I Love Cribbage

Cribbage is kind of a simple-minded card game, but it has several distinct advantages.

1. It is usually played with two people, so you don't have to wait until you get a foursome together,

2. It takes about 45 minutes for a game (unless you're playing with a pro who can "skunk" you in about 20 minutes).

3. Just about everyone has a cribbage board, and if the official pegs are missing, you can use matchsticks --which everyone eventually does because the pegs get lost after a short time.

4. Even kids can play it as soon as they can count up points, and

5. I grew up thinking it was an adult game, and therefore I really wanted to learn how to play it.

When my folks visited my cousin's folks, Father and Aunt Corrine invariably got into a game of cribbage. They always ended up playing three games to make sure they had a winner and not just a lucky fool. We kids would go in and out the back door and see them sitting there playing, and we just knew they were having a good time. Sometimes the neighbor lady, Phyllis, would come over and she and Father would duke it out.

When my cousin Joy and I were about 7 we started playing cribbage, but I'm sure we didn't know any of the finer points of the game. Still we counted up our points, "Fifteen two, fifteen four, fifteen six and a pair is 8." We pegged around the board just like the big people did....and we had fun!

My husband never grew to like the game. I guess that's because there isn't much strategy to it...unless you were Father, Aunt Corrine or Phyllis. Then it was cut-throat.

I tried to teach the game to my grandson Alex when he was having trouble with math. He never got the hang of it, and was bored with having to go around the board twice. He only played it to please Grandma, I think.

Maybe if I live long enough to live in a "senior citizen's home," I'll find someone there to play cribbage with me. I'll hang onto my two cribbage boards, just in case.