Cribbage

Cribbage, card game played with a regular 52-card deck, by two, three, or four players, two being the usual number. Cribbage, believed to have been invented by the 17th-century English poet Sir John Suckling, remains one of the most popular card games.

The object of the game is to score a certain number of points, usually 121. Because of the frequency with which points are accumulated, it is necessary to keep a running tally. Thus, a special feature of the game is a recording device known as a cribbage board, usually a wooden oblong with rows of holes into which pegs (two for each player) are inserted to record the points. First around the board for 61 points, or twice around for a total of 121, wins the game.

In two-handed cribbage, each player is dealt six cards, two of which are set aside to form the crib; this extra hand (of four cards) is eventually added to the dealer's score. The nondealer cuts the rest of the deck and turns up the top card of the lower half, placing it on top of the deck. This card is known as the starter; during the tallying phase, it counts as a card in both players' hands. If it is a jack, the dealer scores (pegs) 2 points. Play begins with the nondealer laying down a card and calling out its value; face cards count for 10, aces for 1, and the other cards for their indicated values. The dealer then plays a card and adds its value to the nondealer's card. The game thus proceeds, alternately, with values being added cumulatively until one of the players plays a card that brings the score to 31; that player then pegs two points. A player who cannot put down a card without going over 31 points calls out “go”; the other player continues until 31 is reached, or “go.” After that, play resumes as before. A player who lays down the last card before 31 is reached gets 1 point; a player who adds a card to make the score exactly 31 gets 2 points. In addition, during the pegging phase, players peg points based upon certain card combinations. If two consecutive cards add up to 15, the player placing the second card earns 2 points. A player earns 2 points for completing a pair (two cards of the same rank), 6 points for a pair royal (three of a kind), and 12 points for a double pair royal (four of a kind). For successive runs of three or more, points are scored equivalent to the number of cards in the run.

After the players have, in alternation, played their four cards, they tally them, counting in the starter. The dealer's opponent counts first, and after both hands have been tallied, the dealer counts the cribs as well. Scoring combinations during the tallying stage are basically the same as during the pegging stage. Additional scoring sources include the flush, in which four cards of the same suit are worth 1 point each. Also, a player with a jack in the same suit as the starter card earns 1 point. This jack is called a “Nob.”