Rules for Cribbage

Gameplay

Cribbage is a matching card game. The minimum player count is 2, and the maximum player count is 4.

Players are shuffled to get the turn order for the match.

If a player leaves, he gets the worst unfilled rank, and the hand ends immediately.

Rounds

Each round (hand) consists of these phases:

  1. Deal:
    • A random player is selected to be the dealer (equivalent to having players cut for the lowest card to be dealer).
    • Each player is dealt 6 cards (2 players) or 5 cards (3 or 4 players).
    • If there are 3 players, a face-down card is dealt into the crib. Otherwise, the crib is empty.
    • Each player keeps 4 cards, discarding the other 1 or 2 face-down into the crib.
    • After players are done, the starter card is revealed. If the card is a Jack, the dealer scores 2 points.
  2. Play:
    • The player after the dealer moves first.
    • Players must play one card that does not cause the count (total value of cards played) to exceed 31 if possible, or else they must pass (call "Go").
    • If the count is 15, the player scores 2 points.
    • Each pair in the longest suffix of equal ranks scores 2 points. 3-of-a-kind counts as 3 pairs for 6 points. 4-of-a-kind counts as 6 pairs for 12 points.
    • The longest suffix that is a run (consecutive ranks when sorted) scores the suffix length if it is at least 3.
    • The next player moves until everyone has passed.
    • The last player to move scores 1 point if the count is less than 31 or 2 points if the count is 31.
    • The count is reset to 0, and the next player (after the last player to move) moves first. If all cards have been played, the game goes to the Show.
  3. Show: Starting with the player after the dealer, each player scores points by combining his hand (played cards) with the starter card and considering each subset of those cards:
    • Total of 15 (2 points)
    • Maximal-length runs of at least 3 cards (1 point per card)
    • Pairs (2 points)
    • Four-card flush (same suit) with suit different from starter (4 points)
    • Five-card flush (5 points)
    • Jack of same suit as the starter card (1 point)
    After the dealer moves, the crib is also scored as his hard, but four-card flushes count as 0 points.

Card Ranks

The cards (4 each per deck) are in this order from lowest to highest:

Ace < 2 < 3 < 4 < 5 < 6 < 7 < 8 < 9 < 10 < Jack < Queen < King

Ace has a value of 1. Jack, Queen, and King have a value of 10.

Time Control

Intermissions last up to 30 seconds, ending early if all players are ready.

Each turn lasts up to 20 seconds by default, with automatic moves. Unused turn time cannot be carried to future turns. There is only a turn timer, not a game timer.

Options

Turn Time / s (default: 20, min: 5, max: 60)

An arbitrary move will be made after the turn timer expires.

Score Target (default: 121, min: 1, max: 1000)

The game immediately ends when a player has at least this score. 61 and 121 are commonly used values.

Skip Empty (default: on)

Automatically pass when you do not have any cards left.

Skip Pass (default: on)

Automatically pass when you have cards but cannot play any.

Skip Only Move (default: off)

Automatically move when only one move is possible.

Pre-Show Phase (default: off)

Add a pause point before the Show phase.

Post-Show Phase (default: on)

Add a pause point after the Show phase, before the next hand.