Tommy's cribbage (c) copyright 1986 by tommy's toys
P.o. Box 11261, denver, co 80211 usa. All rights reserved.
Catalog #86-040-1a
Instructions:
Tommy's cribbage implements the game invented by soldier and poet ("the
Sheep's in the meadow, the cow's in the crib" -- just kidding) sir john
Suckling (1609-42), plus modern variations as given in "scarne on cards", by
John scarne (crown publishers, 1965). (they say suckling committed suicide
In france after he was implicated in a plot to rescue the earl of stafford
From the tower of london -- actually he had lost so much money at cribbage
That he stepped on an alien space ship and fled the immediate galaxy, where
He now works in a space toy museum and is a star attraction -- they say his
Wife cleaned up from lloyd's of london.)
Cribbage is a game for two. In tommy's cribbage you play against the
Computer (your hand is displayed at the top of the screen, the computer's
Under it). The 5-card and 6-card varieties of the game are played (5-card
Is the classic variety, but 6-card is more chic with the moderns). At any
Time you can flip into demo mode by pressing a hot key (function key f2) and
The computer will take over your cards while you watch. The cumulative match
Score is kept automatically on disk.
The deck:
The pack of 52 cards is used, with king high. The point (scoring) values of
The cards are ace=1, face cards=10, all others=their ranks.
Game score:
A game is either 61 or 121 points at the user's option. For the 61-point
Game, 5-card cribbage is played, and for the 121-point game 6-card cribbage
Is played.
The cribbage board:
Cribbage is played with a board that has 60 holes, plus one extra for each
Player. The players' pegs start out in their extra holes, then march around
The board, racing back to the starting place. Scores are pegged at several
Stages during the game, and regardless of when, the first player to make it
To the goal wins. In a game of 121, 2 circuits of the board are made instead
Of one. In tommy's cribbage the pegging is done automatically.
The cut: after the cards are shuffled each player draws a card; the lower
Ranking card deals first (ace low). Thereafter the deal alternates, or goes
To the player who issued the last go (see below), according to a startup
Option.
The deal: dealer deals 5 or 6 (depending on game type) cards to each player
Face down starting with non-dealer.
Discarding: each player looks at his hand and then discards two cards face
Down into the crib. The 4 cards in the crib are later scored by the dealer,
Thus non-dealer attempts to discard 'balking cards' that won't help dealer's
Score much, while dealer attempts to discard cards that score well.
The up card: the non-dealer then draws an 'up card' or 'starter' which is
Placed face up on the table. (this is usually done by non-dealer cutting the
Cards and dealer exposing the top card of the bottom half).
His heels: if the up card is a jack, the dealer immediately scores 2 'for his
Heels.' when the play is over, the up card is considered to be part of each
Player's hand for scoring purposes.
The play: non-dealer then leads a round by laying down a card and pegging his
Bonus score if any (see below).
Each time a card is laid down on the play table, its point value (1..10) is
Added into the card count total, which in tommy's cribbage is done
Automatically and displayed to the left of the up card (usually a player lays
Down his card and announces the new card point count himself).
Rounds: dealer and non-dealer then alternate laying down of cards until
Either a card count total of 31 is reached (whereupon that player scores 2),
Or a player says "go" (in tommy's cribbage this is done by hitting "g" or the
<enter> key), whereupon the second player must lay down another card to keep
The card count less than 31 or the first player scores 1 point. If the
Second player can lay down a card to answer the first player's go, he is then
Obligated to lay down all the cards that he can until he has to say go; if
Player 2 can make the score exactly 31, so that he doesn't have to say go,
He scores 2 points, else he scores 1 point.
A new round is then started with the remaining cards in the hand. The first
Player up is the opponent of the last one to play a card in the last round.
Playing the last card of all scores 1 point (also counts as a go for purposes
Of deciding who deals next).
Note that if you are playing "last go deals next" it may be a long time
Before the deal changes hands, because the last card is usually played by
The dealer (you can stack your hands with high cards and play them early in
An attempt to force yourself to go first and hope the opponent has to play
An additional card losing his advantage).
