Summary
What’s Cribbage, you ask? Oh, just one of those awesome card games that has been around forever (or to be more precise, the 60s). It all goes back to a quaint little town in England, and now, it’s pretty much growing towards becoming a global phenomenon. Some of the more unique selling points behind this game is how you keep score, the skill required for it, etc.
So what exactly do you need to get started? Nothing much; a standard deck of cards, a cribbage board, and a couple of friends (this one was a little hard to procure for us). Anyway, you really only need two to four people to play this game, so if you have everything you need, here’s how you may get started.
How To Set Up A Game Of Cribbage
First things first, you’re gonna pull out your deck and start removing all the Jokers (this is important). Then, you’ll want to pick a dealer from your group, who will hand out six cards to each player. Once everyone gets their cards, the players pick two cards each and then place them in a separate pile, also known as the crib.
Fun fact, this little bundle of joy is extra important cause it’s going to give youadditional scoring opportunitieslater on.
Moving on, at the end of each round, the dealer gets to use the cards in the crib to create different scoring combos, which is why you should carefully consider which cards you put in the crib. Remember, this is make or break season.
Once each player has contributed two cards to the crib, the remaining four cards in their hands are used to begin the actual gameplay. A non-dealer player cuts the remaining deck, and the dealer turns over the top card, known as the “starter.” If the starter is a Jack, the dealer immediately scores two points, referred to as “His Heels.”
With the setup complete and the starter revealed, players are now ready to begin the first round of cribbage. The game will continue with players taking turns laying down cards, aiming to form various scoring combinations until a player reaches the target score, typically 121 points, on the cribbage board.
How To Play Cribbage
Gameplay in Cribbage is divided into two phases - the “play phase” and the “scoring phase”.
During the play phase, a player, who is not the dealer, places a card face-up. Each player lays down cards and forms a “pile”, until the total value of the cards reaches 31 or cannot be increased without going over 31. Once they are done with their turn, they say “Go” and the next player does the same. Once everyone has had a turn, we move onto the scoring phase.
After the play phase, players score points for the combinations they have in their hands. The dealers score their hand last, and then the cards in the crib are scored. The points are tallied on the Cribbage board. Another dealer is chosen, and a new round starts.
How Does Scoring Work In Cribbage?
15s -If you may throw down a combo of cards that add up to 15, you’ve scored yourself a sweet 2 points. So, if you play a 5 and a 10 together, boom - that’s 2 points in the bag!
Pairs -Anytime you play a pair of cards with the same rank, like two 7s or two Kings, you’re looking at another 2 points.
Runs -When you play cards in order, like 3, 4, and 5, you’re putting together a run. The longer the run is, the more points you score. Each card in the run gets you 1 point, so a 3-card streak means 3 points coming your way.
Flush -If all the cards played in a round are the same suit (except for the crib), you’ve got yourself a flush. That’s worth 4 points. Just remember, the crib doesn’t count for this one.
Last card -Whoever wins the last point of the round gets to go home with a cool 2-pointer.
That’s really all there is to it. You just keep racking up those points as you move on and try to be the first one to hit 121 on the board. Et voilà,Cribbage.
FAQ
What is a skunk (in cribbage)?
A skunk is when a player wins by a margin of 31 points or more over their opponent(s). This often leads to a penalty or bonus points for the winning player.
Are there any penalties in cribbage?
Oh yeah, one common penalty is “muggins,” where if a player fails to count their score correctly, the opponent can call “muggins” and claim those points for themselves. However, this rule is optional and must be agreed upon by all the players before the game starts.
