Louise Dorazio, age 12, of Portland, Me., for her question:
WHO INVENTED CRIBBAGE?
An English poet by the name of Sir John Suckling is given the credit for having invented and christened the game called cribbage. The poet lived from 1609 until 1642.
Cribbage is a game that is played by two persons with a deck of 52 cards and a scoring device known as a cribbage board.
Sir John Suckling took some of the features from an older game called Noddy. Unfortunately we know almost nothing about this earlier game.
Colonists who came to the New World starting in the mid 1600s brought the game of cribbage with them. The game flourished. Social clubs where cribbage was featured were established in many New England cities.
In cribbage, each king, which is the high card, queen, jack and ten represent 10 points. Each ace represents one point and each other card has its index value.
To play the game, each player receives six cards and lays away two face down to form a "crib." The stock is cut by the dealer to produce the starter. Cards are played face up alternately, nondealer first, in front of a player who announces the total point values.
The object is to carry the total to 31 or as close as possible without exceeding it.
Points are also scored in cribbage for making the count of 15 and for playing cards in sequences or in pairs or more. Players try to peg, or score, a total of 121 points. The game can also be played to 61 points.
If a player cannot lay down a card without going beyond 31, he must say "go." His opponent then pegs one point for go after playing as many cards as he can without passing 31. Whenever a "go" occurs, the opponent of the one who last played begins a new count.
When each player has used all his cards, he pegs the total points for his hand.
In cribbage, points are scored both during the play and at the end of the hand.
In pegging a game of cribbage, each combination of 15 points and each pair counts two points. A run of three or more cards in sequence scores one for each card. Three cards of a kind count six and four of a kind count 12.
At the end of the hand, the nondealer counts his score first. Each player includes the turnup in the count of his hand.
A player holding a jack of the same suit as the turnup pegs one for his "nobs." The crib belongs to the dealer and he adds its value to his score.
The father of the game of cribbage, Sir John Suckling, wrote a number of memorable romantic poems but will be best remembered for his entertaining game.