Cribbage is generally a 2 player game, but a third can be added and even a style of play which can include a fourth player exists. I find these styles are all different and just as exciting as the first.
The Basis of the Game
The basis of Cribbage is to be the first to accumulate 121 points. This is done by playing cards in the hand and then counting points in the hand after the play of the game.
How to Play
Cribbage starts by dealing 6 cards to each player. Then each player chooses two cards from their hands and places them in what is called the Crib, hence Cribbage. The crib goes to the dealer. The deal changes with each counting of the crib.
After each player has placed their cards in the Crib, then the deck is cut without showing the bottom card, and the top card of the cut deck is now placed on top of the entire deck, face up. This is the community card for the counting of the hands.
Now the player who is not dealer leads. The game is played up to 31 points and if the players reach 31 before all the cards have been played then the points are reset to 0 and the game restarts. Points are counted in the hand as usual according to the game including 15s, runs, and pairs and three of a kind and points are assessed accordingly as well in Cribbage.
After the hand is played, players count all the points in their hands according to the same rules and the player without the crib counts first, which when close to the end of a game of Cribbage can be a huge advantage to the player that counts first.
Next the dealer counts and using his hand and the crib to accumulate points and after that the play switches and the player that was dealer is now being dealt to and the play continues this way until the first player to reach 121 points wins. This is how to play Cribbage.
