Pegs and Jokers

Detailed Game Guide

• Overview
• Objective
• Before You Begin
• Setup
• Gameplay
• Gameplay Examples
• Strategy

Overview

Before you Begin

Each Player Needs

A Game Board as shown:

The  game board has four distinct areas:

• Start area – A circle with five holes where the player’s pegs are placed to start the game.
• Finish area – An “L" shaped path to which the player's pegs are moved during the game.
• Marker area – A star-shaped area with a hole for a peg to mark the player’s board.
• Track – A row of holes that connects to other boards along which the pegs are moved.

Six Cribbage Pegs of a Single Color

• Eight sets of pegs are included:

White Natural Yellow Orange Red Green Blue Black

• Five pegs are moved during the course of the game.
• One peg is used to mark the player's board.

The Following are also required:

Two standard  playing card decks, including two Jokers per deck (not included).

A quick reference card with a summary of the rules and card actions.

Setup

Place your Pegs

Each player chooses a color and places five pegs in the Start area and a single peg in the Marker area.

Connect the Boards

Each player connects their board to the player on their left and right, forming a loop.

Arrange the Teams

If there are an odd number of players, everyone plays as an individual. If the number of players is even, they can be arranged either into pairs or evenly divided into two teams.
The chart below shows how the players are arranged for individual, pairs, or team play. The colors indicate teams/players, not peg colors.

Note: The game ends more quickly with fewer teams!

# Players	Individual	Pairs	Teams
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight

Deal the Cards

Select a dealer, who will shuffle the cards and deal five cards to each player. The remaining cards are placed in the center of the boards as a draw pile.

Ideas for choosing a dealer:

• The youngest player.
• The oldest player.
• The player that celebrated a birthday most recently.
• The player celebrating their birthday next.

Play begins with the person to the left of the dealer and moves clockwise. In Pegs and Jokers, the card suits (Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs, Spades) are unimportant.

Gameplay

The Player's Turn

Each player's turn has three easy steps:

• Select a card from your hand and place it in the discard pile.
• Move peg(s) based on the card that is discarded (refer to the "Card Movement Rules").
• Draw a card from the draw pile.

The Rules

1. When you discard a card, if you are able to move pegs according to the Card Movement Rules, you must.
2. If you land on an opponent's peg, it is returned to that player's Start area.
3. If you land on a teammate's peg, it is moved to the hole on the Track next to that player's Finish area.
4. When a peg is landed on and moved to either the Start area or next to the Finish area, it is not considered to have passed any pegs.
5. You may not land on or pass your own peg. This includes both on the Track and in the Finish area.
6. If a card allows you to move two pegs, you may not move the same peg twice.
7. If a card allows you to move two pegs, you must move at least one of your own first, but may then move a teammate's peg.
8. While pegs generally move forward in a clockwise manner around the Track, some cards permit pegs to be moved backward (counter-clockwise), or to have other special behaviors. (See Card Movement Rules).
9. You may not move backward into the Finish area.
10. If all of your pegs have been moved to your Finish area, on each following turn, you may choose a teammate and play on their behalf.
11. If there are no cards in the draw pile, shuffle the discard pile, place it face down, and it becomes the draw pile.
12. If a player does not draw a card before play moves to the next player, that player may draw one additional card at the end of their next turn.

Card Movement Rules

	Move a peg out of the Start area to a position on the Track occupied by a teammate or an opponent. or Move a peg from anywhere on the Track to a position on the Track occupied by a teammate or an opponent.
	Move a peg out of the Start area onto the Track. or Move a peg on the Track forward one place.
	Move a peg out of the Start area onto the Track. or Move a peg on the Track forward ten places.
	Move two different pegs, one forward and one backward a total of nine places. One peg may be a teammate's. or Move one peg on the Track backward nine places.
	Move one peg on the Track backward eight places.
	Move two different pegs forward a total of seven places. One peg may be a teammate's. or Move one peg on the Track forward seven places.
	Move one peg on the Track forward the number of places equal to the value of the card.

Gameplay Examples

Moving onto the Track

If you have a face card or an Ace, you can play it and move a peg from the Start area to the Track. In this example, the blue player discards a Queen and moves a blue peg onto the Track:

If an opponent's peg is on the Track in this position, it will be sent to that player's Start area. If a teammate's peg is on the Track in this position, it will be sent to the position on the Track adjacent to that member's Finish area. If the teammate already has a peg adjacent to their Finish area, you may not place your peg on the Track!

