Contents

The following Help Topics are available:

How To Play

Cribbage Scoring Rules

How To Register

Legal Issues

Our Other Games

For Help on Help, Press F1

For Help on Life, click here.


How To Play

The object of Cribbage Squares Solitaire is to build the best possible cribbage hands in both the rows and columns. Cards are dealt from the deck one at a time. You select the position to place this card by moving the mouse to that position in the grid and clicking the left mouse button.  Alternatively, you can also drag the card to desired position in the grid.

When 16 cards have been dealt from the deck the computer will turn over the Starter card and will then score the hands based on the traditional rules of cribbage.  Each row's total will appear to the right of the row, and each column's total will appear beneath the column.  Clicking on a row or column score will show a breakdown of how the score was tallied.

Your goal is to make the highest possible total score.  You may consider that you 'win the game' if you reach 60.

Undo Last Move

Replay Game

Cribbage Scoring Help


Cribbage Scoring Rules

The following is just as a refresher.  If you have never scored a Cribbage hand before then you will probably want to refer to a card rule book for more details.

A Cribbage hand is comprised of 5 cards.  The four cards in a row or column, and the Starter card.

The rank of cards is as follows: The ace counts 1, the two 2, the three 3, and so on up to the ten-spot.  The king, queen, and jack also count 10.

There are six primary ways to score points in Cribbage:  Fifteens, Pairs, Runs, Flushes, and two special Jacks known as Right Jack and His Heels.  All of the scoring combinations mentioned later in this discussion are derived from these primary score types.

Fifteens:

Any distinct combination of cards whose ranks, when added together, totals fifteen is worth 2 points.

7, 8

2, 3, 10

A, 2, 3, 4, 5

Lets consider four cards and count the different Fifteen combinations in it.  The hand in this example will be:  Ace Spades, Two Hearts, Two Spades, Two Diamonds, and Jack Clubs.  There are 3 distinct Fifteen combinations as shown below:

Ace Spades	Two Hearts	Two Spades	Jack Clubs
Ace Spades	Two Hearts	Two Diamonds	Jack Clubs
Ace Spades	Two Spades	Two Diamonds	Jack Clubs

As you can see, the same card can be used more than once, as long as each group of cards is distinct from the other groups.  This is a very important concept to grasp!  You will see it in all advanced scoring combinations.

Pairs:

Two cards of the same rank scores 2 points.

K, K

4, 4

Three and Four of a Kind are special cases whose scores are derived from the score value of a pair.

A Three of a Kind card combination is made up of three distinct pairs so its value is 6 points.

A Four of a Kind card combination is made up of six distinct pairs so its value is 12 points.

If you are new to Cribbage, this can be a little confusing.  Lets look closer at the Three of a Kind combination to see where the three pairs are.  Lets use these three cards for our example: the 9 of clubs, the 9 of diamonds, and the 9 of spades.  The three distinct pair combinations appear below:

9 clubs	9 diamonds
9 clubs	9 spades
9 diamonds	9 spades

The Four of a Kind card combination can likewise be demonstrated.

Runs:

Three or more cards whose ranks are in a consecutive sequence are considered a run . Runs are the same as runs in most other card games that have them.  The Ace is the low card and the King is the high card.  The run cannot wrap-around from King to Ace.  A run is worth 1 point for each card in the run.  There are only three lengths of runs, a three-card run, a four-card run, and lastly, a five-card run.  Examples of each are shown below:

3 card:	J, Q, K
4 card:	2, 3, 4, 5
5 card:	7, 8, 9, 10, J

Flush:

A flush occurs when all of the cards in the hand are of the same suit.  There are two types of flushes in Cribbage, a four-card flush, and a five-card flush.  A four-card flush occurs when the four cards in a row or column are of the same suit.  A five-card flush occurs when the Starter card is also of the same suit as the other cards in the hand.  The point value for a flush is one point per number of cards in the flush.  Hence, 4 points for a four-card flush and 5 points fort a five-card flush.

Right Jack:

The jack of the same suit as the Starter card is known as the Right Jack and is worth one point.

His Heels:

If the Starter card is a jack, then 2 points are added to your Grand Total.  This is known as His Heels.

