The Secret of Playing Cribbage

When I saw the notice in the newsletter that I could play cribbage on Monday mornings at the Senior Center, I thought,

I used to play cribbage. All I can remember are the words "fifteen for two", but I'm sure the game will come back to me."

It didn't, but that's neither here nor there.

The three people present – the only three people with whom I have played – welcomed me warmly, accepted my Braille cards and said,

We play in pairs.

And so my re-education in how to play cribbage began.

I still think it is really surreal to be playing cribbage with two men old enough to be my father and a woman old enough to be a much elder sister.

The object of the game is to score points by the play of the game or by the cards you hold. Obvious ways are pairs and runs. Cribbage stresses cards that add up to fifteen. Here are some examples:

• five plus ten or any picture card
• seven plus eight
• six plus nine
• three plus two plus ten or any picture card
• six plus ace plus eight

You get the idea. After a while, all these numbers can make my head swim. Add to this the need to discard one card I am dealt and to play to thirty-one while being mindful of pairs, runs and the inevitable fifteen, there is little opportunity for general conversation.

There's more to it, of course, but this is not a tutorial on how to play cribbage.

My playing companions are patient with my questions and my mistakes. They congratulate me on my successes even going as far as declaring me to be

a wicked card player.

My partner, (He always calls me "partner"), comes around at lunchtime to discuss our play or to ask if I am ready to play next week's game. He has played cribbage in Las Vegas for money and plays cribbage solitaire daily to keep in practice.

I thought to myself,

How very odd. I've always suspected senior centers to be nothing more than nursery schools for the elderly. And here I am, not that old, trying to create some excitement around an hour of playing cards.

But, my friends, that's not what playing cribbage is all about.

A friend said to me,

It's the social aspect.

By this I assume she meant that it is important for people to get out and stop thinking about their isolation and loneliness or their nearness to death.

• Is that why I play cribbage?
• Is that why I go back week after week?
  • To distract myself from my inevitable demise?
  • To amuse an old man?
  • To dissipate my own loneliness and regrets?

None of this sounded right to me. There must be more going on here than bread and circuses to keep a certain segment of the population from running amok.

We are dealt five cards. One must bee discarded before we begin play. Sometimes it is easy to know which card will not produce points. Other times it is quite difficult. I must choose between several good alternatives. I hesitate. I am the last to throw down a card. The others are anxious to get started yet they wait patiently.

Finally, I slide my choice over to the crib. We begin to play. The first card goes down. Then the second. I play the third. The man to my left studies his cards. We wait. Then we wait some more.

Do you have a card eight or less?

Silence.

The first card you thought about playing is probably the right one to choose.

More silence. At last he puts down a seven. The next player throws down an ace to make thirty-one and scores a point. We begin again at zero.

When all the cards are played, each person's hand is analyzed for the most points. No opportunity to score is overlooked. The pegs are moved on the board. Someone shuffles the cards and they are dealt again.

Then I know the secret of playing cribbage.

• Each person is welcome to play the game.
• Each person's slowness or ineptitude is not held against them.
• We play to stretch our minds, confident that we are capable of playing.
• If we are having difficulty, someone steps in to help without drawing undue attention to their assistance or its need.
• This is a safe place, a place where each of us can take our time to play the best game we know how to play. Note: I must have written this some time in 2013.