Family Game Rules

Printable Cribbage Board

This free cribbage board prints on 1 page with 3 tracks, so up to 3 players can peg to 121 with a pencil or a coin. A tally table below it keeps a running total.

The score sheet for Cribbage
Download the score sheetPDF, 1 page, US Letter paper.

What is on the sheet

The sheet is our own design, 1 page. The top half is the board. It has 3 tracks, 1 for each of up to 3 players, each with a name line. Every track has 120 holes laid out in 4 rows of 30. The rows are labeled 1 to 30, 31 to 60, 61 to 90 and 91 to 120. The darker holes mark off groups of 5.

A game hole for 121 sits at the end of each track. Red dashed lines run before holes 61 and 91, to show the skunk lines. Below the board is a tally table with a row for each of 15 deals. Each of 3 players has columns for Play, Hand, Crib and Total.

How to fill it in

  1. Write each player’s name on a track. Mark your place with a pencil or a coin. The first row starts at hole 1, on the left.
  2. After each score, move your mark ahead by that many holes. Follow the rows left to right, then go down to the next row, to hole 120 at the end of the bottom row.
  3. If you use coins, you can use 2 per player the way pegs work on a wooden board. Put your back coin ahead of your front coin by the points you made. Your front coin shows your total.
  4. To keep a written record as well, use the tally table. After each deal, write the points from the play, the hand and the crib, then the new Total. Only the dealer scores the crib.
  5. The first player to reach hole 121 wins at once, even in the middle of counting. You do not need to land on 121 exactly.
  6. If your group counts skunks in a series of games, check the red lines at the end. If the loser has not reached 91, the win is a skunk. If the loser has not reached 61, it is a double skunk.

Scoring at a glance

Points are scored in 3 places: when the starter is turned, during the play, and when the hands and the crib are counted.

Cribbage scoring chart: the starter and the play (pegging)
What happensPoints
The starter is a jack (his heels). Dealer only2
Your card makes the count exactly 152
Your card makes the count exactly 312
Pair: your card has the same rank as the card before2
Three of a kind: the third card of one rank in a row6
Four of a kind: the fourth card of one rank in a row12
Run: the last 3 or more cards make a run, in any order1 for each card in the run
Go or last card: you played the last card of a count, or of the whole hand, and it did not make 311
Cribbage counting chart: a hand or the crib, with the starter
CombinationPoints
Fifteen: each different group of 2 or more cards that adds up to 152
Pair: each 2 cards of the same rank2
Three of a kind (3 pairs)6
Four of a kind (6 pairs)12
Run: each run of 3 or more cards1 for each card in the run
Flush in a hand: all 4 hand cards in one suit4
Flush in a hand or the crib: all 4 cards and the starter in one suit5
His nobs: the jack of the same suit as the starter, in a hand or the crib1
Counting chart: runs with pairs in them
CardsExamplePointsHow it adds up
A run of 3 with one card paired (double run)A, 2, 2, 38Two runs of 3 and a pair
A run of 4 with one card paired (double run of four)A, 2, 2, 3, 410Two runs of 4 and a pair
A run of 3 with one card three times (triple run)A, 2, 2, 2, 315Three runs of 3 and three of a kind
A run of 3 with two cards paired (double double run)A, A, 2, 2, 316Four runs of 3 and two pairs

Keep score on a phone instead

The cribbage scorekeeper draws a board for 2 or 3 players, or 2 teams, pegging to 121. Quick buttons add the common pegging scores, a number entry adds a hand or crib count of up to 29, and marks at 61 and 91 show the skunk lines.

Printing tips

  • The sheet is 1 page for US Letter paper, in portrait.
  • On A4 paper, choose fit to page in the print box so the tracks are not cut off.
  • Print a fresh page for each game. Pencil dots can be rubbed out if you mark one wrong.
  • For 4 players in 2 teams, each team can share a track.

The full rules

The sheet only records the score. If you need to learn the game or settle a question, the full rules are on their own page.

Questions

How many points do you need to win cribbage?

121. Any score that takes you to 121 or past it wins, and the game ends at once. That can happen during the play, while counting, or on the dealer’s 2 points for a jack starter. You do not need to land on 121 exactly.

What is a skunk in cribbage?

A win in which the loser has not reached 91 points. In a series of games it counts as 2 games won. A double skunk, with the loser short of 61, counts as 3 or 4 games depending on the group. The red lines on the board show 61 and 91.

How many points is a flush in cribbage?

4 points when all 4 cards in your hand are 1 suit. It is 5 points when the starter is also that suit. In the crib, only the 5-card flush scores. Flushes never score during the play.

What is the highest hand in cribbage?

29. You hold three 5s and a jack, and the starter is the fourth 5 in the same suit as your jack. Hands of 19, 25, 26 and 27 are impossible.

How do you score a pair, three of a kind and four of a kind in the play?

A pair is 2 points. Three of a kind is 6 points for the third card of one rank in a row, and four of a kind is 12 points for the fourth. A card that makes the count exactly 15 or exactly 31 also scores 2.

How does a cribbage board work?

Each player has a track of holes and 2 pegs. To score, jump your back peg ahead of your front peg by the number of points. Your front peg always shows your total. A full game is 121 points, which on this board is the game hole at the end of the track.