Cribbage is a fun game to play against 1 or even 2 people, but can you play Cribbage by yourself?
Turns out you can! I’ve picked up playing Solitaire Cribbage when no one else will play with me, and I love it.
But how do you play Cribbage solitaire?
We’ll go step-by-step and help you figure out this fun game.
Check out our comprehensive guide on the rules of cribbage and how to play with examples, scoring breakdowns, and vocabulary guide.
Table of Contents
What Do You Need For Cribbage Solitaire?
- A Standard Deck of 52 Cards
- A Cribbage Board*
*Even this is optional! If you keep track of points on a piece of paper or your phone, it’ll work just the same.
If you’re playing Solitaire Cribbage, then you probably want something a little smaller. I recommend this lightweight Cribbage board and deck of cards.
It’s pretty durable and doesn’t cost a lot.
Objective Of Cribbage Solitaire
Score as many points as possible while playing through the deck one time. Aim for 91 as the “win” condition and 121 as the Skunk condition for winning the game even more.
You score points in the same way as normal Cribbage without the Play or pegging. It’s all about picking the right Discard and getting lucky with your cuts.
The Flow Of The Game
Shuffle the deck of cards. Deal yourself three cards, deal two cards to the side for your crib, and then three more cards to yourself.
Look at your six cards and pick two to discard into your crib.
Cut the deck and flip over a card on top. This is your cut card.
Now you count points exactly the same as if you were counting hands in normal Cribbage. (More on scoring in the next section.)
Count your hand and peg it on the board. Count your crib and peg it on the board. Use the cut card where it works.
Put the cards from your hand and crib into a discard pile. They’re out of the game.
Flip the cut card back over and tuck it on the bottom of the deck.
Start the round over again with all the same steps.
You’ll go through this until you run out of cards.
After 6 rounds, you’ll have used 48 cards, leaving four left.
These last four cards make a bonus crib (with no cut card to help them out).
If you made it to Fourth Street (over 91 points), then you consider this a win.
If you didn’t, too bad. Try again!
If you made it over 121, woah. You’re a champ!
Imagine you just skunked Luck itself!
Need a Cribbage board to get started?
Check out this classic one here!
Scoring Rundown
Without the Play or Pegging phase, only “normal points” are counted.
This makes it a little easier!
Here’s a quick list of how to get points in your hand.
Note: Aces are low and have a value of 1. Numbered cards have their printed value. All face cards are worth a 10 as well.
| Method | How Many Points |
|---|---|
| Card values add to 15 | 2 |
| Run | # of cards in run (minimum of 3) |
| Pair | 2 |
| Royal Pair (Three of a Kind) | 6 |
| Four of Kind | 12 |
| Flush (all cards of the same suit) | # of cards in the suit (must be all four in your hand and five in your crib) |
| Nobs (You hold a Jack that matches the suit of the cut card) | 1 |
Check out this Printable Scoring Cheat Sheet and guide to Cribbage scoring to help you out.
Commonly Asked Questions
What Is The Rarest Hand In Cribbage?
The rarest hand in Cribbage is also the highest hand in Cribbage.
This is the elusive 29 hand. To get this, you’ll need to have three 5s and a Jack in your hand. Then, you’ll need to cut the 5 that matched Jack’s suit (to get Nobs).
This works out to 8 points for 15s with the Jack, 8 points for 15s with groups of three 5s, 12 points for the four of a kind, and 1 point for nobs.
8 + 8 + 12 + 1 = 29!
For more information on the odds and other information, check out my article on counting a 29 hand in cribbage here (I also have a cool video on it too).
What Does Pone Mean In Cribbage?
Pone is short for opponent or non-dealer. You are the Pone when you don’t have the deal.
The Pone discards two cards to the dealer’s crib, starts the Play or pegging, and counts the points in their hand first.
What Is The Only Hand You Cannot Get In Cribbage?
It’s a common joke that when you have zero points in your hand, you say, “I’ve got 19!”
This is because it’s impossible to get a 19-point hand.
However, it’s not the only impossible hand from 0-29!
25, 26, and 27 are also impossible.
Why Do You Need Two Pegs For Cribbage?
Actually, you usually see three pegs. One of them can be used for tracking the number of wins in a match.
The other two are for counting points. One is in the lead, and then when you get points, you leap-frog the back peg over the front one by the points you gain.
Check out our FAQ on the cribbage board for more answers to related questions.
This helps you make sure nothing gets counted incorrectly, or if your opponent gets it wrong and you get to steal their points for muggins.
Further Reading: Check out more Cribbage Variations in my big list at the link.
