Play Cribbage free online
Cribbage is the card game for two with the wooden board and the pegs. Here you play six-card cribbage against the computer, with big, clear cards that read well on a tablet or a phone. The board is pegged for you, the count is called as the cards go down, and every hand is counted with each fifteen, pair and run listed, so you learn the counting as you play. Nothing to download or sign up for, and a game you start is saved in this browser.
How to play
- The crib. You and the computer get six cards each. Tap two of yours and put them in the crib, an extra hand that scores for whoever dealt.
- The starter. The top card of the pack is turned up. It counts as a fifth card for both hands and the crib. If it is a Jack, the dealer pegs 2.
- The play. Take turns laying a card and adding to the count, never past 31. Making 15 or 31 pegs 2, a pair 2, three of a kind 6, a run of three or more a point a card. When you cannot play you say go, and the last card under 31 pegs 1.
- The show. Then the hands are counted with the starter: the player who did not deal first, then the dealer, then the dealer’s crib.
The first to 121 points wins at once, even in the middle of a hand. Finish before the computer reaches 91 and you have skunked it. The full cribbage rules, with hands counted.
Counting a hand
- Fifteens: 2 for every different set of cards that adds up to 15. Picture cards count 10, the Ace 1.
- Pairs: 2 for a pair, 6 for three of a kind, 12 for four.
- Runs: three or more cards in a row, a point a card, counted again for every way of making it.
- Flush: 4 for four hand cards of one suit, 5 with the starter. The crib needs all five.
- Nobs: 1 for the Jack of the starter’s suit.
Not sure what a hand is worth? The cribbage hand counter counts any four cards and a starter and shows every point. The best hand of all is 29.
Controls
Tap or click two cards, then Put in the crib. In the play, tap a card to lay it; cards that would take the count past 31 are shaded. With a keyboard, Tab and the arrow keys move between your cards and Enter chooses one, C puts your two in the crib, H asks for a hint, U takes back your last step and N starts a new game. Big cards makes every card larger.
Hint names the cards for the crib, or the card to play, and says why. Undo takes back your last step within the hand.
A fair computer player
The computer sees only its own cards, the starter and the cards played, never your hand or the pack. It keeps the four cards that score best on average over every starter, minds what it gives the crib, and pegs when it can.
A few tips
- Give your own crib 5s, pairs and cards that add up to 15. Give the computer’s crib cards far apart, such as a King and a 2.
- Lead a card under 5: no one card can make 15 with it.
Read how to play cribbage for the go, the crib and the show in full. Fancy another two-player card game? Try Gin Rummy, or play Hearts against three computer players.