What is Muggins?
In the standard game here, every hand and crib is counted for you: the fifteens, pairs, runs, flushes and nobs are added up and pegged automatically. With Muggins you count them yourself.
When it is your turn to count, you announce a number from 0 to 29 and it is pegged at once. Then each opponent in turn, starting from your left, answers. They can accept your count, call muggins for the points they think you missed, or say you counted too many. The first call settles the count; if every opponent accepts, your count stands as announced, even if it was wrong.
A muggins call gives the caller the points you really missed, up to the number they named. If you missed nothing, the call was false and you score the points the caller named. An overcount call takes the excess points away from you and gives them to the caller; if your count was not too high, nothing changes. When the count is settled, the true breakdown is shown to everyone.
The dealer counts the crib last, in the same way, and the crib is turned face up for everyone while it is counted. The play of the cards is not affected: points in the play are still pegged automatically.
Rule changes
| Rule | Standard Cribbage | Muggins |
|---|---|---|
| Counting a hand | Standard CribbageYour hand is counted for you and the points are pegged automatically. | MugginsYou announce your own count, from 0 to 29, and it is pegged at once. |
| After a count | Standard CribbagePlay goes straight on to the next hand. | MugginsEach opponent in turn, from the counter's left, can accept the count, call muggins or call an overcount. The first call settles it; if all accept, the count stands. |
| Points you miss | Standard CribbageNot possible: every point is counted. | MugginsAn opponent who calls muggins scores the points you missed, but never more than the number they named. |
| A muggins call when nothing was missed | Standard CribbageNot possible. | MugginsThe call is false, and the counter scores the points the caller named. |
| A count that is too high | Standard CribbageNot possible. | MugginsIf an opponent calls it, you lose the excess points and the caller scores them. If nobody calls it, the count stands. A wrong overcount call changes nothing. |
| The crib | Standard CribbageCounted for the dealer automatically, straight after the dealer's hand. | MugginsCounted by the dealer after every hand has been counted, with its own chance to answer. The crib is shown to everyone while it is counted. |
| The play of the cards | Standard CribbagePoints for fifteens, pairs, runs, a go and 31 are pegged automatically. | MugginsThe same: muggins applies only to the counts of the hands and the crib. |
| Reaching the target with a count | Standard CribbageThe game ends as soon as a counted hand reaches the target. | MugginsA count that reaches the target ends the game at once if it is not too high. A count that is too high must first wait for the answers, and the game ends only if the score still reaches the target afterwards. |
| Other options | Standard CribbageA game to 61 or 121, partnership play for four and Lowball can be chosen. | MugginsMuggins works with 61 or 121, at any number of players and in partnerships, where only the other side answers. It does not combine with Lowball: if both are chosen, Lowball is played without Muggins. |
History
Muggins is the best-known optional rule of cribbage. It is commonly used but optional, and must be announced before play begins: if a player overlooks points, the opponent may call out muggins and peg them. Some players apply it to combinations missed during the play as well as in the counting of hands.
The tournament rules of the American Cribbage Congress (2020 edition) make muggins their only optional rule. Organisers must announce it in advance, and when it is in effect a player must peg out into the game hole. The caller states how many points were missed and is entitled only to the lesser of the claimed and the true amount; if the call turns out to be wrong, the opponent is awarded the claimed points instead. The same rules let a player who spots an overpegged score have it moved back and score the amount of the error.
Those are the rules followed here, with two differences. Muggins covers only the counting of hands and the crib, since the play of the cards is scored automatically; and instead of summoning judges, the true count is shown to everyone once the answers are in.