There are some special combinations that appear often in Cribbage.  Because they are so common, they have been given their own names, and their point values are already known.  Lets look at four of these.

Double Three-Card Run:

A Double Three-Card Run is comprised of four cards which contain two runs of three cards.

It is worth 8 points.  An example is the four cards (8, 8, 9, 10).  The worth is arrived at as follows:

Two distinct three-card runs.  Do you see them?  The run 8, 9, 10 occurs twice.  This is six points.

There is also a pair of eights, which is good for another two points.  Hence the 8 point total.

Double Four-Card Run:

A Double Four-Card Run is comprised of five cards which contain two runs of four cards.

It is worth 10 points.  An example is the five cards (8, 8, 9, 10, J).  The worth is arrived at as follows:

Two distinct four-card runs.  Do you see them?  The run 8, 9, 10, J occurs twice.  This is eight points.

There is also a pair of eights, which is good for another two points.  Hence the 10 point total.

Triple Run:

A Triple Run is comprised of five cards which contain three runs of three cards.

It is worth 15 points.  An example is the five cards (8, 8, 8, 9, 10).  The worth is arrived at as follows:

Three distinct three-card runs.  Do you see them?  The run 8, 9, 10 occurs three times.  This is nine points.  There are also three eights, which is good for another six points.  Hence the 15 point total.

Quadruple Run:

A Quadruple Run is comprised of five cards which contain four runs of three cards.

It is worth 16 points.  An example is the five cards (8, 8, 9, 10, 10).  The worth is arrived at as follows:

Four distinct three-card runs.  Do you see them?  The run 8, 9, 10 occurs four times.  This is twelve points.  There are also a pair of eights and a pair of tens,  which are good for another four points.  Hence the 16 point total.

A Cribbage hand will usually have several of these score types.  Let us look at a couple of Cribbage hands and see how they are counted.  Example 1 has the following cards: Ace, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of hearts.  This hand is worth 12 points as shown below:

Ex. 1

Fifteens = 2 points	1+2+3+4+5 = 15
Five-Card Run = 5 points	Ace to Five sequence
Five-Card Flush = 5 points	All cards are hearts

Example 2 has the following cards: 7 spades, 7 hearts, 7 diamonds, 8 clubs, 9 clubs.  This hand is worth 21 points as shown below:

Ex. 2

Fifteens = 6 points	7 spades & 8 clubs, 7 hearts & 8 clubs, 7 diamonds & 8 clubs
Triple Run = 15 points	7, 7, 7, 8, 9

If this is all a bit much for you right now, no need to panic.  After you play a hand, the score for each row and column will appear.  If you want to see how the score for the hand was arrived at, just click on the score and all will be explained to you.  After doing this for only a short while, you will be a pro and will never need to use this great feature again.


How To Register

Cribbage Squares Solitaire is shareware.   If you wish to keep this game, you need to register it.  To register your copy, send the paltry sum of $7.00 U.S. dollars to:

DARTCY Productions

P.O. Box 714

Carmel, NY, 10512

USA

Please fill out the registration form, called REGISTER.TXT, and send it along with your payment.

Registering will provide you with free upgrades to any future upgrades of Cribbage Squares Solitaire, as well as to unlimited free technical support.  Most importantly, registering will give you that warm fuzzy feeling you get when you listen to your conscience and do the right thing.

A workman is worthy of his hire -- This quote from the Bible teaches that a person should be justly compensated for their labors.

Thanks for your support!


Legal Issues

Cribbage Squares Solitaire

THE AUTHOR, ART ARAYA, DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WITH RESPECT TO THE PRODUCT.  SHOULD THE PROGRAM PROVE DEFECTIVE, THE PURCHASER ASSUMES THE RISK OF PAYING THE ENTIRE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR OR CORRECTION AND ANY INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES.  IN NO EVENT WILL THE AUTHOR, ART ARAYA, BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER ( INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF BUSINESS INFORMATION AND THE LIKE) ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR THE INABILITY TO USE THIS PRODUCT EVEN IF THE AUTHOR, ART ARAYA, HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

Use of this product for any period of time constitutes your acceptance of this agreement and subjects you to its contents.


