The non-dealer places their cards face up, counts their tally, and pegs the score. John has much more information about rules variants and different forms of cribbage.įor a concise and accurate description of the rules, see The Rules of Cribbage by James Masters, part of the Masters Traditional Games online shop, which also sells excellent hand-made cribbage boards and cribbage boxes. No discussion of the rules of cribbage would be complete without a mention of John McLeods excellent Six Card Cribbage page, part of the amazingly comprehensive Card Games site. Make sure to total up all of your points and move your pegs on the cribbage board accordingly before you play another round. There is an optional rule called “muggins” that allows an opposing player to claim any points that his opponent did not claim from his own hand. Indeed, this is how the best cribbage players play.

1 point for a jack in the same suit as the starterĪll of these hands can be combined to score multiple points.

5 points with a flush of five cards, which can include the crib and the starter.

4 points for four cards of the same suit – not including the starter and the crib.

12 points for each hand of four-of-a-kind.

2 points for any combination of cards totaling 15.

The dealer then counts the cards in his crib. The non-dealing player counts first, followed by the dealer. How To Play Cribbage for Beginners – SUPER SIMPLE LESSONĪfter the initial counting portion of the game, players score additional points by tallying the cards in their hands as well as the crib.

Playing cribbage