Use a cribbage board with pegs, and score with a starter card plus a 5-card hand.
Each player gets 6 cards from a standard 52-card deck.
The dealer shuffles and deals 6 cards to each player.
The non-dealer cuts the deck; dealer turns up the top card as the starter (keep it face up).
Each player selects 2 cards from their 6 to place in the crib (deal ends with 4 cards total in the crib).
The dealer receives 1 point for his/her “heels” if the starter card is a Jack.
Play begins with the non-dealer (or the player to the left of the dealer).
During play, players alternate laying one card at a time to a common pile while counting running totals.
Keep the running total at or below 31; if adding a card makes it exceed 31, that card cannot be played.
If a player cannot play without exceeding 31, they say “go” and the opponent continues.
Award points during play:
15: any time the running total reaches 15, score 2 points.
31: any time the running total reaches 31, score 2 points and reset the running total to 0.
Pairs: if the new card matches the immediately previous card(s) in rank, score 2 for each matching pair.
Triples: if the new card matches the previous two cards (three of a kind), score 6 total (3 pairs).
Four of a kind: if the new card matches the previous three cards, score 12 total (6 pairs).
Runs: if the new card completes a run of 3+ cards using consecutive ranks, score points equal to the run length (account for duplicates if present).
After all cards are played (each player has played 4 cards), finish scoring the hands (including the starter) and the crib.
Hand scoring uses 5 cards (4 played cards plus the starter):
Fifteens: score 2 points for every distinct combination of cards totaling 15.
Pairs: score 2 points for each pair of cards of the same rank.
Runs: score run points for any sequences of 3+ consecutive ranks (use multiplicity if duplicates create multiple runs).
Flush:
4-card flush (hand): if all four played cards are the same suit and the starter is also that suit, score 5 points.
4-card flush (no starter match): if only the four played cards are same suit and starter is different, score 4 points.
Crib scoring uses the 4 crib cards plus the starter (5 cards total):
Fifteens, pairs, runs scored the same way as hands.
Flush for the crib:
If all five cards are the same suit, score 5 points.
If only the four crib cards are the same suit and starter is different, score 4 points.
Add any “nibs” point to the dealer’s hand if the dealer’s original hand contains a Jack that matches the starter suit (score 1 point).
Continue until someone reaches the winning score (typically 121 points).
Track points on the cribbage board with pegs; the first to 121 wins (or the agreed target score).