Noddy

Number of players: 2
Type of game: Cards (cribbage)
Period: 16th Century

Noddy is the ancestor of modern Cribbage, and can be thought of as “small Cribbage” without the crib. Each player holds just three cards. Hands are scored for pairs, runs, fifteens and flushes before play begins, then more points are scored in play, and the first player to 31 points wins.

“By plaieing to much at primeroe and noddy he lost Time and his monie to(o).”
J. Day, Peregrinatio Scholastica, 1610

“Noddie turn’d up, all made, yet lose the tricke.”
Vadianus’ Panegyric Verses in Coryat’s Crudities, 1611

History of Noddy

• Origins: References to Noddy first appear in the 16th century.

• Cribbage: The poet and gambler Sir John Suckling (1609 to 1642) is said to have “invented” Cribbage. It is more likely that he set down the rules of Cribbage by building on the older game of Noddy.

• The Board: Before it was used for card games, the cribbage board may have started out as a scoring board for a dice game. You do not need a board to play Noddy. Pencil and paper will do to keep score.

• Rules Source: These rules are adapted from the card games booklet published by MacGregor Historic Games (historicgames.com).

Rules of Noddy

Setup

• Deck: A standard 52 card deck.

• Deal: The dealer deals three cards to each player, then turns up the top card of the deck. Both players can use the turned up card.

• Knave Noddy: The Jack of the turned up suit is the Knave Noddy. If the turned up card is itself a Jack, the dealer scores 2 points at once.

Objective

• Be the first player to score 31 points.

Scoring the Hands

Unlike modern Cribbage, the hands are scored before play begins. The non-dealer scores first, counting every combination they can make from their three cards and the turned up card. You declare your combinations without showing your cards.

For fifteens and twenty-fives, court cards count as 10, Aces as 1 and other cards their face value, as in Cribbage.

Gameplay

1. After both hands are scored, play goes as in modern Cribbage. Players take turns laying one card face up in front of them and calling out the running total of all the cards played.

2. The running total may never go over 31.

3. All the scoring combinations above count when they are made in play, for example making the total 15, or pairing the card just played.

4. Making the total exactly 31 scores 2 points.

5. If you finish below 31 and your opponent cannot lay another card, you score 1 point.

6. When 31 is reached, the hand ends. Unlike modern Cribbage, the count does not go back to zero to play out the remaining cards.

Victory Conditions

• A player wins as soon as they reach 31 points.

• If nobody reaches 31, deal another hand. The deal alternates each hand.

Optional and House Rules

1. Twenty-five

• The Twenty-five combination seems to have been a regional rule. Leave it out if you prefer.

2. False Declarations

• The period sources do not say what happens if a player declares a combination they do not have. Agree beforehand that the opponent may claim those points, or that the hand may be checked at the end.

3. Longer Game

• Play several games of 31, or play to 61, as in Early Cribbage.

Summary Table

• Game
• Period

• Cards