Comparison

Cribbage vs Cribbage Live

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Cribbage

Experience a top-rated digital card game with intuitive gameplay for all skill levels. Learn and improve with helpful hints and scoring explanations. Challenge AI opponents or play with friends online.

Highlights
  • Intuitive gameplay for novices and experts
  • Hints and scoring explanations
  • Challenging AI opponents
  • Personalize game appearance
  • Automatic or manual card counting
  • Play muggins to steal points
  • Online multiplayer options
Read full description

Catch the crib! Play the App Store’s top rated cribbage game! With fluid action, this game is intuitive and easy to play for both novice and experienced players. Fans of Backgammon, Euchre, Gin Rummy, or 500 will love this! New to Cribbage? Cribbage Lite helps you every step of the way. Use hints to develop your skills and strategy. If you're unsure how a hand was scored, use the “Explain” button for a breakdown of the points. Think you're a pro? Challenge yourself against our world class expert AI (available for in-app purchase)! Count your own cards! Play muggins and steal missed points from your opponent! Cribbage will keep you endlessly entertained. __________________________________________ AWESOME FEATURES • Single Player games have easy, medium, hard and expert opponents • Personalize your cards, pegs, board, and background • Choose automatic or manual card counting • Play muggins and steal points from your opponent • See detailed breakdowns of the points scored in a hand with the explain button • Use hints to develop your strategy __________________________________________ UPGRADE FOR MORE AWESOME FEATURES • More ways to play: online with Game Center, turn-based multiplayer, peer to peer, and pass and play • Voice chat lets you be more social during online games • Find opponents while you play with background matchmaking • Show you're a pro by earning all 42 achievements • Compete for top spots on the leaderboard • Cribbage HD is Universal. Runs on the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch __________________________________________ And follow us online for news and promotions: • Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/trivialtech • Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/trivialtech

About

Cribbage Live

Engage in online cribbage matches and tournaments with players globally. Enjoy a high-quality, user-friendly interface for fast-paced gameplay. Supports various game variations and reconnects automatically after disconnections.

Highlights
  • Online multiplayer cribbage
  • Cribbage tournaments
  • Multiple game variations
  • In-game chat
  • Automatic reconnection
  • High-quality interface
Features
Read full description

Play cribbage and chat online with real players - hundreds of players from all over the world at all hours! High quality and easy-to-use cribbage board, cards and fast play. Cribbage Live is a social gaming platform where cribbage players from all corners of the planet come together to play this popular board game. Cribbage Live features one-on-one cribbage games, multiplayer cribbage tournaments and multiple game variations. Cribbage Live supports tournaments from both GameColony.com and cribbage.org ACC (American Cribbage Congress) If you had an internet disconnection, Cribbage Live will reconnect you. Cribbage Live will play fine with either WIFI or 3G connection. Six Card Cribbage is a two-player game of skill that uses a standard 52 card pack. The goal is to be the first to score 121 points over several deals. Points are scored for card combinations that occur during the play or in a player's hand or in the crib -- the cards discarded before the play. Five Card Cribbage variation is an older traditional version that is still popular in England. 5 card Cribbage differs from the more modern 6 card cribbage by the number of cards in hand (initially 5) and by the score to play - usually it is played to 61 points. Paul Rice of Wells, ME who plays in US national cribbage tournaments says that in cribbage "75 percent or more" depends on the skill of the player. Per Paul Rice: "in cribbage, every card you play and every card your opponent plays, you're trying to throw a curve ball in there"... "you can be dealt a gosh-awful hand and if you play it right, you can advance up the board." Cribbage Live uses a fast cribbage central server supporting different cribbage clients in addition to iOS-based cribbage client.

