Cribbage rules

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.

What you need

A 52-card deck and a cribbage board, or a pen and paper. Aces are low, court cards count 10.

The deal

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 starter

The non-dealer cuts and the dealer turns up one card, the starter. If it is a jack, the dealer scores 2 immediately.

The play

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.

The show

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.

Cribbage: an example game

One game of Cribbage followed from the deal to the finish, move by move, with the reason for each choice.

The deal and the crib

Ada deals six cards each, so the crib is hers this hand. Your cards: 5♥ 5♣ 6♦ 7♠ J♣ K♦. Each of you throws two cards into the crib, and you would rather give Ada nothing she can use.

Fives are the best cards to put in a crib, so you keep both. You throw J♣ and K♦ and keep 5♥ 5♣ 6♦ 7♠: a pair and two runs of three already. Ada keeps 8♥ 9♥ 10♠ Q♠ and throws 4♣ and A♦ into her own crib.

The starter

The top card of the pack is turned up as the starter: 4♦. It belongs to every hand when they are counted. Had it been a jack, Ada, as dealer, would have pegged 2 for his heels at once.

With the starter, your hand is 4-5-5-6-7, and it has just become a very good one.

The play

You lead, as the non-dealer. You lay 7♠, count 7 — not a five, which would invite a ten for fifteen. Ada lays 8♥ for 15 and pegs 2. You lay 6♦ for 21: the last three cards are 7, 8, 6, a run of three, so you peg 3. Ada lays 9♥ for 30, making a run of four with 6-7-8-9, and pegs 4.

Your fives would take the count past 31, so you say go. Ada cannot play either, so she pegs 1 for the last card. The count starts again from nothing, and you lead 5♥. Ada lays 10♠ for 15 and pegs 2. You lay 5♣ for 20, Ada lays Q♠ for 30, and as the last card of the play it earns her 1 more.

The show

The non-dealer counts first. Your hand with the starter is 4♦ 5♥ 5♣ 6♦ 7♠. Fifteens: 4-5-6 twice, once with each five, for 4. The pair of fives, 2. And 4-5-6-7 is a run of four that can be made with either five — a double run — for 8. That is 14.

Ada's hand is 8♥ 9♥ 10♠ Q♠ with the starter 4♦. There are no fifteens; 8-9-10 is a run of three, for 3.

The crib

The crib is J♣ K♦ 4♣ A♦, with the starter 4♦. A ten-card, a four and the ace make fifteen, and there are four ways to do it — either the jack or the king, with either four — for 8. The pair of fours is 2 more. Nothing else scores, and J♣ is not the jack of the starter's suit, so there is no nob. The crib is worth 10 to Ada.

Your two ten-cards made most of those points. They looked harmless on their own, but tens and fours with an ace add up.

The score after one hand

You pegged 3 in the play and counted 14: 17 points. Ada pegged 10, counted 3 in her hand and 10 in her crib: 23. She is ahead because the play and the crib were both hers.

Next hand you deal and the crib is yours. The first to 121 wins, and a game can end in the middle of the count.