Cribbage Score Tracker

How Cribbage scores

Cribbage is scored in two places: pegging during the play of the cards, then counting each hand plus the crib once the play is over. Fifteens and pairs are worth 2 each, runs score a point per card, and the shared starter card counts toward every hand. First player to 121 wins, and because the race often ends mid-count, the order in which hands are counted decides plenty of games.

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  Counting a hand

  After the play, each player counts their four cards together with the shared starter card. Every combination of cards totalling fifteen scores 2, every pair scores 2 (so three of a kind is 6 and four of a kind is 12), and every run of three or more scores one point per card. A four-card flush in hand is 4, or 5 if the starter matches the suit, and a jack in hand matching the starter's suit is 1 point for "his nobs".

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  The crib and its one odd rule

  Each player discards two cards to the crib, which belongs to the dealer and is counted last, after both hands. The crib scores exactly like a hand with one exception: a flush counts only if all four crib cards and the starter share a suit, which is worth 5. A four-card flush in the crib scores nothing at all, which regularly catches out players who throw two matching-suit cards in hoping for it.

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  Pegging during the play

  While playing cards toward 31 you peg 2 for bringing the running count to exactly fifteen, 2 for a pair (6 for three of a kind, 12 for four), and one point per card for a run, even if those cards were not played in sequence. Hitting exactly 31 scores 2, and being the last to play a card when nobody else can go scores 1 for "go". If the dealer turns a jack as the starter, they peg 2 immediately for "his heels".

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  121 points and why counting order matters

  Game is 121 points, which is twice around a standard board plus one hole. The moment a peg passes 121 the game stops, so a player who is close can win during the play before their opponent ever counts a big hand. In two-handed cribbage the non-dealer counts first, then the dealer, then the crib, which is a genuine advantage in a tight finish. Some groups play the shorter 61-point game instead.

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  Muggins, skunks, and the points people miss

  Under the optional "muggins" rule, if you undercount your hand your opponent may call muggins and peg the points you left behind. Skunk lines are a scoring convention rather than a rule: a loser stuck on 90 or fewer is skunked, and 60 or fewer is a double skunk, both counting as extra games in tournament play. The most-missed score is the double run, where a run of three containing a pair is 8 points rather than 5, closely followed by fifteens made from three or four cards rather than two.

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