{"id":210,"date":"2026-04-20T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/example.com\/?post_type=card_game&amp;p=6"},"modified":"2026-04-20T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T12:00:00","slug":"cribbage-rules","status":"publish","type":"card_game","link":"https:\/\/playerules.com\/?card_game=cribbage-rules","title":{"rendered":"Cribbage"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Is Cribbage?<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>Cribbage is one of the most unique card games ever invented. You score points in TWO different ways: first during the &#8216;play&#8217; phase where you lay cards one at a time, and then during the &#8216;show&#8217; phase where you count combinations in your hand. Points are tracked by moving pegs along a cribbage board (a long board with 121 holes). First to 121 wins \u2014 and the moment you hit 121, the game ends, even mid-hand.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What You Need<\/h2>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>A standard 52-card deck<\/li><li>A cribbage board and 2 pegs per player (you can use paper if you don&#8217;t have a board)<\/li><li>2 players (3 or 4 can play with small rule adjustments)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Card Values for Counting<\/h2>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Aces = 1<\/li><li>Number cards = face value<\/li><li>Jack, Queen, King = 10 each<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Setup<\/h2>\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Deal 6 cards to each player.<\/li><li>Each player chooses 2 cards to place face-down in the center \u2014 this is the <strong>Crib<\/strong>, an extra hand that belongs to the dealer.<\/li><li>Cut the remaining deck. Flip the top card face-up \u2014 this is the <strong>Starter card<\/strong>, used by both players when scoring hands.<\/li><li>If the starter card is a Jack, the dealer immediately scores 2 points (&#8216;Two for his heels&#8217;).<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Phase 1: The Play (Pegging)<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>Players take turns laying cards face-up, one at a time, announcing the running total as they go.<\/p>\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Non-dealer plays first, announcing the value (e.g. &#8216;Seven&#8217;).<\/li><li>Dealer plays next, adding to the total (e.g. &#8216;Seventeen&#8217;).<\/li><li>Keep going back and forth. The total CANNOT exceed 31.<\/li><li>If you can&#8217;t play without going over 31, say &#8216;Go.&#8217; Your opponent continues playing if they can.<\/li><li>After a &#8216;Go&#8217; or when 31 is reached exactly, the last player to lay a card scores 1 point (&#8216;Go&#8217;) or 2 points (&#8217;31&#8217;). Start counting from 0 again.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Points Scored During Play<\/h3>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>15:<\/strong> If your card brings the total to exactly 15, score 2 points.<\/li><li><strong>31:<\/strong> Bring the total to exactly 31, score 2 points.<\/li><li><strong>Go:<\/strong> Opponent can&#8217;t play without going over 31, score 1 point.<\/li><li><strong>Pair:<\/strong> Play the same rank as the last card played, score 2 points.<\/li><li><strong>Three of a kind (pair royal):<\/strong> Three in a row of the same rank = 6 points.<\/li><li><strong>Four of a kind:<\/strong> Four in a row = 12 points.<\/li><li><strong>Run:<\/strong> Three or more consecutive ranks played in any order = 1 point per card (e.g. 5-6-7 in any order = 3 points).<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Phase 2: The Show (Counting Hands)<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>After all cards are played, everyone counts the combinations in their 4-card hand together with the starter card (5 cards total). Non-dealer counts first, then dealer, then dealer counts the Crib.<\/p>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Points Scored in Hand<\/h3>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Fifteen:<\/strong> Any combination of cards totaling 15 = 2 points. Count ALL possible combinations!<\/li><li><strong>Pair:<\/strong> Two cards of the same rank = 2 points.<\/li><li><strong>Run:<\/strong> Three or more consecutive ranks = 1 point per card.<\/li><li><strong>Flush:<\/strong> All four hand cards the same suit = 4 points. Add starter card same suit = 5 points.<\/li><li><strong>Nobs:<\/strong> A Jack in your hand that matches the suit of the starter card = 1 point.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n<p><strong>Example hand:<\/strong> You have 5\u2660 5\u2666 5\u2663 J\u2665 with starter 5\u2665. Every combination of three 5s + J = 15. Plus four-of-a-kind (5s) = 12 pts. Plus nobs if Jack matches. This is a legendary 29-point hand.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Winning<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>First player to reach 121 points wins \u2014 right then, mid-play if necessary. You don&#8217;t wait until the end of the round.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Strategy Tips<\/h2>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Discard 5s to your own crib<\/strong> \u2014 a 5 combines with any 10-point card to make a 15.<\/li><li><strong>Avoid giving your opponent&#8217;s crib a 5<\/strong> for the same reason.<\/li><li><strong>Keep pairs and cards that make 15s<\/strong> in your hand when choosing what goes to the crib.<\/li><li><strong>Peg aggressively<\/strong> in the play phase \u2014 don&#8217;t miss chances to score pairs and runs.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Tz0EKHA92kE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>\u25b6 Watch: How to Play Cribbage (YouTube)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Peg to 121 by scoring points during play and in your hand. Count to 15, make pairs, and build runs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"game_category":[2],"game_tag":[],"class_list":["post-210","card_game","type-card_game","status-publish","hentry","game_category-classic-games"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playerules.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/card_game\/210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playerules.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/card_game"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playerules.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/card_game"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playerules.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/card_game\/210\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playerules.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"game_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playerules.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fgame_category&post=210"},{"taxonomy":"game_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playerules.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fgame_tag&post=210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}