Cribbage Game: Play Cribbage Free Online

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In this guide

• How to play
• The full rules
• Pegging points
• Counting hands and the crib
• The three bot levels
• 7 tips to win more matches
• Cribbage FAQ
• Final verdict

How to play Cribbage

Cribbage is a race. Every point you score moves your peg along the board, and the first player to reach 121 points wins the match on the spot — even in the middle of a hand. Points come from three places: the pegging, where you play cards one at a time toward 31; the count, where each hand is scored after pegging; and the crib, a bonus hand of four cards that belongs to the dealer.

1. Press Play. The dealer gives you and Nova 6 cards each from a standard 52-card deck. Nova deals the first hand of a match, and the deal alternates after that.
2. Both players throw 2 cards face down to the crib. The crib belongs to the dealer, so feed it when you deal and starve it when Nova deals. Tap two cards in your hand, then press the crib button.
3. The non-dealer cuts the deck and the starter card is turned up. If the starter is a jack, the dealer scores 2 points at once — that is called his heels.
4. Pegging. Starting with the non-dealer, you take turns playing one card and adding its value to a running count that must stay at 31 or under. Fifteens, pairs and runs score as you play, and the last card of each run to 31 scores a point for go — or 2 for landing exactly on 31.
5. Counting. When all eight cards are played, the hands are counted in a fixed order: the non-dealer’s hand first, then the dealer’s hand, then the dealer’s crib. Each is scored with the starter card. Because the game ends the instant someone reaches 121, that order can decide a close match.

Controls for phone and PC

Action	Phone / tablet	PC / laptop
Throw to the crib	Tap two cards, then tap the crib button	Click two cards, then click the crib button
Cut the starter	Tap Cut for the starter	Click Cut for the starter
Play a pegging card	Tap a glowing card	Click a glowing card
Step the count	Tap Count the hands (it also steps itself)	Click Count the hands (it also steps itself)
Change the bot level	Tap the Bots button in the top bar	Click the Bots button in the top bar
Sound on or off	Tap the speaker button	Click the speaker button

The full rules

The deal and the crib. Six cards each, dealt one at a time starting with the non-dealer. Each player throws two cards face down to the crib, which is an extra hand scored by the dealer at the end. The deal alternates every hand, so the crib takes turns being yours.

The cut. After the discards, the non-dealer cuts and the starter is turned. The starter takes part in every count. If it is a jack, the dealer pegs 2 points for his heels before play begins — and if those 2 points take the dealer to 121, the match ends right there.

Card values. For every total in the game, an ace counts 1, number cards count their face value, and a jack, queen or king counts 10. For runs, an ace is always low: ace, 2, 3 is a run, but queen, king, ace is not.

The end of the match. The match ends the moment any player reaches 121 points, from any score: his heels, a pegging play, or a count. Points are never scored past the finish. If the loser ends on 90 points or fewer, they were skunked; at 60 or fewer it is a double skunk. The game tracks your skunks in your career record.

Pegging points

In the pegging, the non-dealer leads and you alternate playing one card, keeping a running count of the values. You may never take the count past 31. If you cannot play without passing 31, you say go and your opponent carries on alone; when neither of you can play, the player who played the last card scores the go point, the count resets to zero, and the other player leads the next run. These are the scores, exactly as the game pays them:

Pegging score	Points	How it happens
Fifteen	2	Your card takes the count to exactly 15
Pair	2	Your card matches the rank of the card just played
Pair royal	6	Three cards of one rank in a row
Double pair royal	12	Four cards of one rank in a row
Run	1 per card	The last 3 to 7 cards played are all different ranks that fit one sequence, in any order — 4, 2, 3 is a run of 3. A pair inside the stretch stops that stretch counting
Thirty-one	2	Your card takes the count to exactly 31 (this includes the go point)
Go	1	You played the last card before the count reset, short of 31
Last card	1	You played the very last pegging card of the hand, short of 31

One card can score several things at once. Play a 5 onto two 5s that make the count 15 and you score fifteen 2 plus a pair royal 6 — 8 points on one card. Runs are judged the moment each card lands, on the longest stretch of cards played since the count last reset: lengths are checked from the longest down, the first stretch that forms a clean run is paid, and a stretch already inside it is not paid twice for the same card.

Counting hands and the crib

After pegging, each four-card hand is counted together with the starter, making five cards, in this order: the non-dealer’s hand, then the dealer’s hand, then the crib. The order matters because the match ends the instant a count takes someone to 121 — a non-dealer sitting on 118 with a 4-point hand beats a dealer on 120 whose hand is never counted. Every combination scores:

Counting score	Points	Notes
Fifteen	2 each	Every group of cards whose values add to 15
Pair	2	Two cards of one rank
Pair royal	6	Three of one rank
Double pair royal	12	Four of one rank
Run	1 per card	Runs of 3, 4 or 5 cards. A double run — two runs sharing a pair — scores both runs plus the pair
Flush in a hand	4	All four cards of your hand in one suit
Flush with the starter	5	The starter matches the suit as well — in a hand or the crib
Flush in the crib	5 or nothing	A four-card crib flush does not count; the crib needs all five
His nobs	1	A jack in your hand or the crib in the same suit as the starter

The most a hand can score is 29: three 5s and the jack of the fourth 5’s suit in hand, with that fourth 5 turned as the starter. It makes eight fifteens for 16, six pairs for 12, and his nobs for 1. It is the most famous hand in the game, and yes, this game counts it at exactly 29 — the counting engine is tested on it.

