Muggins is an optional rule: if a player undercounts their hand, the opponent can call “muggins” and claim the points that were missed for themselves.
Muggins is an optional rule for counting. Every player has to count their own hand and crib correctly: if you announce fewer points than you were entitled to, your opponent can say “muggins” and peg the points you missed.
Example: you hold 3-4-4-5 and the starter is a king. The hand is worth 10: a double run of three for 6, the pair of 4s for 2 and the fifteen made by 5 and the king for 2. Announce 8 and your opponent calls “muggins” and pegs the missing 2.
Muggins is a house rule
Many friendly games leave it out. If you play it, agree before the first deal, and decide whether it covers only hands and the crib (the most common way) or pegging as well. It is not the same thing as cutthroat, which is simply the name for cribbage played by three or four people who each play for themselves.
The points that get missed most
- The pair inside a double run. 3-4-4-5 is worth 8 from the runs and the pair alone, not 6; see how double runs score.
- His nobs. One point for the jack that matches the starter’s suit; see what his nobs is.
- Fifteens made from three or more cards, such as 4-5-6; see counting fifteens.
- Runs that use the starter. See how runs score in cribbage.
How to count so nothing is missed
Count in the same order every time: fifteens, then pairs, then runs, then a flush, then nobs. That is the order Trindo lists a hand’s points in the game log, so you can check your own count against it.
On Trindo
Hands, cribs and pegging are all scored automatically, so nothing is ever missed and muggins doesn’t apply. The game log shows exactly how each hand was counted.