How to Play
Our cribbage nights are designed to be played by people (of any age!) who know how to play cribbage; they are not a good way to learn how to play cribbage. You definitely don't have to be a pro but you should know all the basic rules and how to count your hand without assistance.
We thought we'd put some resources on this page for those who are interested in learning the game so they can join the fun in the future; we hope you do and we'll see ya over the board before you know it!
YouTube video showing the basics
Not into YouTube videos?
Here's a good text explanation of cribbage: https://www.pagat.com/adders/crib6.html
What's our favorit cribbage app for smartphones, PCs, & Macs?
Cribbage Pro
We've played cribbage on a lot of apps and we've settled on Cribbage Pro for our online tournaments. It's fine for beginners with features like automatic counting but really shines for players who want to go to the next level with "Manual Counting" and "Muggins" enabled. You can play against the computer, strangers online, or friends you add through the app. Best of all it's free for the ad-supported version.
If you can successfully play a dozen games on this app with manual counting enabled, then you're ready to join our tournaments!
Don't Want to download an app just to check out cribbage? Try this free web-based version.
Variations We don't play at our tournaments
Five Card Cribbage
This is a simpler game that is none-the-less preferred by many veterans. It is probably a better bet for children and beginners. It is the original form of Cribbage which has been superceded by the six-card game. The differences are:
Play is normally once round the board - first to 61 points.
At five card cribbage, there is a significant advantage to being first dealer. To offset this, the non-dealer pegs 3 points before the game begins. This is called "three for last".
Five cards are dealt to each person at the start. Two cards are discarded into the crib which leaves each player with only three cards for the play and the show.
In five card cribbage the play ends immediately that one of the players scores for 31 or "go". In six card cribbage, a new play starts once go or 31 is reached.
In the Show, a 3 card flush can be scored but only if all three cards are from the hand. A four card flush can be scored if the turned up card is also of the same suit.
Captains Cribbage
Three handed cribbage scored with only 2 sets of pegs (so can be played on regular 2-track board).
Cut for low card to start, this determines both the deal and who is the captain that will play against the other 2 players, who play as a team (the mutineers?).
Each player is dealt 5 cards with one coming off the deck to seed the crib. Each player discards 1 card to the crib.
The captain only has to get 61 points to win, while the team needs to reach 121.
The captain rotates clockwise and a set of games concludes when everyone has played once as the captain. You can use a peice of scratch paper to record scores to determine who was the best captain!