How to Play Cribbage

• 1Each player is dealt 6 cards and discards 2 to the Crib -- a bonus hand that belongs to the dealer. You and the computer alternate being dealer each hand.
• 2A starter card is cut from the deck. If it is a Jack, the dealer scores 2 points (Two for his heels).
• 3Pegging: players alternate playing cards face-up, building a running count. Score points for pairs, runs, 15s, and hitting exactly 31. The count resets when neither player can play without going over 31.
• 4Scoring your hand: each player counts their 4-card hand combined with the starter card. Score 2 for each combination totaling 15, 2 for each pair, and 1 per card for runs of 3 or more.
• 5The dealer then counts the Crib as a bonus hand. A flush in the crib scores 5 if all 5 cards match.
• 6First player to reach 121 points wins. Points can be scored at any stage -- including during pegging -- so watch the board at all times.

About CribbageFix

Cribbage is one of the oldest and most mathematically rich card games ever devised. Invented by the English poet Sir John Suckling in the early 17th century, it has been played continuously for over 400 years. The Royal Navy adopted it as their official card game, and it remains one of the few card games legal to play in British pubs without a gaming license.

The pegging board -- originally used to track scores on a wooden board with pegs -- is one of the most distinctive elements of any card game. CribbageFix displays a full 121-hole board so you can watch every point accumulate in real time.

Scoring Reference

Fifteen: any combination of cards totaling exactly 15 scores 2 points. Pair: two cards of the same rank score 2. Three of a kind scores 6. Four of a kind scores 12. Run: three or more cards in sequential rank score 1 point per card. Flush: 4 cards of the same suit in hand score 4 points; 5 matching the starter scores 5. Nobs: a Jack in hand matching the starter suit scores 1 point.