Although cribbage is a game that is over 350 years old, The Essential Cribbage Board has been awarded a patent because of its design and user friendly innovations for both older and younger players and for the physically and visually challenged. The innovations are as follows:

1. The Essential Cribbage Board restores the original, historically accurate layout for optimal arrangement of peg holes.

The early Cribbage boards (in the 1630s) had only 61 holes, with two 30-hole streets for each player; when the game was found to end too fast, the winning score was essentially doubled, becoming 121. Contemporary cribbage boards with 121 holes use continuous tracks, where one loses the visual arrangement of 30-hole streets; The Essential Cribbage Board uses four 30-hole streets for each player, thereby restoring the original historical design concept which had additional strategy significance as a visual aid. The four 30-hole rows (streets) allow players maximum ease in visualizing whether they or an opponent are 30 or 60 holes from finish, to more easily see if one can "skunk" his opponent (win by over 30 holes), thereby by getting credit for winning two games, or double-skunk him (win by over 60 holes or two streets), thereby getting credit for winning three games. Other important features about the board include:

• The board itself is considerably larger than other cribbage boards, allowing for easier visualization and use; for storage purposes, the size problem is solved by having a folding board. Open, the board is 10 inches by 17 inches by 5/8 inch; closed, the board is 10 inches by 8 1/2 inches by 1 1/4 inches; it is in highly crafted wood with brass fixtures.

2. There are several innovations involving the pegs used for scoring with The Essential Cribbage Board:

• This is the first cribbage board where the opponent pegs have different shapes-thereby being much more user friendly to the visually impaired.
• Match sticks were typically used as scoring pegs originally, becoming a frame of reference for subsequent peg designs and sizes. The Essential Cribbage Board utilizes large pegs which in combination with different shapes and colors allow for easier visualization and handling. The pegs are 2 7/8 inches in length and 3/8 inch in diameter.

In addition to the above board and peg design innovations, there are some other unique features to The Essential Cribbage Board:

• The underside of the board is unique in having individual slots for individual pegs as well as a slot for a deck of cards, allowing one to keep all the essential ingredients for the game together - i.e., allowing one to keep together the board, the pegs, and the playing cards. Note: Cards are not included with the board.
• Typically, cribbage boards come with very abbreviated rules, seemingly assuming that one already knows how to play the game and that the rules basically allow a brief review of playing and scoring the game. The Essential Cribbage Board, however, does not assume knowledge of the game, and therefore provides a comprehensive set of user friendly, well illustrated rules, accompanied by a brief history of the game.

Note, too, that The Essential Cribbage Board was selected in a nationally juried art contest and was featured in three invited lecture/exhibitions at the Smithsonian Institution as part of a special focus on intergenerational games as works of art. It has also been the subject of numerous stories in the popular media. The game has been entirely designed and manufactured in the U.S.A.

The cost of The Essential Cribbage Board is $59.95 which includes shipping and handling (See Order Form).