Tactical play varies, depending on which cards one's opponent has played, how many cards in the remaining pack will help the hand one holds, and what one's position on the board is. The game has relatively few rules yet yields endless subtleties during play, which accounts for its ongoing appeal and popularity. It has been characterized as 'Britain's national card game' and the only one legally playable in licensed pubs and clubs without requiring local authority permission. Ĭribbage has several distinctive features: the cribbage board used for score-keeping the crib, box, or kitty (in parts of Canada and New England) two distinct scoring stages and a unique scoring system, including points for groups of cards that total 15. It can be adapted for three or four players. CribbageĬribbage, or crib, is a card game, traditionally for two players, that involves playing and grouping cards in combinations which gain points. For the pocket billiards game of the same name, see Cribbage (pool).