Moving around the Track

Once you are on the Track, your pegs move according to the Card Movement Rules. The scenario below assumes the board is in the state shown. It is blue player's turn, the white peg belongs to a teammate, and the yellow pegs belong to an opponent. The blue player's hand is as shown.

Scenario 1: Blue player discards a Three

The blue player can move either blue peg.

Option One:

If they move the leading peg, it will land on the position in front of their opponent's yellow peg,

Before	After

 

Option Two:

If they move the trailing peg, it will land on the white peg. Because white is on the same team as blue,  the white peg is moved next to the white player's Finish area. This is the better move!
Note: if there is already a white peg next to the Finish area this move is not possible.

Before	After

Scenario 2: Blue player discards a Ten

The blue player can only move the leading blue peg,

The move:

The only peg that can move is the leading peg, and it moves forward ten places.

If the blue player tries to move the trailing peg, it will jump the leading peg. A player cannot land on or jump their own peg, so the trailing peg cannot move. 

Before	After

Scenario 3: Blue player discards an Eight

The blue player can only move the trailing blue peg,

The move:

Remember, an Eight moves a peg backward! The only peg that can move is the trailing peg,

If the blue player moves the leading peg, it will pass the trailing peg. A player cannot land on or pass their own peg.

The blue peg lands on the opponent's yellow peg, returning it to that player's Start area, which also moves the blue player's peg close to the Finish area.

Before	After

Scenario 4: Blue player discards a Seven

The blue player has lots of options!

Remember, a Seven can be shared between two pegs, including a teammate's peg, or a single blue peg can move forward. The most likely moves are detailed here. 

Option 1

If the move is not being shared between two pegs, the only peg that can move is the leading peg, and it moves forward seven places.

If the blue player moves the trailing peg, it will jump the leading peg. A player cannot land on or jump their own peg, so the trailing peg cannot move.

Before	After

Option 2

The blue player shares the move between two pegs, and helps their teammate with the white peg.

If the trailing peg is moved three places, it will land on the white peg. Because white is on the same team as blue, the white peg is moved next to the white player's Finish area. 

Now, the blue player must move another peg four places. The player can now move the white peg into the Finish area, to help the player with the white peg. 

Before	After

Option 3

The blue player shares the move between two pegs, and uses the teammate with the white peg to help himself.

If the trailing peg is moved four places, it will land on an open position in front of the white peg. 

Now, the blue player must move another peg three places. The player can now move the white peg three places, landing on the leading blue peg. The blue peg is moved next to the blue player's Finish area. 

Before	After

Option 4

The blue player shares the move between two pegs, and uses the teammate with the white peg to help himself, and sends an opponent to their Start area.

If the leading peg is moved two places, it will land on the opponent's yellow peg, returning it to that player's Start area.

Now, the blue player must move another peg five places. The player can now move the white peg five places, landing on the leading blue peg. The blue peg is moved next to the blue player's Finish area. 

Before	After

Other options

There are many other possible combinations of first moving a blue peg, then either a blue or a teammate's peg for a total of seven places. See the strategy section for ideas on how to use these shared moves.

The pegs can be moved anywhere on the Track, these examples focus on a small section of the Track for clarity!

Scenario 5: Blue player discards a Nine

The blue player has lots of options!

Remember, a Nine can be shared between two pegs, including a teammate's peg, or a single blue peg can move backward. The most likely moves are detailed here. 

When this card is shared between two pegs, one peg moves backward and one peg moves forward a total of nine places.

Option 1

If the move is not being shared between two pegs, the only peg that can move is the trailing peg, and it moves backward nine places.

If the blue player moves the leading peg, it will jump the trailing peg. A player cannot land on or jump their own peg, so the leading peg cannot move.

Before	After

Option 2

The blue player shares the move between two pegs, and helps their teammate with the white peg.

If the trailing peg is moved three places, it will land on the white peg. Because white is on the same team as blue, the white peg is moved next to the white player's Finish area. 

Now, the blue player must move another peg backward six places. The player can now only move the white peg backward six places (assuming there are no other teammates' pegs in play).

Before	After

Option 3

The blue player shares the move between two pegs, and sends an opponent's peg to their Start area

If the trailing peg is moved backward eight places, it lands on the opponent's yellow peg, returning it to that player's Start area, which also moves the blue player's peg close to the Finish area. 

Now, the blue player must move another peg forward one place. The player can now move the white peg or the leading blue peg forward one place (both equally fine choices, white peg shown). 

Before	After

Option 4

The blue player shares the move between two pegs, sending the opponent closest to their Finish area to their Start area, and uses the remaining backward moves to move the trailing peg close to the blue player's Finish area.

