Discard to the crib, peg to 31, and count every fifteen.
Play a fast Cribbage round against AI with a custom peg board, starter card, pegging line, crib scoring, and hand-count breakdowns. Two points for every fifteen, pegs racing along a 121-hole track, and a crib waiting at the end of each deal — the full tabletop rhythm, no setup required.
Cribbage is one of the rare classic card games where the scoreboard is part of the experience. The cribbage board is not decoration. It changes how players feel the race, because every pair, fifteen, run, go, and hand count moves a peg toward 121. That tactile scoring loop is why cribbage online searches are so durable.
This Cribbage game focuses on the essential two-player rhythm. You discard two cards to the crib, cut a starter, peg cards without passing 31, and then count hands using the familiar cribbage categories: fifteens, pairs, runs, flushes, and nobs. The dealer crib is counted after both hands, which means the discard decision matters before the first pegging card is played.
The point values reward players who see combinations rather than single cards. Each distinct combination adding to fifteen pegs two. A pair pegs two, but three of a kind pegs six because it hides three separate pairs, and four of a kind pegs twelve. Runs score one per card and multiply when duplicate ranks create parallel sequences. A four-card flush in hand adds four, five suited cards including the starter add five, and holding the jack of the starter suit — his nobs — adds one more. If the cut itself turns up a jack, the dealer pegs two for his heels before a single card is played.
Small bonuses like heels and nobs sound trivial until you remember the finish line: matches are routinely decided by a single hole out of 121, and the order of the count — non-dealer first, then dealer, then crib — means one overlooked point can be the difference between pegging out and watching the opponent count first next deal. Careful counting is not a courtesy in cribbage; it is the win condition.
Scoring is where cribbage is won and lost, and it is where new players need the most help. This site pairs the playable board with guides that make the counting legible: the rules page walks through a full round, the scoring chart lists every hand value from a single fifteen to the perfect 29, and the strategy page explains why a discard or pegging choice changes the round.
For hands-on practice, the interactive hand scorer lets you pick any four cards plus a starter and returns the full itemized count — every fifteen, pair, run, flush, and nobs point — so you can test yourself before the AI does it for you at the table.
Peg board
121 holes
First peg to travel the full 121-hole track wins the match — often by a single point.
Every fifteen
2 points
Each distinct combination of cards totaling exactly 15 pegs two, in pegging and in the count.
His heels
2 points
A jack cut as the starter pegs two for the dealer instantly; a jack matching the starter suit in hand adds one for nobs.
Each player discards two cards to the crib before the starter is cut. Since the crib belongs to the dealer, the same card can be a gift or a liability depending on who deals.
Players alternate cards and keep a running total that cannot exceed 31. Fifteen and thirty-one score two points, while pairs and runs can score during the pegging sequence.
After pegging, each four-card hand combines with the starter. The scorer counts fifteens, pairs, runs, flushes, and one for nobs when a jack matches the starter suit.
Hand values stretch from the zero-point "nineteen hand" to the legendary 29: three fives and a jack, cut to the fourth five of the jack’s suit. Knowing the landmarks makes counting faster.
Want a rules-first reference for teaching the table? Read the companion guide at cardgamerules.org/cribbage-rules, or keep the full in-site guide handy while you play.
Read the full rules