1Tracks, holes and the game hole
Every board has a separate track of holes for each player (or each team), laid out in groups of five so you can count quickly. Most boards also have a few starting holes where the pegs wait before anyone scores, and one or more game holes at the end. The game hole is hole 121. The first player to put a peg in it wins, even in the middle of a count.
Boards come in two common lengths. A long board gives each player 120 holes, usually 60 up one side and 60 back down, and you go around once. A standard family board gives each player 60 holes, which Bicycle describes as four rows of 30 holes, two rows per player. On that board you go down one row and back up the other, then do it again, for 120 holes, then peg into the game hole. People often call these 121-hole and 61-hole boards, counting the game hole.
| Board | Holes per player | Trips around for 121 | Trips for a 61-point game |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long board (continuous track) | 120 + game hole | Once | To hole 61 |
| Standard board (4 rows of 30) | 60 + game hole | Twice | Once |
2Pegs and leapfrogging
Each player gets two pegs of the same color. Start both in your starting holes. When you score for the first time, move one peg that many holes along the track. From then on, every score is recorded by taking the back peg and jumping it over the front peg by the number of points you just scored. The peg that jumped becomes the new front peg.
The system is there so nobody can quietly lose track. The front peg is your total. The distance between the pegs is your last score, which lets your opponent check it. If a hand or crib scores zero, you do not touch your pegs at all.
Pegging on the outer track first is the usual custom. Bicycle's rules say players go down (away from the game holes) on the outer rows and come back up on the inner rows, and the American Cribbage Congress rules also begin on the outside track.
3Streets
Cribbage players split the board into four 30-hole stretches called streets. First street is holes 1 to 30, second street is 31 to 60, third street is 61 to 90, and fourth street is 91 to 120. On a standard board, each row of 30 is one street, which makes it easy to see who is ahead.
Streets matter because of skunks. A player still on third street when the game ends has been skunked. A player still on second street or earlier has been double skunked.
4The skunk line and double skunk
The skunk line sits between hole 90 and hole 91. If you win while your opponent is at 90 or below, you win by a skunk, and the win counts as two games. If your opponent is at 60 or below, it is a double skunk, which Bicycle counts as four games. Many boards mark the skunk line with a line or a small S; if yours does not, count to the end of third street.
Pagat.com notes an older British term: a loser with 60 or fewer points has been lurched, and pays a double stake. In American Cribbage Congress tournaments, a skunk means winning by 31 or more points, which is the same thing as the loser finishing at 90 or below when the winner reaches 121.
Two holes have names of their own. The ACC rules call hole 120 the dead hole, one point short of winning, and hole 90 the stink hole, one point short of escaping a skunk. Some players use "stink hole" for hole 120 instead.
| Loser's final score | Result | Games won (Bicycle) |
|---|---|---|
| 91 to 120 | Normal win | 1 |
| 61 to 90 (third street) | Skunk | 2 |
| 60 or less | Double skunk | 4 |
5Three-player and four-player boards
Three-player cribbage needs a board with three tracks, one for each player. Pagat.com describes the board as either three-sided or arranged some other way to fit three sets of holes; you will find triangular boards with one side per player and long boards with a third track. Everyone plays for themselves, and the first to 121 wins.
Four-player cribbage is played in partnerships, with partners sitting across from each other. Pagat.com says one member of each partnership is chosen to peg, so each team uses one track and a two-track board works fine. Long boards with three or four tracks are sold too; with partners, you only need two of the tracks.
6What to look for when buying a board
Decide first how many players you usually have. A two-track board is all you need for two players or four players in partnerships. Buy a three-track board if you play three-handed often.
Then pick the length. A long board with 120 holes per player is what ACC tournaments require, and it makes skunks easy to read because every street is a separate stretch. A standard 60-hole board is smaller and cheaper, and it fits in a drawer, but you have to remember which lap you are on.
Check the details you will handle every game. Holes should be drilled cleanly and deep enough that pegs stay put when someone bumps the table. Metal pegs last longer than plastic ones. A built-in compartment for pegs, or for pegs and a deck, saves hunting for them. Shaped boards, such as the ones cut in the form of a 29, are fun gifts but can be harder to read at a glance than a straight track.
7Pegging etiquette and errors
In casual games, players fix pegging mistakes by agreement. The ACC tournament rules are stricter. If you peg too few points, you cannot correct it once your fingers leave the peg. If you peg too many, your opponent can have it corrected before play continues. Touching an opponent's peg by accident carries no penalty, but using your opponent's peg to record your own score gives them 2 points.
8Worked examples
Leapfrogging the first three scores
Both pegs in the start holes
- You peg 2 for a fifteen. Move one peg to hole 2.
- You peg 3 for a run. Jump the back peg (still in the start) over the front: it lands in hole 5.
- Your hand counts 8. Jump the peg in hole 2 over the peg in hole 5 to hole 13.
- Your front peg is at 13, your total. The gap from 5 to 13 shows your last score, 8.
13 points
Going around twice on a 60-hole board
Standard board, four rows of 30; your front peg at hole 58
- You score 6. From 58, count 2 holes to the end of your inner row (hole 60), then continue down your outer row again from the start.
- 4 more holes into the second lap puts the peg on the fourth hole of the outer row.
- 58 + 6 = 64. On the second lap, add 60 to whatever hole you are in.
64 points
Checking for a skunk
You peg out at 121. Your opponent's front peg is at 88.
- 88 is on third street, below the skunk line between 90 and 91.
- 121 − 88 = 33, which is more than 30.
- That is a skunk, worth two games.
Skunk: 2 games
A double skunk
You peg out at 121. Your opponent's front peg is at 59.
- 59 is on second street, below 61.
- Under Bicycle's rules a double skunk counts as four games.
- Pagat.com would call the same result a lurch.
Double skunk: 4 games
Questions people ask
- How many holes are on a cribbage board?
- A long board has 120 holes per player plus a game hole, and you go around once to reach 121. A standard board has 60 holes per player in two rows of 30, and you go around twice. Both play to 121.
- How do you move pegs on a cribbage board?
- Each time you score, take your back peg and jump it over your front peg by the number of points scored. The front peg shows your total, and the gap between the pegs shows your last score.
- What is the skunk line on a cribbage board?
- It is the line between hole 90 and hole 91. If you win while your opponent is still at 90 or below, it is a skunk, worth two games.
- What is a double skunk in cribbage?
- A double skunk is a win where the loser finishes at 60 or below, still on second street. Bicycle's rules count it as four games.
- Do you go around a cribbage board once or twice?
- It depends on the board. On a 60-hole board you go around twice to reach 121. On a 120-hole long board you go around once. For a short 61-point game, go around a 60-hole board once.
- What are streets in cribbage?
- Streets are 30-hole stretches of the track: first street is 1 to 30, second 31 to 60, third 61 to 90, and fourth 91 to 120. Finishing on third street means a skunk.
Sources
Checked by Morgan Hale against the sources below. Last reviewed September 28, 2026.
- Cribbage (six-card), pagat.com. Read September 29, 2026.
- How to Play Cribbage, Bicycle Cards. Read September 29, 2026.
- Cribbage Tournament Rules, 2025 edition, American Cribbage Congress. Read September 29, 2026.
- Cribbage, Wikipedia. Read September 29, 2026.