How to play
Cribbage is the classic two-player card game with its own board: every point is pegged the moment it happens, and the first player to 121 wins, even in the middle of counting. This version plays the standard two-hand rules with a short 61-point option for quick games.
Pick Computer or Friend in the menu, then the game length. In friend mode the screen hides your cards and asks you to pass the device whenever the turn changes during the discard and the play; the counting at the end of a hand is open to both.
The deal. Each player gets six cards. Both choose two to put face down into the crib, an extra hand that belongs to the dealer and is counted at the end. Tap two cards, then tap To the crib. The dealer alternates every hand.
The starter. After the discards the top of the deck is cut and turned face up: the starter. It counts with every hand and the crib. If it is a Jack, the dealer pegs 2 (“his heels”).
The play. Starting with the non-dealer, players alternate laying cards face up and announcing the running total, which may not pass 31. Points are pegged as you go:
- Fifteen: bringing the count to exactly 15 scores 2.
- Thirty-one: hitting 31 exactly scores 2.
- Pair: matching the previous card scores 2; three in a row 6; four 12.
- Run: the last three or more cards forming a sequence in any order score one point per card (4-6-5 is a run of three).
- Go / last card: if you cannot play without passing 31 you say “go” (the game does it for you) and your opponent keeps playing while they can. Whoever plays the last card of a sequence pegs 1. Then the count resets to zero and the other player leads.
The show. When all cards are played, hands are counted one at a time with the starter: first the non-dealer’s hand, then the dealer’s hand, then the crib. Tap Count it to reveal each one.
- Every combination adding to fifteen scores 2.
- Pairs 2, three of a kind 6, four of a kind 12.
- Runs of three or more score one per card; a pair inside a run makes a double run (two runs).
- Flush: four hand cards of one suit score 4, five with the starter 5. The crib needs all five.
- Nobs: a Jack in the hand of the same suit as the starter scores 1.
The pegboard at the top shows both pegs; your track is gold. A loser who never reached the last 30 points is “skunked”.
Strategy
Count your discards twice. When it is your crib, feed it: a pair, a five, or two cards adding to fifteen will pay off later. When it is the opponent’s crib, throw them nothing useful, even at a small cost to your own hand.
Keep fives when you can. With sixteen cards worth ten in the deck, a five makes fifteens with anything from a ten to a King.
Lead small, avoid 5 and 21. Leading a four or lower means the opponent cannot make fifteen at once. Leaving the count at 5 invites a ten-card for fifteen; leaving it at 21 invites one for thirty-one.
Watch for the 31. Late in a sequence, count how far 31 is and which of your cards gets there. Pairing an opponent’s card is great unless it hands them three of a kind.
Remember the non-dealer counts first. Near the end of the game, the player who is not dealing has the first chance to peg out in the show, so a small lead as non-dealer is worth more than it looks.
