Challenge games
Choose a challenge under Game rules before starting a casual computer or friend game. All modes finish at 121. Ranked games use classic cribbage; tournament hosts can choose a challenge.
Peg Party: Only pegging scores. Discard two as usual; hands, crib and starter-jack bonuses score nothing.
Six Appeal: Keep all six cards. No discards or crib. Peg all six, then count each six-card hand with the starter; flushes score six or seven.
Double Trouble: All pegging points, including go and last card, are doubled. Hands, crib and starter-jack bonuses stay normal.
Show Me the Points: Discard two, then count the hands and crib immediately. Skip pegging and the starter-jack bonus.
Crib Heist: Only the dealer’s crib scores. Discard two each, skip pegging and hand counting, and alternate the dealer each round. No starter-jack bonus.
Series, manual counts & daily turns
Match options offer best-of-three or five series, alternating the first crib after the first game. Classic human games can count hands manually: overcounts are rejected, undercounts earn only claimed points, and optional muggins gives the opponent a chance to claim all missed points or pass. Daily-turn games allow one, three, or seven days per required action, instead of the live return window.
Goal & first crib
Be first to reach 121 points. Before the first deal, both players cut a card from the spread. The lower rank gets the first crib; ace is low. Equal ranks mean another cut. The dealer alternates each round.
Deal & starter
Each player gets six cards and discards two face down into the dealer’s crib, keeping four. A separate starter card is turned up. It is not played during pegging; it is the fifth card used when counting each hand and the crib. If the starter is a jack, the dealer immediately scores 2 (“his heels”).
Pegging
The nondealer plays first. Players alternate playing one kept card and announce the running total. Aces count 1; number cards count their number; jacks, queens and kings count 10. The total cannot exceed 31. A player who cannot fit a card says “go”; the other plays any cards they can. After a go or 31, start a new count with the cards remaining. Pegging scores can add together on one play.
| Play | Points |
|---|
| Reach 15 | 2 |
| Reach 31 exactly | 2 |
| Pair of consecutive played ranks | 2 |
| Three / four of a kind in a row | 6 / 12 |
| Run of 3 or more recent cards, in any order | 1 per card |
| Last card before a reset or “go” | 1, unless it made 31 |
Counting hands & crib
After all cards are played, count the nondealer’s hand, dealer’s hand, then dealer’s crib, each with the same starter card. Count every distinct combination of cards that makes 15 or a pair. Only the longest runs count; duplicate ranks can make multiple runs.
| Combination | Points |
|---|
| Each combination totaling 15 | 2 |
| Each pair | 2 |
| Run of 3, 4 or 5 | 3, 4 or 5 per run |
| Four original cards of one suit (hand only) | 4 |
| Four original cards and starter of one suit (hand or crib) | 5 |
| Jack in the hand or crib matching the starter’s suit (“his nob”) | 1 |
Example: 5–5–6–7 scores two runs of three (6) and a pair (2), before counting any fifteens.
Winning & skunk line
The first player to 121 wins immediately, even during pegging or before all hands are counted. If the loser is still at 90 or fewer, they are skunked. The board marks the boundary before hole 91. This game awards points automatically; there is no muggins claim.
Scoring reference: American Cribbage Congress scoring sheet ↗