I’m the kind of person who could play the same card game over and over again and never get bored, but I know a lot of people aren’t the same.
They like more variety in their games, and I get it; it is nice to switch it up once in a while.
With this in mind, if you love Cribbage but you want to mix it up a bit, I dove through the internet and asked around to come up with this list of 21 cribbage variations for you to check out.
Let’s deal the cards!
Want to take your Cribbage game to the next level? Check out this massive list of strategies for improving your game!
Table of Contents
Three-Player Cribbage
Three-player cribbage is going to be one of the variations most similar to traditional Cribbage.
All the rules and counting are the same; the only major change comes in how cards are dealt and how you discard.
Instead of two 6-card hands, the dealer hands out 5 cards to the Pones or non-players and 6 cards to his- or herself.
The Pones discard only 1 card to the Dealer’s crib. The Dealer discards the normal two.
This gives the Dealer a huge advantage on their turn. Not only do they get the extra hand, but they also get more cards to combine for better points.
The downside is that they’ll have to wait to more rounds before they deal again, so it ends up working out.
The player to the left of the dealer cuts the deck, starts the Play (or pegging) and starts the Show (counting).
After the crib is counted, the deal passes to the player on the left.
All other rules are the same, and the winner is still the first one to get to 121 points.
Check out our detailed guide on 3 person Cribbage rules.
Four Player Team Cribbage
Team cribbage is another way to play if you want to play with a partner.
In this game, much of the rules are exactly the same, and as with three-player Cribbage, the main differences come in how you deal and discard.
Each player has a partner, and you sit across from one another.
When you count points, the partners move off the same pegs.
Yes, this does mean the game goes by quite a bit faster, so if you want to extend the game, consider going around the board twice for a total of 141 points.
In this team version, everyone gets 5 cards. They discard 1 card each into the Dealer’s crib.
Other than this, it plays out just like normal Cribbage.
The player to the left of the Dealer cuts the starter card, starts pegging, starts counting, and gets the next deal.
Four-Player Cribbage (Non-Team)
Four-player Cribbage without teams is just like three-player Cribbage, except now we use 5 cards for every player instead of giving the Dealer 6 cards.
It may be tough to play as four players on a standard cribbage board since most of them only have three tracks.
To make this work, have one or two players do the board backward and on opposite color pegs than the other player on that track.
Here’s an example of what I mean:
- Player 1 with a red peg on the inside track normally.
- Player 2 with a blue peg on the outside track normally.
- Player 3 with a red peg on the outside track going backward.
- Player 4 with a blue on the inside track going backward.
It’ll only get messy when we’re in the middle of the board, which usually only lasts a hand or two.
Six-Player Team Cribbage
Six-player Cribbage is possible, though I personally think it’s super boring.
In my opinion, it’s better to do a round-robin tournament with teams OR have two games with three players going at the same time.
If you do have teams, sit across from your partners.
A1 → B1 → C1 → A2 → B2 → C2
Each player gets 4 cards in their hand, and the Dealer gets a random 4-card crib dealt from the deck.
It takes away the strategy of the game outside of pegging.
Alternative: As another variant to 6-player team cribbage, I’d suggest treating this like 3-player cribbage with teams.
If A1 has the deal, the two A players get 6 cards, and the others get 5.
A1, B1, and C1 discard into player A1’s crib.
A2, B2, and C2 discard into player A2’s crib.
For this variant, I would make sure to go around the board twice. Otherwise, the game would be over quite fast.
Five Card Cribbage (Original Cribbage)
Five-card Cribbage is thought to be the original version of the game.
In some ways, it’s more simple. There’s less strategy involved, and it uses a lot more luck.
Still, it’s fun to play. Here are the main differences:
- Cut the deck to determine the Dealer—the low card deals. The Pone (non-dealer) pegs three points right away to offset the dealer advantage.
- Deal five cards to each player. We still discard two cards for the Dealer’s crib. Players only get three cards in their normal hand.
- Pegging stops the first time we reach 31 or have a Go!
- The winner is the first one to reach 61 points.
Since you only have three cards in your hand, a flush only needs to have the three cards from your hand matching suits.
The starter card can also add to those flushes for an extra point. In the crib, it has to be included in order for it to count.
You can’t replace the starter card for it to count. So you can’t use the starter card to make three flush cards in your hand.
Every card in your hand has to be a flush.
Solitaire Cribbage
Solitaire cribbage is an interesting variation of the original game.
Without pegging, I find it to be much less interesting, but it’s a great way to practice your discard strategy for maximum point totals.
Start by dealing yourself three cards, two face-down cards for your crib, and then three more cards for your hand.
Discard two of your cards into your crib and keep the rest.
The top card of the deck automatically becomes the starter card.
