Two-player cribbage is played with a standard 52-card deck. Each hand you discard two cards to a shared crib, cut a starter, take turns laying cards up to a count of 31 (pegging), and then count your hand. Every score moves a peg along the board, and the first player to reach 121 wins.
More: full rules · scoring guide · strategy · hand counter · how to play
What you need
A standard deck (aces low, kings high), a cribbage board with two pegs for each player, and one opponent. Card values for counting are simple: an ace is 1, the two through ten are worth their number, and jacks, queens and kings are all worth 10. For runs, the cards keep their rank order: ace, 2 ... 10, jack, queen, king. A run cannot wrap past the king, so Q-K-A is nothing.
Setup and the deal
Cut for the first deal; after that the deal alternates every hand. The dealer shuffles and gives each player six cards, one at a time. Players look at their cards and decide which two to discard.
The crib
Each player puts two cards face down on the table. Those four cards form the crib, an extra hand that belongs to the dealer. It is not counted until the end of the hand.
The cut and his heels
The non-dealer cuts the remaining deck, and the dealer turns up the top card of the lower portion. This is the starter, and it stays face up all hand. If it is a jack, the dealer immediately pegs 2 points for his heels.
The play (pegging)
The non-dealer lays down a card and says its value. The dealer lays a card and announces the running total, and so on, one card at a time, in a single shared pile. The total may never go above 31. A player who cannot play without exceeding 31 says Go, and the other player keeps playing until they cannot play either.
| Pegging score | Points | When |
|---|---|---|
| Fifteen | 2 | Your card makes the count exactly 15 |
| Thirty-one | 2 | Your card makes the count exactly 31 |
| Pair | 2 | Same rank as the card just played |
| Pair royal | 6 | Three of the same rank in a row |
| Double pair royal | 12 | Four of the same rank in a row |
| Run of 3 or more | 1 per card | The latest cards form a run, in any order |
| Go / last card | 1 | You play the last card before the count resets (unless you reached 31) |
When neither player can add another card, the player who played last pegs one point for go (or two if the count is exactly 31), and the count starts again from zero. The player who did not play last leads. Pegging continues until all eight cards have been played.
Counting the hands
Everyone picks up their four cards. Hands are counted with the starter as a fifth card, in this order: the non-dealer's hand, the dealer's hand, then the dealer's crib. The order matters because the first player past 121 wins, so counting first can win a close finish.
| Combination | Points |
|---|---|
| Each set of cards adding to 15 | 2 |
| Each pair | 2 |
| Run of 3, 4 or 5 cards | 1 per card |
| Flush: all 4 hand cards the same suit | 4 (5 if the starter matches) |
| Flush in the crib | 5, and only if all 5 cards match |
| His nobs: jack in hand matching the starter's suit | 1 |
There is more detail, including every common hand, on the scoring page.
Winning the game
The first player to reach 121 wins at once, even in the middle of pegging or counting. Remaining points in the hand are not counted. If the loser has fewer than 91 points, it is a skunk, and if fewer than 61, a double skunk. Many house rules pay a bonus for skunks. We simply note them in the result.
Muggins is an optional rule where an opponent can claim points you missed while counting. We do not use it, and the computer counts every hand for you.
A worked hand
Step through one complete hand below, from the deal to the final crib count.
You 0 · Computer 0
Step 1 of 9
Deal six cards each
In this example the computer is the dealer, so you are the pone (the non-dealer) and the crib will be the computer's. Each player gets six cards. You hold the 4, 5, 6 and 9 along with a king and a deuce.
Common mistakes
- Counting a run of three inside a run of four. Only the longest run counts, unless duplicates make separate runs.
- Forgetting that pairs in pegging must be consecutive. Seven, three, seven is not a pair.
- Scoring four-card flushes in the crib. A crib flush needs all five cards.
- Thinking nobs involves the starter card being a jack. That is his heels, and it belongs to the dealer.
- Moving a peg before the last card has been played when you could still be blocked by the 31 limit.
For a gentler introduction, read how to play cribbage for beginners.
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Play Cribbage nowFrequently asked questions
How many points do you need to win cribbage?
121 in the standard game played on a three-lane board. Some players use a shorter 61-point game on a single lap. The first person to reach the target wins immediately, even if they are halfway through counting.
Who deals first?
Traditionally each player cuts the deck and the lower card deals first. After that the deal alternates every hand. In our game the first dealer is chosen at random.
What is the crib and who owns it?
The crib is a fourth hand built from two cards that each player discards. It always belongs to the dealer and is counted last.
Can the count go over 31 during the play?
No. If you cannot play a card without going over 31, you say Go. When neither player can play, the last one to lay a card pegs one point and the count starts over at zero.
Does the starter card score anything?
It is used in every hand and in the crib, as if it were a fifth card. If the starter is a jack, the dealer pegs two points at once, known as his heels.
What happens when a player reaches 121 during the play?
The game ends on the spot. Whoever pegs out first wins, which is why the player who counts first (the non-dealer) can sometimes win a close race before the dealer counts anything.