 3 or more earns 1 per card in the run

Flush: earns 4 points for a 4 card flush - 5 points for a 5 card flush
His Nob- Jack of same suit earns 1 point

The non- dealer continues taking their turn as shuffler and dealer. Play until one person pegs to hole number 121. If one player gets to 121 before the other has gotten to the halfway point- the winner says "You've been skunked"

For a printable version of these Cribbage Instructions click here

To see solid wood handcrafted cribbage boards visit Stowe Craft Handcrafted Cribbage Boards