How to play Crazy Faces
You start out playing Traditional cribbage — first to 121 wins. Then a face card (Jack, Queen or King) is cut as the starter, and suddenly you are playing Lowball: the first to 121 loses.
It stays that way until the next face card is cut, which flips it back to Traditional. Just as you break up a 12-point hand, you cut a Jack and you’re back to wanting every point.
Every point scores exactly as usual the whole game — only who wins at 121 changes. The table always shows which mode you are in. Whichever mode the game is in when someone reaches 121 decides it.
Watch the Jack. A Jack cut flips the mode first, and then the dealer pegs 2 for his heels in the new mode. So a dealer on 119 or 120 who sees a Jack turn the game to Lowball has just pegged out — and lost. If that Jack turns the game back to Traditional, the same two points win it.
Crazy Faces strategy tips
- Twelve of the fifty-two cards are faces, so the game flips on roughly one deal in four. Don’t plan more than a hand or two ahead.
- Near the end, a middling score is the safe one. A big lead is a liability the moment a face card turns the game to lowball.
- Watch the Jack on the deal. It flips the mode first, and then the dealer pegs 2 for his heels in the new mode.
Common questions
Do the points change when the mode flips?
No. Every point scores exactly as usual the whole game. The only thing that changes is whether reaching 121 wins or loses.
What happens if a Jack is cut when the dealer is on 119?
The Jack flips the mode, then the dealer pegs 2 for his heels and reaches 121 in the new mode. If the game has just become lowball, the dealer loses; if it has just gone back to traditional, the dealer wins.
Play Crazy Faces online
You can play Crazy Faces at eCribbage Plus in any browser, on a computer, tablet or phone, with nothing to download. Open a table in the lounge and another player can sit down with you, or look for one already waiting; a free account is all you need.
