Fives and Threes is for two to four players, with partnerships at four. Score complete threes and fives from the two open ends and reach exactly 61 game points. Doubles never branch, there is no drawing, and partnership rounds continue until both partners empty their hands.
Equipment and objective
Use one complete double-six set of 28 tiles. The objective is to be the first player or partnership to reach exactly 61 game points.
Record each accepted point as it is scored. A cribbage board is traditional, but any arithmetically equivalent score record works. Open-end pips determine each award; they are not themselves the recorded score.
Deal and start a round
Mix the tiles face down and deal:
- 7 tiles to each player in a two-player game;
- 5 tiles to each player in a three-player game; or
- 5 tiles to each player in a four-player game.
Keep hands private. Leave every undealt tile face down and out of play for the entire round. There is no drawing.
Determine the first round's leader by a neutral lot. The rules do not prescribe a particular method for conducting the lot. The leader may open with any tile in hand. After every completed round, the lead moves one seat to the left, which is the next clockwise seat in this rules package. Play proceeds clockwise throughout the match.
Play matching tiles
After the opening, add one tile to either end of the line by matching one half to the open value. The unmatched half becomes the new open end.
If you can make a legal placement, you must do so. If you have no legal tile, knock and let the turn pass. Because undealt tiles are out of play, a knock never begins a draw.
Doubles and the line
Play every double crosswise. Doubles are not spinners in this ruleset, so the layout always remains one line with exactly two terminal ends and never gains side branches.
A double at a terminal end contributes both halves to the open-end total. For example, a terminal contributes 12. Once another tile continues from that double, the double is internal and contributes nothing directly; count only the two terminal ends of the line.
Doubles at an end and inside the layout
A terminal double contributes both halves. The following position shows what changes when its line is continued. Doubles never become spinners in this game; the layout always has two ends and no side branches.
Filled number: counted contributionHollow dot: legal continuation not counted here
Placed [4|4]
Counted contributions: 2 + 8 = 10. Placement award: 2 game points.
Counted contributions: 2 + 8 = 10. Placement award: 2 game points. Tiles: [1|4], [1|1], [4|4]. Spinners: none. Connections: [1|4] (low end) – [1|1] (line A); [1|4] (high end) – [4|4] (line A). Legal continuation ports: [1|1] (line B, 1); [4|4] (line B, 4). Counted contributions: [1|1]: 2; [4|4]: 8.
Placed [3|4]
Counted contributions: 2 + 3 = 5. Placement award: 1 game point.
Counted contributions: 2 + 3 = 5. Placement award: 1 game point. Tiles: [1|4], [1|1], [4|4], [3|4]. Spinners: none. Connections: [1|4] (low end) – [1|1] (line A); [1|4] (high end) – [4|4] (line A); [4|4] (line B) – [3|4] (high end). Legal continuation ports: [1|1] (line B, 1); [3|4] (low end, 3). Counted contributions: [1|1]: 2; [3|4]: 3.
Placed [2|2]
Counted contributions: 4 = 4. Placement award: 0 game points.
Counted contributions: 4 = 4. Placement award: 0 game points. Tiles: [2|2]. Spinners: none. Connections: none. Legal continuation ports: [2|2] (line A, 2); [2|2] (line B, 2). Counted contributions: [2|2]: 4.
Score a placement
After every placement, including the opening placement and a placement that empties a hand, total the two terminal ends. Award:
end total / 3points when the total is divisible by 3; plusend total / 5points when the total is divisible by 5.
Add both components when both divisions apply. A total of 15 therefore scores 5 points for the threes plus 3 points for the fives, for an 8-point award.
| Open-end total | Award |
|---|---|
| 3 | 1 |
| 5 | 1 |
| 6 | 2 |
| 9 | 3 |
| 10 | 2 |
| 12 | 4 |
| 15 | 8 |
| 18 | 6 |
| 20 | 4 |
Any other total scores nothing with a double-six set.
From end total to points
Count only the marked scoring ends, including zero-valued ends. A positive total divisible by three scores total ÷ 3 game points; if divisible by five it also scores total ÷ 5. Add both awards when both apply: a total of 15 scores 5 + 3 = 8 game points. These examples show the placement component before any chip-out bonus or exact-61 check, not the whole scoring event or the points finally added to the match score.
Filled number: counted contributionHollow dot: legal continuation not counted here
Placed [1|4]
Counted contributions: 4 + 1 = 5. Placement award: 1 game point.
Counted contributions: 4 + 1 = 5. Placement award: 1 game point. Tiles: [1|4]. Spinners: none. Connections: none. Legal continuation ports: [1|4] (high end, 4); [1|4] (low end, 1). Counted contributions: [1|4]: 4; [1|4]: 1.
Placed [1|1]
Counted contributions: 2 + 4 = 6. Placement award: 2 game points.
Counted contributions: 2 + 4 = 6. Placement award: 2 game points. Tiles: [1|4], [1|1]. Spinners: none. Connections: [1|4] (low end) – [1|1] (line A). Legal continuation ports: [1|1] (line B, 1); [1|4] (high end, 4). Counted contributions: [1|1]: 2; [1|4]: 4.
Placed [6|6]
Counted contributions: 3 + 12 = 15. Placement award: 8 game points.
Counted contributions: 3 + 12 = 15. Placement award: 8 game points. Tiles: [3|6], [6|6]. Spinners: none. Connections: [3|6] (high end) – [6|6] (line A). Legal continuation ports: [3|6] (low end, 3); [6|6] (line B, 6). Counted contributions: [3|6]: 3; [6|6]: 12.
Placed [0|0]
Counted contributions: 0 = 0. Placement award: 0 game points.
Counted contributions: 0 = 0. Placement award: 0 game points. Tiles: [0|0]. Spinners: none. Connections: none. Legal continuation ports: [0|0] (line A, 0); [0|0] (line B, 0). Counted contributions: [0|0]: 0.
End a round
In a two- or three-player game, a player chips out by placing the last tile from the hand. This ends the round and gives that player 1 additional point.
In a four-player partnership game, play continues after the first partner empties a hand. Skip that empty-handed seat on later turns. The team chips out only when its second partner also empties a hand; that final chip-out ends the round and gives the partnership 1 additional point.
A round is blocked when every player who still has tiles is unable to place one. This can happen in partnership play even if only one player on each team still holds tiles. A blocked round has no winner and awards no chip-out point.
Remaining tiles never create credits or debits. Do not total hand pips at the end of either a chip-out or a blocked round.
Apply the exact-61 target
Every scoring event is accepted only if it leaves the scoring player or partnership at 61 or less. If the complete event would take the score above 61, disregard the entire event and leave the previous score unchanged. There is no bounce-back.
When a final placement both earns an open-end award and completes chip-out, combine the placement award and the 1-point chip-out award before testing the target. Do not apply either component separately.
For example, suppose a player has 59 points and makes a final placement with an open-end total of 6. The placement is worth 2 points and chip-out is worth 1, so the complete event is 3 points. Because 59 + 3 would be 62, discard both components. The score remains 59, the round is complete, and a new round follows.
The first player or partnership to reach exactly 61 wins immediately, even if other players still hold tiles.
Source note
These rules follow the main Fives and Threes form recorded by Pagat.