Heads-up Cribbage against an AI that plays to win — fully offline, no accounts, no ads. If something's not working right, you're in the right place.
This almost always means a third-party keyboard (Grammarly, Gboard, SwiftKey, etc.) is set as your default and is failing to load — a known iOS limitation where apps have no ability to select or override the active keyboard. Tap the globe key to switch to Apple's own keyboard, or check Settings → General → Keyboard. If nothing's typed after a few seconds, the game will continue on its own with a default name.
Yes, it's private — the app makes zero network requests, has no accounts or analytics, and everything stays on your device. See the Privacy Policy for the full detail.
It plays fair. The AI uses exactly the same information you do — its own hand, the cut card, and the cards already played. It never looks at your hand and it never touches the shuffle. Realistic play is built into Hard and Pro: before every card they play, they weigh what you might be holding and what's still unseen, the way a real player does. Easy is there to help new players, so it makes mistakes every now and then.
Easy (Nob) is here for a friendly game and is the perfect opponent for beginners; expect it to make mistakes every now and then. Hard (Noddy) has a great command of cribbage: sharp, but not perfect. Pro (Nubb) plays each hand to optimize points and pegging, with no mercy and no help (the Hint button is off against Pro). You pick the level on the New Game screen.
Self Score has you count your own hand and crib. Muggins lets your opponent claim any points you miss, and lets you claim theirs. Both are on in a fresh install. To have the game do the counting for you, switch them off in Prefs (Settings), under Advanced.
Hint points out the best discard, or the best pegging play, when you want a nudge. It is not available against Pro.
On iPad, Coaching Mode gives live tips for discards, pegging and counting as you play, against an Easy-level opponent. Turn it on with the Coaching Mode checkbox on the New Game screen. It is available on iPad only.
They are switched off while a hand is in play, from the moment you discard until the hand has been counted, so a settings sheet can never end up behind the Count Your Hand box. They come back as soon as the hand is done. To start over, use Restart while you choose your discards, between hands, or when a game ends.
The game's sounds follow your device's Ring / Silent switch, so they are off when it is set to Silent. You can also set Sound to Full, Minimal or Off in Prefs (Settings).
How to Play and Pro Tips are built in. Open Prefs (Settings) and tap How to Play or Pro Tips.
The iPhone plays in portrait. The iPad plays in every orientation, and held sideways it adds a message pane on the right for the game's messages and the coach's advice.
Open Stats from the in-game controls, then use the reset option there. You can reset just your own stats, another player's, or everyone's at once.
App Lock relies entirely on iOS's own Face ID / Touch ID system — the app never handles biometrics directly. If unlocking fails, check Settings → Face ID & Passcode (or Touch ID & Passcode) to confirm Simply Cribbage has permission, and that Face ID / Touch ID is working elsewhere on your device.
Simply Cribbage follows your device's Reduce Motion setting. With it turned on, the confetti celebrations for a perfect 29 and for winning a skunk are skipped (the game still marks the moment with its usual labels). To see the confetti, turn it off in Settings → Accessibility → Motion → Reduce Motion.
Please reach out at the address above — include the app version (found on the New Game screen or in About, e.g. 2.3.4) and a quick description of what happened. Screenshots help a lot.