CARDS. Cribbage is played with a full pack of fifty-two cards, which have no rank except the order of their sequence; K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 A, the Ace being always the lowest, either in cutting or in play. The cards have also a counting or pip value, the three court cards, K Q J, and the 10 being worth ten points each. All other cards, including the Ace, retain their face value. There are no trumps, and the four suits are therefore equal in value at all times.
MARKERS. The game is 61 points, and is scored or “pegged” on a cribbage board, which has a double row of 30 holes on each side, and a game-hole at each end. The players are each provided with two pegs, and they score the points as they accrue by advancing their pegs from left to right according to the number of points they make. For instance: One player makes 6 for his first count. He places one of his pegs in the sixth hole from the left-hand end of the board. Then he makes 4, and places the second peg four holes in advance of the first, which will show that his total score is ten points. The third time he makes 2, which he scores by lifting out the back peg and putting it two holes in advance of the first one. This system of pegging not only shows the total number of points made by either player, but enables the adversary to check the count, as a glance at the distance between the two pegs will show the number of points pegged last time.
When a player reaches the extreme right of the board, 30 points, he crosses over to the inner row of holes, and goes down from right to left. On reaching the end of the second row he has still one more to go to get into the game-hole, which is in the middle of the board.
When one player reaches his game-hole before the other turns the corner, it is called a lurch, and counts two games.
The pegs are so often lose or mislaid that it is much more convenient to use a pull-up cribbage board, in which every hole is provided with its own peg, which may be raised to indicate the count. The back pegs can be either left standing or pushed down again.
The board is always placed midway between the players.
If three persons play, a triangular board is necessary. This is provided with three sets of holes and three game holes.
When a cribbage board is not at hand, the game may be kept by ruling a sheet of paper into ten divisions, and marking them with the figures 1 to 0 on each side:
| 0 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 0 |