Won Cribbage Solitaire on First Game Today!

I won cribbage solitaire in six deals (meaning I got to 121) on my first try today. Lucky break. I’m beginning to think I should just film these because, at least lately, I seem to be on a winning streak. My first and most recent win was 3 days ago and I think I’ve played once or twice since then.

Rules summarized and demo video below:

Cribbage solitaire has six hands and six cribs and you peg your six hands.

Start by dealing two cards down to form part of your hand, then one down to form part of the crib. Deal two more to your hand, one more to the crib, and finally two more to your hand (which now has six cards and the crib has two.

Discard two of the six cards to form a four-card crib. Then flip the top card of the deck for the starter card.

Then peg your hand for maximum count, which would not always be the way you’d peg in a game with an opponent. Colbert’s example paraphrased: if you hold 5-10-10-jack. Play the 5 first, then a 10 for “15-2,” then the other 10 for “25, a pair for two and a go.” The remaining jack also scores a “go” for one point. Your peg is six points total.

After scoring the peg, count your hand, then your crib.

Then start the second deal by using the first-hand starter card, which becomes one of the first six cards for your hand. Again, deal the crib two cards. Repeat this process until you complete the game with the sixth deal (the deck will have four cards after six deals). (Colvert, 2015)

Reference

Colvert, D. (2015). Play Winning Cribbage 5th ed. Missoula, Montana: Starr Studios.

Cribbage Solitaire Inventor Lost in the Mists of Time?

I just played 3 games of cribbage solitaire that I posted about in the last couple of days. I got to 4th street in 2 of them and got to 115 in one. I think getting to 121 is at least possible. You have 6 deals to get there and you need over 20 points per deal to make it. Each game takes me about 10 minutes.

I haven’t seen any rules for this cribbage solitaire variation about looking at your cards or not as you deal them. I deal the hand cards face down as well as the first two crib cards face down. I look at the six cards in my hand from which I select the other two cards to throw to the crib. I only look at all four crib cards when I’m ready to count the crib points. I don’t know if anybody else does it differently. See my YouTube video demo for how I interpret the game play.

The only rules I’ve seen for this cribbage solitaire version are in DeLynn Colvert’s book (“Play Winning Cribbage, 5th edition, published in 2015) or were cited by someone on the boardgamegeekdotcom thread which dates to 2008 and they are virtually identical. Neither source identifies the inventor of the rules. I wonder if they would be in the original edition of Colvert’s book, which was first published in 1980. You can find a 1993 edition on eBay going for $150. There’s a 1985 edition advertised for $113. I can’t find anything on the Internet Archive about it.

It’s probably lost in the mists of time.

Cribbage Solitaire According to DeLynn Colvert or Whoever

I was leafing through Delynn Colvert’s book “Play Winning Cribbage” and found a section on how to play cribbage solitaire. I’ve never considered it, but I tried it tonight just for laughs. It’s easier to understand than his 26 Theory, which I never got. I looked for the rules as Colvert described them and was lucky to find them in the forum on the boardgamegeek website.

Just read Jesse Hickle’s description. If you look at stuff on the web about cribbage solitaire too long, you’ll find dozens of variations. I’d stick with Colvert’s version (or Hickle’s version, whatever). I don’t know where the rules originated.

Colvert says it’s not impossible to beat—but I didn’t win tonight after a few tries. It’s good practice.