The three bot levels

Nova plays at three levels, and the level is honest — each one uses exactly the thinking described here, nothing hidden. Change levels with the Bots button; the new level applies from the next hand.

• Casual. Nova throws to the crib by keeping the four cards that count best on their own — the fifteens, pairs and runs inside the four, with the starter ignored completely — and she pays no attention to whose crib it is. She picks at random among her five favourite discards, and in the pegging she plays a random legal card. A friendly first opponent.
• Smart. Nova weighs every possible throw by the exact average value of the hand she keeps, worked out against every starter card she could be given. She adds half the value of the pair she throws when the crib is hers, and subtracts half when it is yours — a guide value built from the fifteens and pairs the two thrown cards make with the starter. In the pegging she takes any points on offer, and otherwise plays her lowest card.
• Master. The same discard sums as Smart, but the crib counts at full weight — feeding your crib or starving her own costs her exactly what the maths says. In the pegging she thinks one move ahead: for every card she could play she takes the points it scores, then subtracts the best reply you could make with any card she has not yet seen. Beat her regularly and you are playing real cribbage.

7 tips to win more matches

1. Feed your own crib, starve theirs. A pair of 5s thrown to your own crib is gold; thrown to Nova’s crib it is a gift. When it is her deal, throw cards that cannot combine — never two cards that make 15 together, never a pair.
2. Keep the 5s when you can. A 5 pairs with any 10-value card to make 15, and a quarter of the deck is worth 10. A hand built around a 5 and touching cards counts again and again.
3. Lead low in the pegging. Leading a card of 4 or less cannot be turned into a fifteen against you on the first reply, and it keeps your big cards back for scoring later in the run.
4. Never take the count to 21 or more carelessly. A count in the twenties with cards still out is where gos are lost. If you can leave the count at a number your opponent cannot use, do it.
5. Watch the finish line from 110. Inside the last stretch, count the order: as non-dealer you count first, so a small hand can steal a match the dealer was about to win. As dealer, peg hard — your crib may never be counted.
6. Play pairs late in a run to 31. Holding a matching card back while the count climbs turns their card into your pair — and a pair at 29 or 30 often comes with the go point as well.
7. Respect the skunk line. At 90 points the skunk disappears. If you are behind late, take the risky peg or the greedy keep that gets you past 90 — a loss is a loss, but a skunk goes on your record.

Cribbage FAQ

Is Cribbage free to play?

Yes. Cribbage is 100% free. You play it right on this page against the bot. There is no download, no sign-up and no payment.

How do you play cribbage?

Each player is dealt 6 cards and throws 2 into the crib, a bonus hand for the dealer. The non-dealer cuts a starter card. Players then take turns playing cards toward a running count of 31, scoring for fifteens, pairs and runs as they go. After that, each hand is counted with the starter — non-dealer first, then the dealer, then the crib — for fifteens, pairs, runs, flushes and his nobs. The first player to 121 points wins, and the match ends the moment anyone gets there.

What is the perfect 29 hand in cribbage?

It is the highest hand in the game: three 5s and the jack of the fourth 5’s suit in your hand, with the fourth 5 turned as the starter. The four 5s and the jack make eight separate fifteens for 16 points, the four 5s make six pairs for 12, and the jack is his nobs for 1 more — 29 in total. One point less, 28, is the same hand when the starter 5 is not the jack’s suit.

What are his nobs and his heels in cribbage?

His nobs is 1 point for holding a jack in your hand or the crib that matches the starter card’s suit. His heels is 2 points for the dealer when the starter card itself is a jack, scored the moment the starter is turned — before a single card is pegged.

How does pegging work in cribbage?

The non-dealer leads, and you alternate playing one card onto a running count that must stay at 31 or under. Making exactly 15 scores 2, matching the last card’s rank scores a pair for 2 (6 for three of a kind, 12 for four), and the last 3 to 7 cards forming a run in any order scores 1 per card. Landing exactly on 31 scores 2; otherwise the player who plays the last card before the count resets scores 1 for go, and the very last card of the hand scores 1 for last card.

Does Cribbage save my progress?

Yes, in your own browser. Your career record and your best winning match total save automatically, and your match score saves at the end of every finished hand, so you can leave mid-match and resume from the next hand. A hand that is half played when the page reloads is dealt again from its start. Nothing leaves your device, and there is no account to make.

Last updated: November 5, 2026. Cribbage v1.0 — the first release of our original cribbage game, with the full standard two-player rules against one bot at three skill levels, the complete pegging and counting engine, a Daily Match, career stats and match resume. An original GameOLL browser game. Found a bug? Tell us in the comments and we will fix it in the next version.