1: Two players cut the deck. The lower card deals first, and the deal changes hands each time.Aces are low. You need one 52-card deck, and a board or paper for the score.
2: Deal six cards each. Both players lay two face down: those four cards are the crib.The crib scores for the dealer at the end of the hand.
3: The non-dealer cuts the rest of the deck, and the dealer turns up the starter card.If it is a jack, the dealer pegs 2 at once: two for his heels.
4: The play: non-dealer first, take turns laying one card face up and saying the count.An ace counts 1, picture cards 10, other cards their number. Keep your cards in front of you.
5: The count may not pass 31. If you cannot play, say "Go" and the other player plays on.They lay every card that fits.
6: Peg as you play: 2 for making 15 or 31, 2 for a pair, a point a card for a run.And 1 for the last card when nobody reaches 31.
7: At 31, or when nobody can play, start a new count at zero. Go on until every card is laid.A player with cards left keeps laying them after the other runs out.
8: The show: count the non-dealer's hand, then the dealer's hand, then the crib.The starter counts as a fifth card in each of the three.
9: The first player to reach 121 wins, at any moment, even in the middle of a hand.You do not have to land on 121 exactly.
1: Two players cut the deck. The lower card deals first, and the deal changes hands each time.Aces are low. You need one 52-card deck, and a board or paper for the score.
2: Deal six cards each. Both players lay two face down: those four cards are the crib.The crib scores for the dealer at the end of the hand.
3: The non-dealer cuts the rest of the deck, and the dealer turns up the starter card.If it is a jack, the dealer pegs 2 at once: two for his heels.
4: The play: non-dealer first, take turns laying one card face up and saying the count.An ace counts 1, picture cards 10, other cards their number. Keep your cards in front of you.
5: The count may not pass 31. If you cannot play, say "Go" and the other player plays on.They lay every card that fits.
6: Peg as you play: 2 for making 15 or 31, 2 for a pair, a point a card for a run.And 1 for the last card when nobody reaches 31.
7: At 31, or when nobody can play, start a new count at zero. Go on until every card is laid.A player with cards left keeps laying them after the other runs out.
8: The show: count the non-dealer's hand, then the dealer's hand, then the crib.The starter counts as a fifth card in each of the three.
9: The first player to reach 121 wins, at any moment, even in the middle of a hand.You do not have to land on 121 exactly.
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How to play the cards: pegging to 31 9
1: Fifteen: lay the card that brings the count to exactly 15 and peg 2.Say "fifteen for two."
2: Pair: lay a card that matches the rank of the card before it and peg 2.A 10 and a queen both count 10, but they are not a pair.
3: A third same-rank card in a row pegs 6. A fourth pegs 12.No other card may come between them.
4: Run: lay the card that completes a run of three or more and peg a point a card.Order does not matter: 4, then 2, then 3 is a run of three. Suits do not matter either.
5: A run with a rank missing is no run, until a card fills the gap.After 6, 2, 5, 3 there is no run. A 4 then pegs 5 for the run from 2 to 6 (ours).
6: Thirty-one: lay the card that brings the count to exactly 31 and peg 2.Then the count starts again from zero.
7: Go: if no card of yours fits within 31, say "Go." The other player keeps laying cards.They peg for anything they make on the way.
8: Last card: when nobody can play and the count is under 31, the last to lay a card pegs 1.It is 2 for thirty-one or 1 for last, never both.
9: The player who did not lay the last card starts the new count. Nothing carries over.A pair or a run cannot reach back into the count before.
The show: counting a hand 9
1: Count your four cards and the starter together, as five cards.The non-dealer counts first. The dealer counts a hand and then the crib.
2: Fifteens: every different group of cards that adds up to 15 scores 2.A king and a 5 are a fifteen. So are a 7, a 6 and a 2.
3: Pairs: every pair scores 2. Three of a rank score 6 and four score 12.Three of a rank hold three different pairs, and four hold six.
4: Runs: three or more ranks in a row score a point a card, whatever the suits.A run of four scores 4. Do not count the runs of three inside it.
5: Flush: four hand cards of one suit score 4, and 5 if the starter matches too.The crib scores a flush only when all five cards match.
