After a short conversation about cribbage with some friends on New Year’s Day, I decided to do a little research on the history of cribbage for a blog post.
Cribbage is a card game played with two or three people, or four as partners. Two unique features are the crib (extra hand for the dealer, which is made up of cards discarded by all the players) and the score board.
Origins
Cribbage was invented by Sir John Suckling, a Cavalier poet whose works I read in my Seventeenth Century Literature class in university (“Out upon it, I have lov’d / Three whole days together; / And am like to love three more, / If it prove fair weather.”)
In the 1630s Suckling — a famous courtier and gambler — altered the earlier game of noddy by inventing the crib. (Noddy first appeared in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1589.)
Cribbage became popular with sailors and was a common pastime in the navy during World War II, especially among American submariners patrolling for Japanese ships. A famous incident involved a game between Lieutenant Commander Dudley “Mush” Morton and his executive officer Richard “Dick” O’Kane. You can read the details here. Ever since, O’Kane’s cribbage board has been passed down to the oldest active submarine in the United States Pacific Fleet.
Trivia
- The cribbage board predates cribbage and was used for scoring other games, such as whist. (According to Cribbage Corner, a similar board was even found in an Egyptian pyramid.)
- The pegs for scoring are also known as “spilikins.”
- Cribbage is immortalized in Charles Dickens’s The Old Curiosity Shop, which I haven’t read (much to my chagrin).
Sources
“Cribbage” on Wikipedia
“Cribbage Boards” on Cribbage Corner
“Cribbage Fun Facts” from Bicycle Cards
“History of Cribbage”
“The Manly History of Cribbage and How to Play the Game” on The Art of Manliness
“Noddy (card game)” on Wikipedia.
“Origins of Cribbage” on Cribbage Corner
Very interesting. I have only played cribbage once, but enjoyed it. The Old Curiosity Shop is so poignant; a must read indeed.
@Beverly My “to be read” list just keeps growing! 🙂
I’ve been playing cribbage since 8 or 9 (I’m 64, now). My father, once a WWII submariner in the pacific, taught me. In all the years I’ve played, 1,000’s upon 1,000’s of hands, I’ve only been dealt one 28 and one perfect 29 hand. I consider myself lucky to have gotten them both in one lifetime. That’s how rare they are!
Nice article! Peace!
It’s so interesting to hear about your father teaching you cribbage and about those amazing hands. Glad you commented!
Have had but one 29 but numerous 28’s in my life of 72 years, grew up in a family of avid players! Never tired of the game!
I have added a few new ways to score points, which we use in our family games. If all 5 cards are the same color (red or black) you count 1 point. If all 5 cards are even you have a crappy hand (no 15s no runs) you count one point. & just for fun is the dealer is cut a one eyed jack you count 3 points instead of 2.
Learned from my Army veteran father. Always a four lane board on the table. With a family of five we get out another board and the dealer discards under the deck.
Another thought! All kids in this wide spreading family learn their simple math skills with this game.