Starter

The 17th card turned over from the deck.  A Cribbage hand is comprised of five cards; the four cards in each row or column, plus the starter card.  If the Starter is a jack this is known as 'His Heels' and counts as two points.


Undo Last Move

Once you have positioned the dealt card it can be removed in one of three ways: 1)  Select 'Undo Last Move' from the Options Menu.or 2)  Press the Delete key on your keyboard, or 3)  Right mouse click on the play table.

Replay Game

How To Play


Replay Game

This feature allows you to play the same deck of cards again.  This is kinda cheating though since all the cards have been shown.  I'm not your dad though so go ahead, have fun, liberally use this feature.

To replay a deck of cards:1) Select Replay Game (Same Cards) from the Game menu.or2) Use the accelerator keystroke CTRL-R.

How To Play


Help With Life

Help files are great!  Whenever you need a bit of information or assistance, it is only a click away.  Do you wish that life came with a help file?  When ever you were stuck,...click...you could get some help?  Ahhh, that would be great you say.

Well, we at DARTCY productions believe that there is such a help file .  We have personally tested it and its Author for over 30 years collectively. To date, we have not found any bugs - except those that are user generated.  Because we have found it to be a very reliable source of help, we want to share it with you.  If you come across an awesome "Freeware" program you just have to share it with others!

We all come across situations that generate the questions:  How do I deal with this?  What is going on here anyway?  What is the purpose of my life?  This help file for life deals with those questions & more!  Even more important than quenching our thirst for answers to the perplexing questions of life, you may find a new dimension to your life by having your relationship with your creator restored!  There is nothing more exciting than cultivating that relationship!  It is not old time religiosity, it is more like ...adventures with God!

Tell me more...


More Help With Life

The Bible has 66 different books written by at least 39 different authors over a period of 1500 years.  Yet it all fits together and makes sense about God.  Different people for over 2000 years have found that God speaks to them through the pages of the Bible.  (That is amazing!)  What is also amazing, is that when we compare our modern version of the Bible to the ancient scrolls archeologists dug up, they say the same thing!  Imagine that!  Just think of the game telephone you know... you start at the front of a line and whisper a secret, it is then passed down to the end and when the last person speaks it out it barely resembles what it originally was!  That alone proves it took divine intervention to keep the message straight!

Which version should I read?

Where is a good place to start reading?


Which version should I read?

There is no magic in a particular version, get a version that is easy for you understand & examine it yourself!  Ask the Author for help as well! (That is true On-line Help!)


Where is a good place to start reading?

You do not have to start from the beginning and read to the end.  It is less of a novel and more of a handbook.  We enjoy the Gospel of John as a starting point in the New Testament, and Proverbs is filled with wonderful nuggets of wisdom!


Other Games from DARTCY Productions

Be sure to check out our other freeware and shareware games.  All of these are available on CompuServe and America OnLine.  If you have difficulty locating any of these, just e-mail us and we will point you in the right direction.

Cribbage Squares - A fun new solitaire game based on cribbage scoring rules.

Cal's Brain Strain - A solitaire game based on the classic, Broken Intervals.  This card game is the king of skill requiring solitaires.  Cal's Brain Strain has received highly flattering reviews from both Ziff-Davis publishing and WinOnLine magazine and will soon be available on several CD-ROM collections.

FreeJack - A freeware version of Black Jack.  Double Down, Split the Pair, and Insurance features are included.  Professional black jack advice is available via a Hint feature.  Best of all, you cant beat the price!

Codebreaker - A logic game based on the game MasterMind.  Try to crack the computers secret color code within ten guesses.  Codebreaker is another freeware game of ours!

Nine Men's Morris - This board game is now going on its 3,000th year of popularity - making it the earliest known board game.  It has been mentioned in both the Talmud, and Shakespeare's A Midsummer Nights Dream.   If ever there were an all-time classic game, this would have to be it.

NimSim - An adaptation of the mathematical game Nim.  Nim is one of the oldest of all mathematical games.  Enjoyed by children and adults around the world.  Are you good enough to beat the NimMaster?