Cribbage is the game I keep coming back to at the table. Two hands, a deck, and a board you peg around twice to 121. It rewards a little arithmetic and a lot of repetition, which is exactly why it travels well and why it has the history it does.
The submarine pedigree
Cribbage is not just a card game on a boat, it is a submarine tradition with a documented origin. In April 1943, during a patrol in the Yellow Sea, USS Wahoo’s executive officer Dick O’Kane was dealt a perfect hand of 29, the rarest hand in the game, by his skipper Dudley “Mush” Morton. The crew took it as an omen of good luck. That board became the O’Kane cribbage board, and to this day it is handed down to the oldest active fast-attack submarine in the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Sources below.
How I Play
Quick reference for my own table, not a rulebook.
- Race to 121 (twice around the board). Standard two-hand deal of six, discard two to the crib.
- Pegging first, then the show: fifteens, pairs, runs, flushes, and his nobs.
- Crib alternates with the deal.
House Rules
The variations I actually use. Edit these to match the table.
- [Muggins on or off?]
- [Skunk line at 90, double skunk at 60: counts as how many games?]
- [Three- or four-hand variations when more people play.]
Strategy
Notes worth remembering, sharpened over time.
- [Discarding to your own crib vs. the opponent’s.]
- [Pegging traps and safe leads.]
- [What to keep when the count is tight near the skunk line.]
Score Log
The running record. Add a row per match.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Score | Skunk? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sources
- The O’Kane Cribbage Board Is Passed Down (DVIDS) - backs the 1943 Yellow Sea origin aboard USS Wahoo, the perfect 29 hand dealt by Morton to O’Kane and read as good luck, and the tradition of passing the O’Kane board to the oldest active fast-attack submarine in the U.S. Pacific Fleet.