How to Play

Noddy is the 16th-century English ancestor of Cribbage. 2-4 players, 3 cards each, peg points for 15s, 31s, pairs, and runs during play and in hand; the dealer pegs a bonus 'Knave Noddy' point when the starter is a Jack.

Noddy is the English ancestor of Cribbage and the earliest card game in the pegging-play family, first recorded in 1589 and described in full by Randle Holme in The Academy of Armory (1688). Two to four players share a running total built by alternating plays (just as in Cribbage), scoring for combinations of fifteens, thirty-ones, pairs, and runs, then scoring their own three-card hands together with a starter card turned from the stock. The game's signature is the Knave Noddy: if the starter card is a Jack, the dealer pegs one point on the spot. Match play runs to 31 points (or a higher agreed target). David Parlett's 2008 reconstruction is the modern basis for playable rules.

Players

2, 3, or 4 players, each playing individually (no partnerships in the historical game). The first dealer is chosen by cutting for the lowest card, and the deal rotates clockwise after each hand. With 2 players the game is brisk; with 4 it plays about as long as a short Cribbage match.

Card Deck

One standard 52-card French deck, no Jokers. Card ranking (high to low): King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, Ace; Aces rank low. Card values for pegging totals: Ace = 1, 2-10 = face value, Jack = Queen = King = 10 each. Suits are used only for identifying the Knave Noddy bonus.

Objective

Be the first player to peg 31 points (or an agreed longer target such as 61) across pegging-play and hand scoring.

Setup and Deal

1. Shuffle the 52-card deck. The player to the dealer's left cuts.
2. Deal 3 cards to each player (Parlett's reconstruction; Randle Holme 1688) face-down, clockwise.
3. Place the remainder face-down in the middle as the stock.
4. Turn the top card of the stock face-up as the starter (called the noddy card).
5. If the starter is a Jack, the dealer immediately pegs 1 point, known as 'Knave Noddy' or 'His Heels'.
6. The player to the dealer's left leads the first card in pegging play.

Pegging Play

1. Players play cards in turn clockwise, face-up in front of themselves, announcing the running total after each play.
2. The running total must not exceed 31. If you cannot play without going over, say 'go'; your turn is skipped and the next player continues.
3. When everyone in turn says 'go' or the running total is exactly 31, the pile is closed. Open a new pile from 0 with the next player in turn.
4. Score points during pegging for these events:
5. Fifteen: Reaching exactly 15 with your played card: 2 points.
6. Thirty-one: Reaching exactly 31 with your played card: 2 points.
7. Pair: Playing a card of the same rank as the one just played: 2 points. Three-of-a-kind (pair royal) by the next play: 6 points. Four-of-a-kind (double pair royal): 12 points.
8. Run: Playing a card that makes a run of three or more consecutive ranks (any order; the last N cards played form a run): 1 point per card in the run.
9. Last card before 'go': 1 point (or 2 for exactly 31).
10. Peg points on a Cribbage board or with counters as they are scored; the first player to 31 (or agreed target) wins immediately.

Hand Scoring (the Show)

• After the pegging, if no one has reached the target, each player in turn (starting to the dealer's left and ending with the dealer) scores their own three-card hand combined with the starter card (four cards total).
• Count the same combinations as in pegging:
• Fifteens: Every distinct subset of your four cards that sums to 15 = 2 points each.
• Pairs: Each pair within the four cards = 2 points; three-of-a-kind = 6; four-of-a-kind = 12.
• Runs: A sequence of three or more consecutive ranks = 1 point per card; a four-card run including the starter = 4 points.
• Flush: All three of your hand cards plus the starter in the same suit = 4 points; hand-only flush of three = 3.
• His Nob: Holding a Jack of the same suit as the starter = 1 point.
• The Knave Noddy pegged at the deal does not rescore here.

Winning

As soon as any player's peg reaches 31 points (traditional target; some groups play to 61 with a full Cribbage board), they win immediately, even mid-pegging. If the target is reached during hand scoring, the player pegs points in the order of the show and the first to cross 31 wins; no further players score that hand.

Common Variations

• Four-Card Noddy (historical): Some 17th-century sources describe a four-card deal; scoring works the same but hands are larger and flushes easier.
• Cribbage: Sir John Suckling's c. 1630 expansion of Noddy that added the crib (discard pile scored by the dealer) and a 6-card deal. Cribbage is the direct descendant and effectively replaced Noddy.
• Costly Colours: Another 17th-century descendant with additional scoring for matching suits; contemporaneous with early Cribbage.
• Target 61: Play to 61 on a Cribbage board to extend the game and permit multi-round strategy.
• No-Jack Starter: Some groups skip the Knave Noddy bonus to eliminate the dealer's small edge; purist players regard this as stripping the game of its charm.

Tips and Strategy

• Lead low cards. With only three cards in hand, your pegging options are limited; opening with an Ace, 2, or 3 keeps maximum room to reach 15 or 31 on later plays.
• Save 5s and 10s. Both help you land on 15 and 31; holding at least one reserves a scoring option.
• Anticipate pairs. Because hand scoring counts every subset summing to 15, two 7s plus an 8 is richer than two 9s plus a 5.
• Watch for runs across the pile. Any three or four of the last cards played, regardless of order, can form a run and peg 3 or 4 points; play middle-rank cards alertly.
• Hold His Nob potential. If a Jack of one suit is in your hand, it is a point whenever the starter matches its suit; do not discard a Jack lightly when 3-card play rewards every peg.

Glossary

• Starter (Noddy card): The single face-up card turned from the stock after the deal; it joins each hand for scoring.
• Knave Noddy / His Heels: The dealer's 1-point bonus if the starter is a Jack.
• His Nob: A 1-point bonus in hand scoring for holding the Jack of the starter's suit.
• Peg / Pegging: Scoring points during the play phase, typically counted on a Cribbage board.
• Go: A declaration that you cannot play without exceeding 31.
• Pair royal: Three of a kind in pegging, scoring 6 points.
• Double pair royal: Four of a kind in pegging, scoring 12 points.
• The Show: The hand-scoring phase that follows pegging.