If the leading peg is moved two places, it will land on the opponent's yellow peg, returning it to that player's Start area

Now, the blue player must move another peg backward seven places. The player can now move the trailing blue peg backward seven places, landing two places behind the blue player's Finish area.

Before	After

Other options

There are many other possible combinations of first moving a blue peg, then either a blue or a teammate's peg for a total of nine places. See the strategy section for ideas on how to use these shared moves.

The pegs can be moved anywhere on the Track, these examples focus on a small section of the Track for clarity!

Playing Jokers

Jokers can change the balance of the game in a single turn! There are four main ways a Joker can be used, and we'll describe each of them.  In the illustrations below, green arrows and highlighting indicate affected pegs owned by the player with blue peg's team, and red arrows and highlights indicate the opposing team's affected pegs.

The black and white arrows indicate which team each board/color belongs to as an easy visual guide.

Scenario 1: Moving from the Start area to an Opponent's peg

The blue player discards a Joker and decides to move a peg out of their Start area and land on the opposing team player's yellow peg as indicated. The yellow peg was close to the Finish area, and is now moved to that player's Start area.

Before:

After:

 

Scenario 2: Moving from the Start area to a teammate's peg

The blue player discards a Joker and decides to move a peg out of their Start area and land on their teammate's white peg as indicated. The white peg moves next to its Finish area.

There is an opponent's orange peg where the white peg lands so the orange peg gets sent to that player's Start area.

The white peg can move into the Finish area on the next turn, and the blue peg is situated so that if their teammate moves a white peg out of the Start area, the blue peg will be moved next to the blue player's Finish area.

Before:

After:

 

Scenario 3: Moving from the Track to an opponent's peg

The blue player discards a Joker and decides to move a peg from the Track to land on an opponent's yellow peg as indicated. 

The yellow peg is moved to that player's Start area.

This moves the blue peg close to the Finish area, and disrupts the yellow player's chances of getting that peg safely to the Finish area. The blue peg is left in a precarious position (Read the Strategies Section to find out why!)

Before:

After:

 

Scenario 4: Moving from the Track to a teammate's peg

The blue player discards a Joker and decides to move a peg from the Track and land on their teammate's white peg as indicated. They chose the peg furthest away from the Finish area. The white peg moves next to its Finish area.

There is an opponent's orange peg where the white peg lands so the orange peg gets sent to that player's Start area.

The white peg can move into the Finish area on the next turn, and the blue peg is situated so that if their teammate moves a white peg out of the Start area, the blue peg will be moved next to the blue player's Finish area.

Before:

After:

 

Moving into the Finish area

The goal of the game is to move all of your pegs into your Finish area. This can be tricky! Let's look at some examples:

Basic Movement

The blue player discards a Six and moves the blue peg six places, entering the Finish area.

 

Using a split card to organize the Finish area

The blue player discards a Nine and moves one blue peg two places to the end of the Finish area, moving another backward seven places.

Mitigating damage

The blue player can only move one peg, and none of the cards allow them to enter the Finish area. In this case, they play a card that minimizes the damage, and keeps the blue peg as near as possible to the Finish area, hoping for a card that can move them backward. 

Finishing up

Getting the last peg in can be tricky. Having Aces and Twos on hand helps, or use a card that allows you to share the move with a teammate.

Strategy Hints

• Save Aces and Face cards to move pegs out of the Start area.
• Save Jokers for late in the game.
• Land on opponents that are nearest to their Finish area to slow their progress.
• Land on teammates furthest from their Finish area to help them along.
• Help one teammate get all of their pegs to the Finish area first, so they can help whomever needs it.
• Avoid leaving your peg adjacent to an opponent's Start area and Finish area to avoid getting landed on. This is a high-traffic area.
• Avoid leaving your peg adjacent to your Finish area. It can prevent your teammates from landing on your pegs, and makes you a target for opponents.
• Loitering adjacent to your teammate's Start area and Finish area is a good idea for the same reason!
• Avoid leaving your pegs at the corners; they are also high-traffic areas.
• Save small cards (Aces, Twos, Threes) for late in the game to "pack in" your Finish area.
• Look for ways to help your teammates with Sevens and Nines. Sharing these moves can help them "pack in" their Finish area.
• It's not always a good idea to land on an opponent's peg. Choose your attacks wisely to avoid spite!
• Remember to draw a card at the end of your turn. If you forget, the rules only allow you one extra card later—so you’ll have fewer options and be at a disadvantage!