Cribbage guide: how to play, rules and tips

1. Pick a level and tap Play. You cut for deal: the low card deals.
2. You get six cards. Tap two, then Send to crib. The crib is an extra hand for the dealer, and the deal swaps every hand.
3. The non-dealer cuts and a starter card is turned up. A Jack scores 2 for the dealer (his heels).
4. Take turns laying cards and keep the count. It can never pass 31. If no card fits, tap Go: the other player keeps going, then the last card pegs 1.
5. Then the hands count with the starter: the non-dealer's hand, the dealer's hand, then the crib. Tap Count and the game counts yours with you.
6. Keep dealing until someone reaches 121.

Card values. Ace 1, number cards their face value, J, Q and K 10.

Points in the play.

• Make the count 15 or 31: 2.
• A pair: 2. Three of a kind: 6. Four of a kind: 12.
• A run of 3 or more, in any order, that includes the card just played: 1 a card.
• Last card: 1. A card that makes 31 scores just the 2 for 31.

Points in the show.

• Every combination that adds up to 15: 2.
• Every pair: 2. Runs: 1 a card, and a double run counts each run.
• Flush: four of a suit in your hand scores 4 (5 if the starter matches). The crib needs all five cards of one suit.
• His nobs: a Jack in your hand of the starter's suit scores 1.

Counting order decides close games. The game ends the moment anyone reaches 121, even halfway through a count, so near the end the non-dealer can win before the dealer counts.

No muggins. Every hand and crib is counted for you in full, so no points are ever missed.

Skunks. If the loser has not passed 90, the result says Skunk, and under 61 Double skunk. It is a badge, not extra points.

Read the keep before you send. While you pick crib cards, the prompt tells you how many points your four kept cards already make.

Think about whose crib it is. On the bot's deal, avoid throwing it a 5 or a pair. On your own deal, those cards come back to you.

Lead low. A lead under 5 means no single card can reply with 15.

Don't leave 5 or 21. A ten card turns those into 15 and 31. The bots avoid leaving them, and so should you.

Mind the board near 121. The non-dealer counts first, so the deal matters at the finish. The Expert bot changes how it plays once either side gets close.

You play the bot at four levels:

• Easy: throws sensible crib cards but sometimes plays a loose card.
• Medium: keeps the four cards worth most and plays whatever scores now.
• Hard: weighs every possible starter and the crib before it throws, and thinks about your reply before it plays.
• Expert: simulates how the hand could go before each card, and towards the finish throws for the best chance to win.

The result screen keeps your wins and losses per level on this device, and an unfinished game picks up where you left off on the same device.

With an optional garden name (no email, no password) your wins go on the Cribbage leaderboards. Each finished match is checked by the server replaying the match before it counts. A 12-character garden key restores your name and points on another device.