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The cribbage board: how it works, plus a free printable

A cribbage board is a scorekeeper. Every point you make moves your peg along a track of holes, and the first peg to reach the game hole at 121 wins. Here is how a board is laid out, how to peg, where the skunk lines are, and a board you can print at home.

How many holes are in a cribbage board?

Each player’s track has 120 holes, one for every point from 1 to 120, and the game hole is 121. So a two-track board has 240 track holes plus the game hole, and a three-track board has 360. Most boards add a start hole or two at the beginning of each track, where the pegs wait before the first score, so a board you buy may have a few more.

The holes are set in groups of five, so you can count a big score at a glance. The 120 are split into four streets of 30: holes 1 to 30, 31 to 60, 61 to 90 and 91 to 120. Hole 120, one short of the game hole, is called the dead hole.

How many pegs?

Two per player, in that player’s colour: four pegs for a two-player game, six for three. One peg shows your score; the other shows where you were before your last score.

How to peg: the two pegs leapfrog

1. Your first score goes in with one peg. Score 2 and it goes in hole 2, on your track.
2. Every score after that is pegged with your back peg, counting on from your front peg. Score 4 more and the back peg jumps over to hole 6.
3. Keep leapfrogging. The front peg always shows your total, and the gap between your two pegs shows your last score, so your opponent can check it.

Leave the back peg where it is until you score again. In American Cribbage Congress tournaments, moving it up to close the gap costs a 2-point penalty. A hand worth nothing means the pegs aren’t touched.

Long boards and 60-hole boards

The board most people picture is a long board: each track runs 60 holes up and 60 holes back down, 120 in all, so you go around once. It’s the board the American Cribbage Congress uses for its tournaments.

The traditional British board, and many small ones, have 60 holes per track. On those you go twice around, up the outside and back down the inside, to make 120. Count your laps.

A three-track board adds a lane for a third player, for three-handed cribbage. Two players can use one too and leave a lane empty.

Where are the skunk lines?

If you reach 121 while your opponent is still on hole 90 or below, you’ve won by 31 or more: a skunk. That’s why many boards mark a line, or an S, between holes 90 and 91, and why hole 90 is nicknamed the stink hole. In friendly games a skunk usually counts as two games.

A double skunk is when the loser hasn’t got past hole 60, the halfway point, so the double skunk line sits before hole 61. It’s a house rule rather than a tournament one, and usually counts as three or four games.

Free printable cribbage board

Download the board

Three tracks (PDF)For two or three players.

Two tracks (PDF)For two players, with wider lanes.

Also as SVG, to scale or edit: three tracks, two tracks. Free to print and share.

Print at actual size (100%) on letter paper; it fits A4 too. Mark scores with a pencil, or use two coins or buttons each as pegs. For a board that lasts, glue the sheet onto corrugated cardboard and use pushpins as pegs. Each player takes a lane (P1, P2, P3), starts at the bottom of the left column, goes up to 60, then comes down the right column to 120 and the game hole.

Buying a cribbage board: what to look for

• Tracks. Two tracks are enough for two players. A three-track board lets a third player join.
• One lap or two. A 120-hole long board is the easiest to read, since you go around once. Compact boards often have 60 holes a track and two laps.
• Peg storage. A drawer, or a covered cavity underneath, keeps the pegs from going missing. Some boards hold a deck of cards too.
• Pegs. Metal pegs last longer than plastic and sit firmly in the holes. Check whether spare pegs come with it.
• Travel and mini boards. For the cottage, a camper or a plane, look for a small board that folds or closes with the pegs stored inside, so nothing rattles loose in a bag.
• Big holes and bold markings. If small pegs are fiddly, a larger board with wide holes and a clear mark every five is easier on the eyes and the fingers.

Cribbage boards are sold at big-box stores like Walmart, at game and hobby shops, and online. What’s in stock changes from store to store, so check before you go.

Questions

Sources

Board facts checked November 13, 2026 against:

• American Cribbage Congress, Cribbage Tournament Rules (2025 edition)
• Pagat.com, Cribbage

No board handy? Play cribbage online, free: the table pegs every point for you on a real 121-hole board, front and back pegs included.