Screenshots

Cribbage4 screens
Cribbage Live2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Cribbage Live at none against Cribbage's shown. Cribbage Live also leads on update cadence (every 11 days vs every 2 months). Cribbage's advantage is ratings volume (7.8K vs 153) and rating (4.6 vs 4.3). On price, review sentiment, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Cribbage sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Cribbage Live sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Cribbage holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Cribbage has 7.8K ratings behind it against 153, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 79% of Cribbage's written reviews are positive against 82% of Cribbage Live's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cribbage ships an update every 2 months, Cribbage Live every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Cribbage versus Cribbage Live: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCribbageCribbage Live
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (7.8K ratings) — better4.3 (153 ratings)
Positive reviews79.2% of reviews81.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings7.8K — better153
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 11 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.6
Further details — not scored
Size127 MB43 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperWildCard Classics IncBPS Software

Customer experience

Cribbage

All ratings7,834 ratings
Positive93.1%
Neutral2.6%
Negative4.3%
Written reviews643 reviews
Positive79.2%
Neutral5.6%
Negative15.2%

Cribbage Live

All ratings153 ratings
Positive85.6%
Neutral2.6%
Negative11.8%
Written reviews131 reviews
Positive81.7%
Neutral0.8%
Negative17.6%

User reviews

Cribbage

From 7.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Realistic gameplay
  • 💡 Helpful hints and explanations
  • 🚀 Quick and responsive
  • 👍 Easy to learn and play
  • 👍 Good for practicing and improving skills

Room to improve

  • 🔍 Too many ads, especially between hands
  • 🐛 Occasional freezing or crashing issues
  • 🔍 Ads can be intrusive and disrupt gameplay
  • 🔍 Unrealistic card deals favoring the AI at higher levels

Cribbage Live

From 153 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎮 Engaging real-time multiplayer gameplay
  • 👥 Ability to play with friends and people worldwide
  • 🎨 Good graphics and visual design
  • ⚡ Fast-paced games with time limits
  • 📱 Works well on mobile devices

Room to improve

  • 📺 Excessive and intrusive advertisements
  • 💰 Unfair monetization and pricing model
  • 🎲 Non-random card distribution (rigged perception)
  • ⏳ Long wait times to find opponents
  • 🖼️ Outdated graphics and user interface

Bugs and requests

Cribbage

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Scoring errors or missed points not being recognized
  • Inability to change discarded cards before the crib is counted

Requested features

4 requests
  • Option to play against other players online
  • More customization options for boards, cards, and pegs
  • Ability to count cards manually without penalty
  • Four-player game mode

Cribbage Live

Reported bugs

8 issues
  • Cards selected incorrectly despite user input
  • Ads preventing immediate gameplay after joining table
  • Login issues and authentication failures
  • Occasional crashes and glitches
  • Card selection requires inconsistent pressure/taps
Show 3 more
  • Opponents leaving or blocking due to ad delays
  • Inside straight fills appearing too frequently
  • Uncloseable ads blocking gameplay

Requested features

9 requests
  • Automatic numerical card sorting
  • 3-player or multi-player game options
  • Manual scoring options
  • Better card dealing order
  • Easier conversation/chat system
Show 4 more
  • Larger, more visible cards
  • Dark mode option
  • Better login functionality
  • Improved card selection mechanics

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Cribbage

One-time3
  • 29 Pack$1.99
  • 3 Player Games$2.99
  • Expert AI$3.99
3 purchases

Cribbage Live

One-time3
  • Set of 2 $Tickets2 variants$2.99
  • Set of 7 $Tickets$9.99
  • Set of 15 $Tickets$17.99

Questions

Is Cribbage free?
Cribbage is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Cribbage Live free?
Cribbage Live is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Cribbage or Cribbage Live?
Cribbage is rated higher. Cribbage averages 4.6 out of 5 from 7.8K ratings, while Cribbage Live averages 4.3 from 153 ratings.
Do Cribbage or Cribbage Live have ads?
Cribbage shows ads; Cribbage Live does not.
Which is updated more often, Cribbage or Cribbage Live?
Cribbage ships an update every 2 months, and Cribbage Live every 11 days. Most recently, Cribbage was updated on September 26, 2026 and Cribbage Live on September 25, 2026.

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