How to Play Cribbage
Objective
A 2-player card game where you score points through card combinations.
The first player to reach 121 points wins.
Setup
- Standard 52-card deck. Card values: Ace = 1, 2–10 = face value, J/Q/K = 10.
- Each player is dealt 6 cards and discards 2 to form the crib (a bonus hand for the dealer).
- A starter card is cut from the deck. If it's a Jack, the dealer scores 2 points ("His Heels").
Pegging Phase
Players alternate playing cards, building a running count toward 31:
- 15: Count reaches exactly 15 → 2 points
- 31: Count reaches exactly 31 → 2 points
- Pair: Same rank as previous card → 2 points (three-of-a-kind = 6, four-of-a-kind = 12)
- Run: 3+ cards in consecutive rank order → points equal to run length
- Go: Cannot play without exceeding 31 → opponent scores 1 point
- Last Card: Playing the final card (if not 31) → 1 point
When neither player can play, the count resets to 0 and play continues until all cards are played.
Show Phase (Hand Scoring)
After pegging, each player scores their 4-card hand + the starter card:
- Fifteens: Each combination totaling 15 → 2 points
- Pairs: Each pair of matching rank → 2 points
- Runs: 3+ consecutive ranks → points equal to length (with multipliers for duplicate ranks)
- Flush: All 4 hand cards same suit → 4 points (5 if starter matches)
- Nobs: Jack in hand matching starter's suit → 1 point
The non-dealer (pone) scores first, then the dealer scores hand + crib.
Winning
A player can win at any point during pegging or scoring.
The first to reach 121 points wins immediately.