About Cribbage
Choose two cards for the crib, then build pairs, runs and fifteens as you peg toward121. The crib belongs to the dealer, so keeping a useful hand and discarding well pull in different directions.
Play Learner or Careful, inspect each finished hand’s counted combinations and opponent decisions. Fastest win and widest winning margin have separate records.
How to play
- Goal
- Reach 121 points before your opponent.
- How it ends
- The first player to reach 121 wins immediately, including during pegging or counting.
- Record
- Your fastest win and widest winning margin are kept for each opponent; the best of each enter that opponent's public Top 10.
- Choose an opponent. Each player receives six cards; select two and Confirm crib. The dealer owns the crib, an extra hand counted later. The dealer changes each hand.
- After both discards, reveal the starter. A jack gives the dealer 2 points. The nondealer plays first. Take turns laying a card without raising the count above 31. Aces count 1, numbered cards their value, and picture cards 10.
- During pegging, 15 and 31 each score 2. Pairs score 2, triples 6 and four alike 12. A run of three or more distinct consecutive ranks at the end of the sequence scores its length, even out of order.
- Choose Go when no card fits. The other player may continue. The last card below 31 scores 1. After both players cannot continue, or after 31, reset the count to 0. Continue until all eight cards are played.
- Count the nondealer hand, dealer hand and crib, using the starter with each. Count every combination: fifteens and pairs score 2; runs score their length. A duplicate rank can make multiple runs.
- A flush means cards of one suit. Four kept cards score 4, plus 1 if the starter matches; the crib needs all five cards for 5. A kept jack matching the starter’s suit scores 1.
- Counting is automatic. Reach 121 to win immediately; later cards and counts do not score. Next hand deals again, and Hand review explains completed hands.
Controls
| Input | Action |
|---|---|
| Tap or click cards | Select two discards, then Confirm crib; play a legal card during pegging |
| Go / Count hand / Next hand | Advance the current stage |
| Arrow keys, then Enter | Select and activate a card |
| Tab / Escape / ? | Reach controls / close a panel or open Menu / open rules |
| R | Request Restart with confirmation |
Tips
- Check the dealer Giving away useful cards can help when the crib is yours and hurt when it belongs to your opponent.
- Keep track of the count A card that scores now may leave your opponent a fifteen or thirty one. Compare the cards you can still play.
Good to know
The clock keeps running in menus. Numbered matches keep separate saves and stay Practice. Music, Effects and Reduced motion are separate settings. Browser storage is needed to retain progress.
Watch how to play
Questions
Does the computer know my cards?
The opponent chooses from its own cards and public play. Finished-hand review shows its cards and the reason recorded when it chose each move.
Do I have to count the points myself?
No. Pegging and hand scoring are automatic; Hand review shows the combinations.
Can a loss set a fastest-win record?
No. Only wins enter fastest-win and widest-win records.
