Version
The Cribbage Solitaire version on this page
Cribbage Solitaire has more than one rule tradition, so the version matters. This page uses the compact four-deal form: each deal creates two six-card hands, you discard two cards from each hand into one crib, then a single starter card scores with both hands and the crib. Four deals use the full deck.
The site benchmark is 101 points, because many solitaire descriptions treat that as a strong winning target. The progress bar also shows 121, the familiar full cribbage-board target. A lower score is still a finished game; it simply means the deck and discard choices did not reach the benchmark this time.
Flow
How a deal works
The first hand is shown before the second hand. Pick two cards to feed the crib, keeping the four cards you want to score with the starter. Then Hand 2 appears and asks for the same choice. Once both hands have discarded, the starter is revealed and the score is counted automatically.
This order keeps the solitaire tension intact. You cannot tune Hand 1 after seeing the second hand, and you cannot know the starter before choosing the crib cards.
Scoring
What scores in each hand
Fifteens score two points for every distinct card combination that totals 15. Pairs score two points per pair, so three of a kind is worth six and four of a kind is worth twelve. Runs score by length, with duplicate ranks multiplying the run count.
A hand flush scores four when the four kept cards share a suit, or five when the starter matches too. In the crib, the flush scores only if all five cards share one suit. A jack matching the starter suit scores nobs for one point. A jack as the starter scores heels for two points once for the whole deal.
Examples
Examples of Cribbage Solitaire scoring
Suppose a hand keeps 7, 7, 8, 8 and the starter is a 9. The 7-8 combinations make four fifteens for eight points. The two pairs add four more. The duplicated 7s and 8s make four separate 7-8-9 runs, worth twelve points. That hand scores 24 before any flush or nobs.
The famous 29-point shape also works here: three 5s with a jack in hand and the fourth 5 as starter, when the jack matches the starter suit. The hand gets eight fifteens, six pairs among the four 5s, and one for nobs.
Strategy
Discard strategy
Your first instinct may be to protect each hand as if the crib belonged to someone else. In Cribbage Solitaire, the crib is yours, so the best discard often balances two scores: the four cards left behind and the four cards you are assembling in the crib.
Fives are powerful because every ten-value card can join them for 15. Adjacent ranks such as 6-7 or 8-9 are flexible because the starter may complete a run or a fifteen. Pairs are also valuable in the crib, especially when they sit near run-making ranks.
Mistakes
Common mistakes
- Counting every small run inside a longer run instead of scoring the longest run pattern.
- Forgetting that duplicate ranks multiply runs.
- Giving the crib two unrelated cards just to save a modest hand score.
- Counting a four-card crib flush when the starter does not match.
- Missing nobs when a kept jack matches the starter suit.
- Adding heels to every hand instead of once to the whole deal.
Variants
Other Cribbage Solitaire versions
Some Hoyle-style descriptions use a different nine-card deal and play more scoring rounds from the deck. That version asks for a different rhythm because the crib starts partly formed and the starter is recycled through the pack.
This page does not mix those rules. If a rule on another site seems to deal fewer cards or count a different number of hands, it is probably using that alternate family rather than the four-deal version played here.
Difficulty
Is Cribbage Solitaire winnable?
Cribbage Solitaire is scored more like Bowling Solitaire than like Klondike. You finish every deck, then judge the total. The shuffle can deny big starters or split promising cards between hands, but the discard decisions are meaningful because every crib card is part of your own score.
A practical goal is to cross 101. A very strong deck can push much higher, and 121 is the full-board mark shown by the game. Because the site has not published measured deal data for this ruleset, the page avoids claiming a fixed average or win rate.