6: His nobs: a jack in your hand that matches the starter's suit scores 1.A jack turned up as the starter is his heels, pegged by the dealer before the play.
7: One card can count in several scores at once.In 7, 8, 8 each 8 makes a fifteen with the 7, and the two 8s are a pair: 6 points.
8: Worked hand (ours): 3, 4, 5, jack with a 5 as the starter scores 12.Jack and 5 twice: fifteen four. The pair of 5s makes six. Two runs of 3, 4, 5 make twelve.
9: The best hand scores 29: 5, 5, 5, jack, with the last 5 as the starter in the jack's suit.No hand can score 19, 25, 26 or 27.
Three or four players, and table rules 9
1: Three players: deal five cards each and one to the crib. Everyone lays one in the crib.Each plays for their own score.
2: Three players: the player on the dealer's left cuts for the starter and lays the first card.Turns pass to the left.
3: Four players: partners sit opposite. Deal five cards each. Everyone gives one to the crib.Partners share one score.
4: Three or four: when the others have said "Go," the last player lays every card that fits.The player on the left then starts the new count.
5: Three or four: the show starts left of the dealer and finishes with the dealer and the crib.Scoring works as it does for two.
6: You must lay a card whenever one fits within 31."Go" is only for a player who has none that fits.
7: Muggins, a table rule: miss points in your count and the other player may claim them.Agree on it before the first deal, or play without it.
8: Skunk, a table rule: win before the loser reaches 91 and the game counts as two.It matters only in a match of several games.
9: Short game: play to 61 in place of 121.Say which before the first deal.
How this list was compiled: Written for this site on 2026-10-09, in our own words. The sheets give six-card cribbage, the standard form of the game. Every row was checked on 2026-10-09 against English Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, Cribbage: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cribbage, and Rules of cribbage: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rules_of_cribbage, and against the card game rules site Pagat: https://www.pagat.com/adders/crib6.html. All three give the same game: the cut for deal, six cards each and two to the crib, the starter card and two for his heels, the play to 31 with 2 for fifteen, 2 for a pair, 6 and 12 for three and four of a rank, a point a card for a run, 2 for thirty-one and 1 for the last card, the show counted with the starter, the flush of four or five, one for his nobs, and a game to 121. Five cards each for three or four players, with one card dealt to the crib when three play, are in both sources. The duty to play a card when one fits, the highest hand of 29, the scores no hand can make, the skunk at 91 and the short game to 61 are as Wikipedia gives them; muggins is in both as an optional rule. Pagat describes the game as played for a stake in places; these sheets score points only, and the skunk is given as counting two games. The rows marked ours are this site's own examples, and each was counted against the rules above. Licence: own work
How it works
Cribbage is a card game for two players, with versions for three and four. Every hand is scored twice: once while the cards are played, counting up to 31, and again when the hands and the dealer's crib are shown.
Read the full guide
How to play the cards in a cribbage game
Players take turns laying one card and saying the running count. Lay an 8 on a 7 and you say "fifteen for two" and peg 2 points. A pair, a run and exactly 31 peg points too, and the count never passes 31.
Counting a hand in the show
After the play, each player counts four cards with the starter as a fifth: fifteens, pairs, runs, a flush, and the jack called his nobs. The show: counting a hand works one hand through, card by card. The dealer counts the crib as a second hand.
Lead a 4 or lower and the other player cannot make fifteen with the next card.
Questions and answers
How do you play the game cribbage?
Deal six cards each. Both players put two in the crib, which scores for the dealer. Cut a starter card. Take turns playing cards up to 31, pegging as you go, then count each hand and the crib. First to 121 wins.
How is the game cribbage played with three or four people?
Deal five cards each. With three players, one card goes straight to the crib and everyone adds one. With four, partners sit opposite and all four give one card. The count of the hands starts on the dealer's left.
What are his heels and his nobs in cribbage?
Both are jacks. A jack turned up as the starter is his heels, and the dealer pegs 2 at once. A jack in your hand that matches the starter's suit is his nobs, worth 1 when the hand is counted.
What is the highest hand in cribbage?
29 points: three 5s and a jack in your hand, with the fourth 5 turned up as the starter in the jack's suit.