Playcard games

Play Cribbage online

Cribbage in the browser, for nothing: open a table, send the code to whoever is playing, and let a bot take any chair nobody fills.

  • 2 players
  • Bots for empty seats
  • Free
  • Nothing to download
Open a table

How Cribbage is played here

The rules this table deals by. Everybody at the table sees the same lines before the first hand.

  • Six cards each, and both players throw two into the crib — a fifth hand that belongs to the dealer and is counted at the end. Choosing what to give away is the real decision of the deal.
  • Lay cards in turn, calling the running total, which may not pass 31. Fifteen is 2, thirty-one is 2, a pair is 2 and a third of a rank 6, a run of three or more is 1 a card, and the last card nobody can follow is 1.
  • Then count the same cards again with the starter: every combination making fifteen is 2, every pair is 2, every run is 1 a card, four of a suit is 4, and the jack of the starter's suit is 1.
  • The non-dealer counts first, which matters at the end of a game: a hand counted out at 121 wins before the dealer counts a better one.

How it works

  1. Open a table. It gets a short code of its own.
  2. Read the code out, or send the link. Anyone you send it to sits down as a guest, without an account.
  3. Deal once everyone is seated — or give each empty chair a bot and start now.

How multiplayer Cribbage works

Playing Cribbage online with other people, step by step: the code, the seats, the table rules, and what happens when somebody drops out.

A game for two

Cribbage here is the two-handed game. One of you opens the table, which needs a free account, and sends the six-character code or the link from "Copy link". From a phone, "Challenge a friend" sends the same invitation straight into Messenger, Instagram or any other app you already talk in. The other chooses a name and sits down as a guest, with nothing to install.

The host chooses the length of the game: 121 points, twice round the board, or 61 for a shorter one. The game starts when both of you are seated.

The board keeps itself

Every point is counted by the site, for both players: fifteens, pairs, runs and go in the play, and the full show afterwards. Nobody has to peg, nobody can miscount, and there is no arguing over a missed fifteen. The table shows each player's score and what they pegged this hand.

Each of you sees only your own six cards when they are dealt. The crib stays hidden until it is counted at the end of the hand, when it goes to the dealer.

How a hand goes

Both players throw two cards to the crib at the same time, and the table tells you whether you are throwing into your own crib or your opponent's. Then the starter is cut, and the play goes back and forth with the running count on the table; when you cannot lay a card without passing 31, you say go.

After the play, the hands are counted: the non-dealer first, then the dealer, then the crib. That order matters at the end of a game, because whoever reaches the target first wins on the spot.

Between hands

The counts stay on the table so you can both read them, and the next hand is dealt when both of you have pressed "Ready for the next hand". The deal alternates between you.

There is no chat at the table, so if you like to call your fifteens out loud, play on a call.

If one of you drops out

If a page closes or a connection drops, the seat is held for twenty-five seconds. After that the site plays the missing hand until its player returns, and opening the table again gives the seat back. Pressing Leave mid-game hands the seat to a bot for good.

A table nobody plays at for six hours is cleared away.

Questions about playing Cribbage online

How many can play Cribbage online here?
2 at one table. A bot can take any seat nobody fills, so a game never has to wait for somebody to turn up.
Can I play Cribbage against the computer?
Yes. Give any empty seat a bot and it plays like anyone else at the table, seeing only its own cards.
Does it cost anything?
No. Every table here is free, there are no ads, and nothing about you is sold or handed on.
Do I need an account?
Only to open a table. Joining one never needs an account — anyone you send the code to sits down as a guest.
Does Cribbage work on a phone?
Yes. It runs in the browser on a phone, a tablet or a computer, and there is nothing to install.