Count your hand and then crib and peg your points.
Afterward, put the starter card on the bottom of the deck.
Discard the hand and crib; don’t shuffle it back in.
Deal the remaining deck in the same manner as described above.
Repeat for 6 more rounds, keeping the starter card on the bottom of the deck each time and discarding the hand and crib.
After 6 rounds, you’ll have 4 cards left.
This makes up a final bonus hand.
The goal of solitaire cribbage is to make it past the skunk line (91 points).
If you do, congrats! You played a good game.
If you make it past 121 points, you played an awesome game!
But if you make it under 91, it’s OK. You lost, but play it again for another chance.
Pro-tip: If you’re serious about getting better at Cribbage, solitaire is a great way to practice discard strategy.
I like to make note of questionable or difficult discards to check with calculators later on.
Read more about the rules of Cribbage Solitaire here.
Muggins (Cutthroat)
Muggins isn’t a true variation of Cribbage, but it’s a rule you add to Cribbage once you’ve gotten some experience.
In cutthroat, also known as muggins, if someone counts their points incorrectly, you may correct them and take the points they miss.
If they overcount, you just have to stop them and prevent the points.
You don’t get a reward for it.
Here’s an example.
Let’s say your opponent has a:
- Ace of spades
- Ace of diamonds
- 4 of spades
- Jack of hearts
- Starter card (cut card): 8 of hearts
The opponent counts their points as 6 points (15 two, 15 four, and a pair are six points).
You can steal a point by catching the missed nobs (your Jack of hearts matches the 8 of hearts for the starter card).
The same rule applies for pegging and counting equally.
Check out if cribbage is more luck or skill in our article.
Loser’s Crib (Lowball Cribbage)
Loser’s Crib is an odd one, but it’s an interesting way of thinking about Cribbage.
Like the game of golf (card game or the one with the ball), you want to score the lowest possible points in this variation. It really changes every little way you think about the game.
From pegging to discarding to counting, you need to think about what earns you points and how to avoid it.
Some people play where the first person to 61 loses, but I’ve seen it done more commonly as the typical 121.
While I don’t love this variation, I do know a few people who think it’s a fun way to mix it up.
If you already know Cribbage, this is a variation you can learn or teach someone in minutes!
Nineteen
Nineteen plays just like normal Cribbage with one major exception:
In Nineteen, if you ever get a zero point hand or crib, you have to go backward 19 points.
This is an interesting variant in that it’s the only one where you go backward at all!
It changes the way you play slightly by forcing you to make sure you discard so you get something in your crib.
Some people also call this Black Ten or Crib Death.
I’ve tried this at home, and I haven’t noticed much of a difference from the original.
Honestly, getting a zero hand or crib is pretty rare.
But if you get one and are playing this cribbage variation, you’ll end up regretting it!
Why is this variation called nineteen?
It’s a joke.
In Cribbage, we say a nineteen hand in a bittersweet way.
19 is impossible to get in Cribbage, so if you have nothing, it’s common to say 19 as a joke to soothe your wounded heart.
Joker’s Wild
With Joker’s Wild, the game is played exactly as it normally would be, but with another exception: add in the Jokers, and the Jokers are wild.
A Joker may be any number in any suit, even one you already have in your hand or in your opponent’s hand.
The only stipulation here is that once you declare what the Joker is, it’s locked in as that card value.
So you can’t use it as the 8 of spades while pegging and then the 5 of hearts when counting your hand.
If the Joker shows up as the cut card or starter card, either put on the bottom of the deck and cut again OR use it as a wild for both players.
But the Dealer only gets to declare its value once. They can’t change it from hand to crib.
Speedo Cribbage
This is a cribbage variant made up by someone to speed up the game…or so they say.
I think it was invented because someone forgot part of the rules and just adapted it to the traditional game.
Does this mean it’s not fun to try out? Of course not!
In Speedo cribbage, you play exactly as normal with one rule change:
- The Pone (non-dealer) discards their two cards first.
- The Dealer picks up those two cards to make a hand of 8.
- From there, the Dealer picks all four cards to discard into their crib.
Obviously, this makes the Dealer’s hand and crib completely stacked.
In this version, it’s not uncommon for the game to go much faster than the standard 121.
The biggest drawback of this version is how advantageous it is to go first as the Dealer.
There are two ways to offset this one-sidedness:
- Once play has passed the Skunk line, dealers may not inspect the Pone’s discard (so regular Cribbage).
- The starting Pone gets to peg 5 to start the game.
I prefer the second option. If you stick with the first, you end up basically playing Cribbage as it would normally be played.
Why even change the game at this point?
Letting the opponent start the game with 5 extra points means it’s evened out. It’s also rooted in the oldest version of Cribbage (5-card cribbage, see above), where the Pone gets three points to start the game.
