Cribbage
Fifteen two, fifteen four.
A deck of cards, a board full of holes, and the most satisfying counting in all of card games. Cribbage is four hundred years old and still the game people play for a lifetime. Here is everything you need to know before you sit down.
- Free practice
- No sign-up
- Play in your browser
Join a Game Room
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- Players
- 2
- You need
- A deck and a board
- Style
- Counting and nerve
- Goal
- 121 points
What is Cribbage?
Count it out. Peg it up.
Each player gets six cards and throws two to the crib, a bonus hand that belongs to the dealer. Then you take turns laying cards and calling out the running total, scoring as you go for 15s, 31s, pairs and runs.
When the cards are down, you count your hand with the starter card: fifteens, pairs, runs, flushes, and the right Jack. Points move your pegs along the board, and the first to 121 wins.
The practice table
Try itLearn it with the cards in your hand.
Play against one bot with our Classic rules: throw to the crib, play to 31, then count every hand step by step, so you can see each fifteen, pair, and run.
- The coach works out the best two cards to throw, the best card to lay, and tells you how your choices compared.
- Quick game plays to 61. Full game goes to 121.
- No account, no host, nothing saved.
Scoring chart
| Combination | Example | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Fifteen: cards adding to 15 | 5 + 10, or 7 + 8 | 2 |
| Pair | two 8s | 2 |
| Three of a kind | three 8s | 6 |
| Four of a kind | four 8s | 12 |
| Run of three or more | 4-5-6 | 1 a card |
| Flush in your hand | four of one suit | 4 (5 with the starter) |
| Flush in the crib | all five, with the starter | 5 |
| Nobs: the Jack of the starter’s suit | in your hand | 1 |
| His heels: a Jack as the starter | to the dealer | 2 |
| 31 in the play | 2 | |
| Go, or the last card laid | 1 |
A little history
Invented by a poet.
Cribbage is usually credited to Sir John Suckling, an English poet, in the early 1600s, who built it from an older game called noddy. The pegging board is what makes it unmistakable: you keep score by moving pegs along a track of holes.
It has been a favorite of sailors ever since. The US Navy’s submarine service still hands down a famous Second World War cribbage board from boat to boat.
Fun facts
- The best possible hand is worth 29: three 5s and a Jack, with the fourth 5 turned up as the starter and the Jack in its suit.
- No hand can score 19, 25, 26 or 27. A hand that scores nothing is often called “nineteen” as a joke.
- Each player has two pegs and leapfrogs the back one past the front, so the board always shows your score and where you were before your last count.
- A full game goes around the board twice to 121. Win before your opponent reaches 91 and it is called a skunk.
Why people love it
Every hand is a little puzzle.
Two decisions every hand.
Which two to throw, and which card to lay. Both matter, every time.
Counting out loud.
“Fifteen two, fifteen four, and a pair is six.” It never stops being fun.
Built for two.
One of the best two-player card games there is, with a board that shows the race.
The 29 hand.
The perfect hand is so rare that players remember the day they got it.
How to play
Throw. Play. Count. Peg.
Setup
- Players: two. Our practice table is you against one bot.
- Cards: a standard 52-card deck. Aces are low, and picture cards count 10.
- Deal: six cards each. The deal swaps every hand, and the dealer owns the crib.
- Board: each player moves a front peg and a back peg, so you can see the last score.
Winning
The first player to reach 121 wins, the moment they get there, even in the middle of counting. Our Quick game plays to 61.
- 1
Throw to the crib
Both players throw two cards face down to the crib. It scores for the dealer.
- 2
Cut the starter
Turn up the top card of the pack. A Jack there is 2 for the dealer: his heels.
- 3
The play
Take turns laying a card and calling the total, never past 31. Score 15s, 31s, pairs and runs as they form.
- 4
Go
Can’t play under 31? Say go. The other player keeps going, and the last card laid scores 1.
- 5
Count the hands
Non-dealer’s hand first, then the dealer’s, then the crib, each with the starter.
These are our Classic rules, and they'll be shown in every room before the game starts. Printable rules card →
Lessons
Learn it in a few minutes.
11 quick lessons, one idea each. Make the call, see why it works, and move on. Your progress is saved in this browser.
Six cards, keep four
You are dealt six cards. What happens to two of them?
Your hand
Scoring
Points everywhere.
Hands count with the starter card. The play scores as the cards go down.
| Combination | Example | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Fifteen: cards adding to 15 | 5 + 10, or 7 + 8 | 2 |
| Pair | two 8s | 2 |
| Three of a kind | three 8s | 6 |
| Four of a kind | four 8s | 12 |
| Run of three or more | 4-5-6 | 1 a card |
| Flush in your hand | four of one suit | 4 (5 with the starter) |
| Flush in the crib | all five, with the starter | 5 |
| Nobs: the Jack of the starter’s suit | in your hand | 1 |
| His heels: a Jack as the starter | to the dealer | 2 |
| 31 in the play | 2 | |
| Go, or the last card laid | 1 |
Our Classic rules: no muggins (nobody claims points you miss) and no skunks, so a game is simply won or lost.
Strategy
Play it smart. Then play it feral.
Tip 1
Throw for the crib you own.
Your crib? Throw cards that score together, like a 5 or a pair. Theirs? Throw cards far apart.
Tip 2
Keep 5s with 10-cards.
Sixteen cards are worth 10. A 5 next to them is a fifteen waiting to happen.
Tip 3
Lead low.
Lead a card under 5, so nothing can make 15. Never lead a 5.
Tip 4
Mind 5 and 21.
Leave the count on 5 or 21 and any 10-card makes 15 or 31 for the other player.
What would you do?
One decision. Every day.
A new Cribbage puzzle every day, the same for everyone. Solve it, then send it to the group chat and see who gets it right.
Want more? See today's puzzles for every game →
Your path to game night
Learn it here. Play it with friends.
Finish the lessons or win a practice game and you're ready to sit down at a real Cribbage table with your people.
The Feral Worlds community
Play-testing Cribbage? Tell us in Discord.
Found a bug, a rule that feels off, or a house rule your family swears by? Our Discord is where we collect play-test feedback, and where game nights are starting to happen.
Glossary
Talk like a regular.
- Crib
- The extra hand both players throw two cards to. It scores for the dealer.
- Starter
- The card cut and turned up after the throw. Every hand counts it.
- The play
- Laying cards in turn and calling the total, up to 31. Also called pegging.
- Go
- What you say when you can’t lay a card without passing 31.
- Fifteen
- Any cards adding up to 15. Worth 2 each.
- Run
- Three or more cards in rank order, in any suit. A point a card.
- Nobs
- The Jack of the starter’s suit, in your hand. Worth 1.
- His heels
- A Jack turned up as the starter. 2 for the dealer.
- Nineteen
- A joke name for a hand that scores nothing, since no hand can make exactly 19.
- Skunk
- Winning by 31 or more. Some groups count it double. A house rule; not used in Classic.
The Feral twist
Still under the hat.
Every game can be played Classic. In Feral mode, the host writes the house rules: muggins, skunks, game length, pace. We'll show you what Cribbage can do when it's ready.
In the Card Games pack
Cribbage is on the ballot.
Backers vote on which card games join the Card Games pack. Owning the pack means every one that joins is yours too.
$9.95, one time, to host every game in it. Playing is always free. Packs go on sale when the full game launches.
Cribbage is on the ballot
Save me a seat.
Hear when the Kickstarter opens so you can vote Cribbage into the Card Games pack, and when you can host it with friends.