Extra scores: besides scoring 2 for a 31 or 1 for a go, the players may also
Peg the following combinations made during play (note that in this phase of
The play suits have no significance and flushes are not counted):
1. Fifteen. Making the count total 15 scores 2.
2. Run. Playing a card which, with the 2 or more cards just played,
makes a sequence of 3 or more cards, scores 1 for each card in the run.
note that the run does not have to be *played* in sequence, so that,
for example, cards of 6,8,7 score 3 just the same as if they were
played as 6,7,8. However, the run must not be interrupted, e.g.,
6,k,8,7.
3. Pair. Playing a card of same rank (not just point value) as that
previously played scores 2. (e.g., j,j is a pair but j,q isn't).
4. Pair royal. Playing a third card of same rank scores 6.
5. Double pair royal. Playing a fourth card of same rank scores 12.
Note that these extra scores are made by the player having just played his
Card regardless of who played the previous cards. Thus, if 2-4-5-6 have been
Played, a player laying down a trey will peg 5, and if the opponent now plays
A seven then he will peg 6 more.
Showing: the play having finished, the players show their original hands,
After the discards, using the up card as a 4th (or 5th) card. The crib is now
Exposed also. Scoring is as follows, non-dealer's hand first, then dealer's
Hand, then the crib:
1. Fifteen. Each combination of 2 or more cards that totals 15 scores 2.
(for example, a,7,7,8 would score 6 because of 7+8,7+8,a+7+7).
2. Run. Each combination of 3 or more cards in sequence scores 1 for
each card in the sequence. (for example, 5-6-6-7 scores 6 because
5-6-7 can be made 2 ways).
3. Flush. 3 (4 in 6-card cribbage) or more cards of the same suit
in hand score 1 for each card; if the flush is of the same suit as
the up card, add 1 to the score.
for the crib, the flush must have at least 4 cards for 5-card cribbage,
5 for 6-card cribbage, and be of same suit as the up card.
4. Pair. Each pair of cards of the same rank scores 2. (for example,
3 eights in hand <pair royal> would score 6 since the cards can be
paired 3 ways, and 4 eights <double pair royal> would score 12.)
5. His nobs. Jack of same suit as the up card, in hand or crib, scores 1.
The highest possible 4-card hand, j 5 5 5, with the up card being the 5 of
Same suit as the jack, will score 29 as follows:
2 x 8 = 16 for the 8 fifteens
12 for the double pair royal
1 for his nobs
Another shortcut is to note that, exclusive of fifteens, a double run
I.e., a run with one card duplicated (e.g., 2 3 3 4) scores 8; a triple
Run (e.g. 2 3 3 3 4) scores 15, a quadruple run (e.g. 2 2 3 3 4) counts 16.
Note that no hand can be constructed that scores 19, 25, 26, or 27.
(it is traditional to say you "have nineteen" when your hand is worthless.)
Muggins: if the muggins option (see below) is disabled, the computer
Automatically scores the hands; if the muggins option is enabled, the
Player must score his hand and, if he claims less than is due him, the
Computer claims the points overlooked ("mugs" him). (note: the muggins points
Are credited to the computer before the player's points are credited.)
Don't forget to mentally check your hand in the same order each time to avoid
Skipping anything: fifteens, runs, flushes, pairs, royals, and one for his
Nobs.
The game: note that the game is supposed to be a race to the game score, so
That when the players are neck-in-neck at the finish, the scores are counted
Strictly in order:
his heels, scoring in play, non-dealer's hand, dealer's hand, crib
So that non-dealer can pass dealer up on the last play, even though dealer
Might have made the game score if allowed to count his hand and crib. This
Is fair because the dealer usually has the advantage anyway.
Lurching: if player a wins with a score of 61 points, he wins one game if
Player b makes 31 or more, but two games if his opponent fails to make 31;
For a game score of 121, a player is lurched (or is said to be in the lurch)
If he fails to make 91. (note: some play that a score of 61 is needed to
Avoid being in the lurch for a game of 121.)
Game score file: the file cribbage.tmp is used by the program to record the
Total number of games won by you and the computer to date on disk. If you
Want to clear the tally, just erase the file.
Game restart: anytime you are prompted from the message box for a command,
You can hit the esc key to restart the game instead.
