Rules of Cribbage

BTO Cribbage is a two player game using a standard deck of 52 cards and a peg-board, which keeps track of the score. The rank order is Ace, 2-10, Jack, Queen, King (straights do not wrap). The goal is to score 121 points before your opponent.

Dealing: Dealer shuffles deck and deals 6 cards to both players. Players take turns acting as dealer.

Discarding: Each player selects 4 cards to keep and 2 cards to discard face-down into the dealer's "crib". The crib remains hidden until it is scored at the end of the round. After both players have discarded, the non-dealing player cuts the deck. After the cut, the dealer reveals the top card, which is used later when scoring the hands. When the "cut card" is a Jack, the dealer is awarded 2 points.

Play: The non-dealer starts play by placing a card from their hand face-up on the table. Players then alternate turns, playing one card at a time, until a cumulative count of no more than 31 is reached. Aces are worth 1, face cards are worth 10 and all other cards are worth face value. A player calls "go" when they cannot play a card adding up to 31 or less, thereby passes their turn. The other player continues to play so long as the count remains 31 or less. When no additional cards can be played, the count is reset to zero and play begins again, with the player who said "go" going first. The play phase is complete when both players have played all 4 of their cards. Points are scored in the play phase as follows:

• Sets: When a player pairs the previous card, that player scores 2 points. A three of a kind scores 6 points. A four of a kind scores 12 points.
• Straights: A straight of 3 or more cards scores 1 point per card, regardless of the order of play. e.g. 5-4-3 scores 3 points for the player who plays the 3. The other player could then play a 2 or 6 for 4 points.
• Two points are scores for reaching the exact count of 15 or 31.
• Final card per play: 1 point is scored by playing the final card, without reaching 31.
• All scoring is additive, so a single play can score combinations. For example, the sequence 2-9-10-J scores 5 points for player of the jack for a 3 card straight and for reaching a count of 31.

Show: After all cards are played, each hand is scored. The non-dealer hand is scored first, followed by the dealer's hand and then the crib. The crib's points are awarded to the dealer. The cut card is included when scoring each hand and the crib. Points are scored for each hand and the crib as follows:

• Sets: A pair scores 2; three-of-kind scores 6; four-of-a-kind scores 12 points.
• Straights: Straights of 3 or more cards score 1 point per card.
• 15: Every combination of cards that add to exactly 15 scores 2 points. Aces count as 1 and faces cards count as 10.
• Flush: A flush is scored when a hand has all four cards of the same suite and is worth 4 points. An additional point is awarded when the cut card matches to suite of a flush. Flushes are only scored for players hands and not for the crib.
• Nobs: A jack with the same suite as the cut card scores 1 point.
• Cards are scored for every combination of points and added together. An example hand of 2,3,3,4 with a cut card of 10 scores a total of 12 points, consisting of the following: 6 for both 2-3-4 straights, 2 for the pair of 3s and 4 points for both combinations of 15 counts (2-3-10)

End Game: At any point during the game, the first player to reach 121 wins. Non-dealer hands are scored first. When non-dealer has enough points in their hand to reach 121, they win regardless of the dealer's hand and crib. A player loses in a "skunk" when the game is over and the losing player scores less than 91 points.

Manual Scoring: The default configuration of BTO Cribbage scores the hands and crib automatically. This speeds game play and is especially useful for advanced players that are skilled at counting. However, for players that want to work on counting, BTO Cribbage has a manual scoring mode. During manual scoring, if a hand or crib is under-counted, the opponent has the option to call "muggins". When called, the opponent immediately scores the under-counted points. Muggins is a separate setting in BTO Cribbage and is recommended when learning how to manually score. Over counting a hand or crib is considered cheating and referred to as "hauling lumber". With manual scoring and muggins enabled, over-counted points are awarded to the opponent.