Play Cribbage online — free, no download

What is Cribbage?

Cribbage is a two-player card game, played since the 1600s, in which you score points for card combinations totalling fifteen, for pairs, runs and flushes — first while playing cards alternately up to a count of 31, then by counting your hand against a shared cut card — and race pegs around a board to 121 points. This page is a complete free version against a computer opponent: three difficulty levels, optional muggins scoring, a discard analyser, and a shuffle you can cryptographically verify on the fair-deal page.

How to play

1. 1

   Throw two cards to the crib

   You are dealt six cards. Tap two to throw into the crib — the bonus hand that belongs to whoever dealt. Throw generously to your own crib, cautiously to the bot’s.

2. 2

   Play cards without passing 31

   Take turns laying cards while the running count stays at 31 or less. Peg 2 for hitting exactly 15 or 31, 2 for pairing the last card, and 1 per card for runs. Say “go” when you cannot play.

3. 3

   Count the hands

   When all eight cards are down, hands are counted with the shared cut card — non-dealer first, then dealer, then the crib. Fifteens, pairs, runs, flushes and his nobs all score.

4. 4

   First to 121 wins

   Pegs race around the board; the game ends the instant either player reaches 121 — even mid-count. Win while the bot is under 91 and it is a skunk.

Questions about playing here

Can I play cribbage online for free?

Yes. This is a free browser version of two-player cribbage with no account, no download and no app. The cards are dealt the moment the page loads, on a phone as well as a computer, and the full rules and a scoring chart are on the same site.

Is the computer opponent any good at cribbage?

On the hard setting it evaluates all fifteen possible discards exactly — scoring every keep against all 46 possible cut cards — prices the crib separately depending on who deals, and weighs each pegging play against what it might give back. Easy plays like a beginner on purpose, and you can change the level at any time in settings.

How do I know the deals are fair?

Every deal is committed before it happens: the game shows a SHA-256 fingerprint of the shuffle seed before any card is visible, and reveals the seed when the hand ends. Anyone can hash the seed to confirm it matches and replay the exact 52-card order on the fair-deal page.

Can it teach me to count cribbage hands?

Yes — turn on muggins in settings and you count your own hands: announce a total, and if you miss points the bot claims them, exactly as in a real game. The site also has a hand calculator that counts any four cards plus a cut and calls the score out loud the way a player would.

Learn more

• The complete cribbage rules
• Scoring chart, hand calculator & printable score sheet
• Discard strategy with the full crib value table
• Verify any deal — the shuffle is committed before the cards come out