Blazing Games - Ultimate Retro Project - Volume 3 - Episode 36

Ultimate Retro Project
Episode 36 Modern Cribbage

Starting

Certain browsers may require that you activate the java applet by clicking on it before you can play the game. The menu screen lets you select from two forms of the game. You can play against another human using hotseat play or you can play against the computer.

Forming the Crib

The game starts out with the dealer dealing each player six cards. The dealer alternates between the player and is a privileged position as the player who is the dealer will receive the crib. The non-dealer must now form his hand by taking two of the cards he or she has been dealt and putting it into the crib. The card is chosen by clicking on the two cards that you wish to remove. Note that there is no undo option, so make your slections carefully. The dealer then does likewise.

The crib is put aside until the scoring of the hands. A starer card is then selected. This card is used for counting the value of the hands once the pegging round has been completed.

Pegging

The non-dealer starts play by playing one of his cards. The value of this card is added to the total of the stack, will face cards counting as 10 and aces counting as 1.

Players alternate playing cards with the stack not being allowed to go above 31. If the payer is not able to play a card without going over 31 he must go. The other player then gains a point for forcing the go and must play until he has reached 31 or has no remaining playable cards.

• 2 points are earned for bringing the stack total to exactly 15 or 31.
• 2 points are earned for pairing the stack, 6 for tripling it, 12 for quadrupling it
• 3 points are earned for forming a run (straight) of 3 cards, 4 for runs of 4 and so on.
• 1 point is scored for playing the last card.

Scoring the Hands

When the game is finished, a scoring summary is shown, however understanding how hands are scored is vital to selecting the best hand that you can. The non-dealer always counts his or her hand first. Near the end of the game this can be vital allowing the non-dealer to gain victory because they will have reached 121 or greater first. Hands consist of the four cards and the starter card and ear points as follows:

• four card flush (all cards same suit) earns 4 points, 5 card flush earns 5 points
• nob (having jack of same suit as starter card) earns 1 point
• runs of at least 3 cards earn 1 point per card in the run
• 2 points are earned for pairs, 6 for triples, 12 for quadruples
• any combination of cards that add up to 15 earn 2 points