Function keys: the function keys have the following functions:
Function key function
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f1 sound effects on/off toggle
f2 demo mode toggle
f3 muggins option toggle switch
f5 display these instructions
f7 quit the game
f9 toggle tutor mode. In tutor mode, the computer displays
an explanation for the points in the final hands (after
showing). The abbreviations are as follows:
hn = his nobs, scoring 1 point
n-(u)fl = n-length (up card suit) flush, scoring n
points + 1 if up card suit
n-15 = n fifteens scoring 2*n points
n-m = n of kind m (n=2 means pair), scoring 2, 6, or 12
points as n = 2, 3, or 4
m1-m2-r (m3) = run of cards m1-m2 scoring m3 points
f10 change the screen border color (color monitors only)
Note: for "toggle" switches, the function key legend indicates the mode that
Will be entered by pressing the function key, which is the opposite of the
Mode that is in effect at the time (except for f9, which hilights when you
Are in tutor mode).
Arrow keys: the 4 arrow keys on the numeric key pad have the following uses:
Pitch control: the left arrow key decreases, and the right arrow key
increases, the basic pitch of the sound effects.
Speed control: the up arrow key increases, and the down arrow key decreases,
the programmed delays in the game. The value, in seconds, of
the delay is displayed at the top right of the message board
(0.1 to 9.9).
To skip the startup show: hit the <enter> key twice instead of once when
Running the program from dos.
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A short lesson in strategy:
1. It is usually more important to discard the right cards to the crib
than to play the cards well. Non-dealer should try to discard 'balking
cards' to the crib, that is, cards that don't make a pair or a run.
good balking cards are a-k, because as terminal cards they have the
least chance of producing runs. But 10-point cards (the 10 and the
face cards) can be bad if the dealer discards 5-spots. As a last
resort, discard two cards that are 3 or more apart in rank. Don't
worry about discarding 2 cards of a flush because the dealer to make
use of them in the crib must discard 2 cards of the same suit and the
up card must be of that suit also.
2. Dealer should try to discard the best cards to the crib that he can,
while retaining the best hand possible. While discarding a pair is
advisable, a run of 3 in the hand should almost never be broken,
since any of these cards turned up in play will add at least 5 to his
score. With a poor hand, keep good pegging cards (the best pegging
cards are 5,7,8,6,9 in about that order). With an excess of high
cards, keep an ace or 2 for a possible 31. Discarding a five often
works because the opponent discards a 10-point card. If there is a
choice of discarding a pair or a fifteen, consider keeping the pair
because of the chance of scoring a pair royal in the play.
both players should note that low cards are valuable not only at the
beginning but at the end of the play as the score creeps up towards
31.
3. The proverbial safest lead is 4, because the opponent cannot make 15
with his next card, and any lower cards in hand are saved for help in
making 15 or 31.
the lead of a 10-point card is good if it saves lower cards for
scoring. The most dangerous leads are 5, 7 and 8, but they can
sometimes trap the opponent when they are backed with other close cards
in hand that allow you to make a pair if opponent tries for fifteen, or
a pair royal if he tries for pair.
4. In play, never bring the count to 21 because you will then be asking
the opponent to play a 10-count card, which are abundant in the deck.
bringing the count to 22 is good unless it is done by playing a nine,
because the other player can then score both for 31 and for pair by
playing a nine. Similarly, avoid making 23 with an eight, 24 with a
seven, etc. If you have a spare ace, make 20 if you can as the
opponent often plays a 10 to make the score 30. If you have a choice
of making fifteen or making a pair, prefer the fifteen to avoid giving
the opponent the chance of making pair royal.
generally speaking, play 'on' (towards a sequence) when you have close
cards and 'off' when you do not. Thus, play 8 (off) rather than 5 (on)
if the opponent plays 3 and you hold j,8,8,5. However, if you are
far behind then you might as well play on all the time, and if you
are far ahead, you might want to balk your opponent by playing off.
when both players are neck-in-neck in the straightaway, dealer will
probably want to go all out and play on in order to peg the game
score during play (i.e., before the hands and the crib are scored).
5. Since the average value of a hand is about 6-7 points, of the crib 4-5,
and the play 4-5, a player is said to be 'at home' (doing about
average) if he scores 28 points in 2 consecutive deals (2 plays +
2 hands + 1 crib). If not at home after 2 deals, the player might
want to play on, and vice versa.
Command line parameters:
s start up with sound off
m force mono display mode
c force color display mode
* skip the startup show
Example: >cribbage ms
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Enjoy!
