{"id":66,"date":"2026-04-21T00:50:02","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T00:50:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/example.com\/?post_type=card_game&#038;p=66"},"modified":"2026-04-21T00:50:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T00:50:03","slug":"cribbage-4-player-partners","status":"publish","type":"card_game","link":"https:\/\/playerules.com\/?card_game=cribbage-4-player-partners","title":{"rendered":"Cribbage (4-Player Partners)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Is 4-Player Partner Cribbage?<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>Four-Player Partner Cribbage plays exactly like two-player Cribbage with one addition: players are organized into two teams of two, and partners combine their scores to race to 121 on the cribbage board. Partners share a single peg and their points accumulate together. Everything else \u2014 the play phase, the show phase, the crib \u2014 works exactly the same. The partnership dynamic adds a cooperative element to an already deep game.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What You Need<\/h2>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>One standard deck of 52 playing cards<\/li><li>Four players in two partnerships \u2014 partners sit across from each other<\/li><li>A cribbage board \u2014 either one board that all four players share, or two boards (one per team)<\/li><li>Two pegs per team for leapfrog scoring<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Setting Up the Game<\/h2>\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Partners sit across the table \u2014 North and South are one team, East and West are the other.<\/li><li>The dealer deals FIVE cards to each player (not six as in two-player Cribbage).<\/li><li>Each player looks at their five cards and contributes ONE card to the Crib \u2014 four players each giving one card makes a standard four-card Crib.<\/li><li>The Crib belongs to the dealer&#8217;s team.<\/li><li>Cut the remaining deck. The dealer flips the top card of the bottom half as the Starter card. If the Starter is a Jack, the dealer&#8217;s team immediately scores 2 points.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Phase 1 \u2014 The Play<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>Players alternate playing one card at a time in clockwise order, announcing the running total. The rules are identical to two-player Cribbage:<\/p>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Score 2 points for hitting exactly 15<\/li><li>Score 2 points for hitting exactly 31<\/li><li>Score 1 point for a Go (opponent cannot play without exceeding 31)<\/li><li>Score 2 points for a Pair (same rank as the card just played)<\/li><li>Score 6 points for a Pair Royal (three in a row of same rank)<\/li><li>Score 1 point per card for a Run of three or more consecutive ranks played in any order<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n<p>Points scored during the play go to the TEAM of whoever scored them \u2014 partners share all points.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Phase 2 \u2014 The Show<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>After all cards are played, players count their four-card hands combined with the Starter card. Order of counting:<\/p>\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The player to the dealer&#8217;s left counts their hand first<\/li><li>Their partner counts next<\/li><li>The dealer&#8217;s partner counts<\/li><li>The dealer counts their hand last<\/li><li>The dealer&#8217;s team counts the Crib<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n<p>Points scored during the Show also go to the team of the player who scored them.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Winning<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>The first TEAM to reach 121 points wins \u2014 immediately, even mid-hand. If a team&#8217;s peg reaches 121 during the play phase, the game ends right there.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tips for New Players<\/h2>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Communicate through your card plays \u2014 leading a 5 invites your partner to play a 10-value card for a 15. Leading a low card in a suit you have several of may signal to your partner what to discard to the Crib.<\/li><li>When your team is the dealer, try to feed the Crib useful cards (5s, 10-value cards) from your hand \u2014 both you and your partner are contributing to the Crib.<\/li><li>Peg aggressively \u2014 in the play phase, missing a chance to score a pair or hit 15 can cost your team 2 points that add up quickly over the game.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/results?search_query=how+to+play+Cribbage+%284-Player+Partners%29+card+game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>\u25b6 Search How to Play on YouTube<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What Is 4-Player Partner Cribbage? Four-Player Partner Cribbage plays exactly like two-player Cribbage with one addition: players are organized into two teams of two, and\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"game_category":[2],"game_tag":[],"class_list":["post-66","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\/66","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"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playerules.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=66"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"game_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playerules.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fgame_category&post=66"},{"taxonomy":"game_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playerules.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fgame_tag&post=66"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}