Shotgun Cribbage (Speedrun Cribbage)
Shotgun or Speedrun cribbage is simply a crazy fast version of the game.
There is no crib, so there’s no need to think about your discard strategy.
The following steps will help you understand this version of the game:
- Each player cuts a card—low card deals.
- Each player gets 4 cards.
- The Pone cuts a card for the Dealer to flip. This is the starter card. (Jacks are worth two points instantly for his heels.)
- The Play or pegging proceeds as normal.
- Counting is normal for each hand, starting with the Pone.
- There is no crib, so there is no counting the crib.
- Start at the skunk line. In other words, the first one to 31 points wins!
Fun Tip! Make these games even crazier by stacking some of the variations on top of one another.
Play Shotgun cribbage with Jokers or the Nineteen rule to make it even more fun and out there if you wish.
Five’s
Five’s Cribbage is just an added rule to normal Cribbage and makes the game much harder for yourself.
In it, you must discard any 5s in your hand to the crib, whether it’s your crib or not.
Surprisingly, I’ve found this doesn’t affect hands too often, but it makes some of the cribs get absolutely killer points.
Sevens And Eights
Like Five’s, Seven and Eights forces you to throw any sevens and eights you have into the crib.
Of course, you still only throw two cards, so if you have more than two sevens or eights, you get to pick which you throw.
Still, as anyone who’s played Cribbage will tell you:
5s are great for Cribbage, but 7s and 8s are the most common pairings for racking up big hands or cribs.
They add up to 15, AND they work well for runs as they’re right next to each other.
All you need is a 6 or 9, and you’ve got yourself a good hand.
Draw Cribbage
Do you know how in 5-card poker you get the chance to discard and draw some new cards?
Draw Cribbage works the same way.
After dealing your 6 cards, you may choose to get anywhere from 0-5 new cards.
Then, you discard your two into the Dealer’s crib.
After this, you get the option to discard and draw between 0-3 cards.
You always have to keep one.
Speed Crib (Three-Hand Cribbage)
For Three-Hand cribbage, every player is dealt 6 cards for their hand and 4 cards for their speed crib.
They discard two cards from their hand into the Dealer’s normal crib and don’t touch the speed crib, but they do get to count the speed crib at the end of the round.
This way, the Dealer gets three hands, and the Pone gets two.
If you want to play this game as Super Speed Crib, instead of keeping the speed crib hidden, you get to look at all ten of the cards you’re dealt.
You decide which combinations to keep, put in your speed crib, and discard to the Dealer’s crib.
Subvariants Of Cribbage
All of the above variations were all based on the traditional cribbage game and played using the same materials (a deck of cards and a cribbage board).
But there are a few games that have popped up over the years to take some of the fundamentals in Cribbage and modify it in a brand-new way.
None of these have reached the lasting popularity of classic 6-card Cribbage, but they’re still fun to play (at least on occasion).
Battlefield Cribbage
The makers of the game call it “The Ultimate Evolution Of Cribbage.”
That’s a pretty bold claim if you ask me, but it is fun!
It’s kind of like a combination of Cribbage, poker, and a geometric strategy game like chess or Catan.
Everyone sees where all the cards are being played, so it’s a matter of strategy and playing off your hand and the opponent’s plans.
Check out the rules here.
For this game, all you really need is a deck of cards and a cribbage board.
Crash Cribbage
In Crash Cribbage, you play on a special figure-8 board and run pegs into each other.
It’s like classic Cribbage meets Sorry!
When you collide, the opponent’s pegs are either sent forward or backward, depending on the rule.
Crash Cribbage is made by a small group of people and not a big company, so I felt good in ordering it to support small businesses.
Check them out at their website here.
Cross Crib
Cross Crib’s been around for a while and markets itself as a “new twist on a classic game.”
You play with cards face-up on a 5×5 grid.
Scoring stays the same (15s, pairs, run, etc.), but the rest of the game is totally different.
It doesn’t take long to learn, and since counting is still the same, it’s good practice for players who need help.
Crib Wars
Crib Wars is sort of like Chutes and Ladders meets Cribbage with the ability to also steal points from your opponent.
It’s like someone saw classic Cribbage and wanted to make an adventure mode for it.
Cribb Golf
I like to golf, and I love Cribbage, so Cribb Golf sounds awesome!
It’s kind of a rare find anymore, but this link to Cribb Golf on Amazon may help you find it somewhere.
It comes with special rules and a board, and just like golf (or Lowball cribbage), your goal is to have the lowest score after 18 “holes.”
I’ve spoken to people who played this (still haven’t found a copy myself), and they say it’s a fun twist for those who want something different from Cribbage after a while.
