Overview
Cribbage Pro is the classic game of two player cribbage. The first player to 121 points wins. Points are scored while playing cards and after each round of card play completes. The pegs on the cribbage board are used to track your score. In Cribbage Pro, the “skunk” and “double skunk” lines are shown on the game board as well.
Game Setup
- When the game begins, cut the cards by tapping/selecting a position in the shown deck to determine who will be the dealer. In cribbage, the “Ace is low” (before “2”, NOT after/higher than the King).
- The dealer shuffles and deals first to their opponent (the “pone”) and then to themselves until each player is dealt 6 cards.
- Each player selects 2 of their 6 cards to form the “crib”, which belongs to the dealer. The dealer scores the crib at the end of the round.
Game Play
Once all four cards are in the crib, a “Starter Card” is cut from the deck by the opponent of the dealer (the “pone”). If the starter card is a Jack, the dealer scores 2 points which is called “Heels” or “Nibs” (or “His Heels/Nibs”).
- After the starter card is selected, the dealer’s opponent (the “pone”) starts the play by laying down a card. Play continues alternating one card at a time alternating between the two players.
- Players play cards for a total count of 15 or 31, and for pairs and runs to score points. A run does not have to be in sequence order when playing. All face cards (Jack, Queen, King) count as “10”, and an Ace is “1”.
- Any card can be played as long as the total count of all the cards played does not exceed 31. If playing the only card left would exceed 31, that player “says ‘Go'”. In a “Go”, the other player will then play their cards until they also can’t continue without going over 31 or they play their last card.
- A point is earned for a Go or “Last Card” played, then a new play is started and play continues until all cards have been played.
- Once all cards have been played, the points are totaled for each hand, using the starter card as a common card in all hands. The “pone” scores their hand first, then the dealer. Finally, the dealer scores the crib.
Scoring
You can score points in cribbage for the following:
| Points Earned | |||
| Cards | During Play |
Hand | Crib |
| Jack turned as starter card (points for dealer) | 2 | – | – |
| Jack of same suit as starter card | – | 1 | 1 |
| Combinations: | |||
| • Two of a kind (pair) | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| • Three of a kind (triple) | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| • Four of a kind (quadruple) | 12 | 12 | 12 |
| • Straights of three or more cards: per card | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| • 15-count (sum of any combination of cards) | – | 2 | 2 |
| • Four-card flush (in hand; not crib) | – | 4 | – |
| • Five-card flush | – | 5 | 5 |
| Reaching a 15-count exactly | 2 | – | – |
| *Reaching 31-count exactly | 2 | – | – |
| *”Go” (without reaching 31-count) | 1 | – | – |
| *Final/Last card played (not reaching 31) | 1 | – | – |
* Only one of these scores can be earned with the play of a single card.
For more information, we recommend you visit the rules page of the American Cribbage Congress web site at https://www.cribbage.org/NewSite/rules/