Count fifteens and pairs along a board, and the dealer keeps the crib.
Four hundred years old and still one of the best two-player games ever made. You score by making fifteens, pairs and runs — first while playing the cards, then again by counting the same cards a second time.
A 52-card deck and a cribbage board, or a pen and paper. Aces are low, court cards count 10.
Six cards each. Both players then discard two cards face down into the crib — a fifth hand that belongs to the dealer and is counted at the end. You keep four.
The non-dealer cuts and the dealer turns up one card, the starter. If it is a jack, the dealer scores 2 immediately.
Starting with the non-dealer, players alternately lay a card face up in front of themselves, calling the running total aloud. The total may not exceed 31.
Score as you go:
Making the total exactly 15: 2 points. Playing a card of the same rank as the last: 2 for a pair, 6 for a third, 12 for a fourth. Completing a run of three or more, in any order: 1 per card. Making the total exactly 31: 2 points. Playing the last card before anyone must say go: 1 point.
A player who cannot play without exceeding 31 says go, and the other continues alone. When 31 is reached or nobody can play, the count resets to zero.
Now count the hands, non-dealer first, then dealer, then the crib. Each hand is its four cards plus the starter:
Every combination totalling 15: 2 points each. Every pair: 2 points. Every run of three or more: 1 per card. Four cards of one suit: 4, or 5 if the starter matches. The jack of the starter's suit: 1.
Game is 121 points, twice round the board.