What is Partnership (2 against 2)?
Cribbage is at heart a game for two, but it is also played by four in two partnerships. Partners sit opposite each other: the first and third seats play against the second and fourth.
The deal is the same as in the four-player game here. Each player is dealt five cards and discards one into the crib, so everyone keeps a hand of four and the crib, which belongs to the dealer, also has four cards. The play goes round the table to the left as usual, and the counting starts from the dealer's left, with the dealer's hand and then the crib last.
What changes is the score. Each partnership pegs one shared score: every point either partner makes, in the play or in the counting, and the crib when one of them deals, goes to the side. The first side to reach the target wins, and both partners win together.
Partnership play needs a table of four; choose four players in the table setup. Without this option, four players each play alone. With three players nothing needs choosing: each player is dealt five cards and discards one, and one card from the pack starts the crib.
Rule changes
| Rule | Standard Cribbage | Partnership (2 against 2) |
|---|---|---|
| Players | Standard CribbageTwo, three or four, each playing alone. | Partnership (2 against 2)Exactly four, in two partnerships of two. |
| Seating | Standard CribbageEvery player is on their own. | Partnership (2 against 2)Partners sit opposite: the first and third seats against the second and fourth. |
| The deal | Standard CribbageSix cards each with two players, discarding two; five each with four, discarding one. | Partnership (2 against 2)Five cards each; every player discards one into the crib and keeps four. |
| The crib | Standard CribbageBelongs to the dealer and scores for the dealer alone. | Partnership (2 against 2)Still belongs to the dealer, and its points go to the dealer's side. |
| Score | Standard CribbageEach player pegs a score of their own. | Partnership (2 against 2)Each side pegs one shared score: every point either partner makes counts for both. |
| The play of the cards | Standard CribbagePlayers play in turn to the left, without passing 31; every player scores for themselves. | Partnership (2 against 2)The same order and rules; a pair or run you complete on your partner's card still scores for your side. |
| End of the game | Standard CribbageThe first player to reach the target wins. | Partnership (2 against 2)The first side to reach the target wins, and both partners win together. |
| Other options | Standard CribbageA game to 61 or 121, Muggins and Lowball can be chosen. | Partnership (2 against 2)All of them work in partnerships. With Muggins only the other side can answer a count; in Lowball the first side to reach the target loses. |
History
Four-handed cribbage is usually played as a partnership game: partners sit opposite each other, the cards are dealt one at a time to five each, and every player puts one card into the dealer's crib. For three players the usual deal is the one also used here: five cards each, one card from the pack into the crib, and one discard from each player.
The tournament rules of the American Cribbage Congress cover only the two-handed game, noting that the three- and four-handed versions are played with essentially the same rules.
Descriptions of the partnership game also explain how the cut is shared between the two partnerships when the cards are cut for the deal and for the starter. Here the shuffle and the cut are done by the computer, so that part is not needed.