At this point, he says “Go.” If the other player can still lay down another card without exceeding 31, he must do so for as many times as necessary. The Play: This continues until a player cannot lay down another card without exceeding 31. Make sure you keep your cards in your own pile – don’t mix them together with other players’ cards. Suits do not matter in this round, only numeric values. Face cards (10s, Jacks, Queens and Kings) are worth 10 points, all others are worth their numeric value. As they play each card, they call out the value of the total. Pegging: Players alternate laying cards down in front of them, starting with the non-dealer. If this “cut” card is a Jack, the dealer gets to peg 2 points immediately. Both players will use this card, called the “cut”, as a wild fifth card to count points at the end of the round. The “Cut” Card: The player who did not deal cuts the deck to determine the top card. The Crib: Each player looks at their 6 cards and decides which 4 to keep in his hand and which 2 to discard into a pile near the dealer called “the crib.” The Deal: Select a dealer, maybe by drawing cards.

(This often occurs in the middle of a hand the game ends immediately.) The first to lap the board twice, accumulating 121 points wins. Set-Up: Remove the jokers from the pack of cards.

To download a neat scoring sheet that shows how to score each combination of cards, click here. If you wish to download a double-sided sheet with the rules, click here. These instructions are for a 2 player game, but can easily be adapted to more players.

Every time you score points, you move the back peg that many holes ahead of the front peg, leap-frogging your way around the board. Your cribbage board is an easy way to keep track of your score during the game. Although it may seem intimidating at first, the basic game is very easy to learn and play. Cribbage is a fun, challenging game that can be played with 2-4 people.

How to play cribbage board