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Cribbage anyone?: Players compete head-on at Merrimack Public Library

By Hannah LaClaire - Staff Writer | Jul 31, 2018

Staff photo by Hannah LaClaire Clockwise, Donna Brown, Louise Littlefield, Bill Godfrey and Bob L’Heureux play a game of cribbage at the Merrimack Public Library Monday afternoon.

NASHUA – “Fifteen two, 15 four and a pair makes six” a player counted. A peg was moved forward six holes and another hand was dealt.

Monday at the Merrimack Public Library, eight people, once strangers and now friends, gathered for their weekly dose of cribbage.

“It’s a good way to meet new people,” said Louise Littlefield, a regular at the group. “I’m here most weeks.”

She and Bob L’Heureux, Donna Brown and Bill Godfrey sat together at a table playing in pairs, another group of four across the room engrossed in their own game.

The group has been meeting for about three years with varying levels of attendance, sometimes just a few of them, sometimes around a dozen.

Staff photo by Hannah LaClaire Donna Brown plays a card during Monday afternoon’s game of cribbage at the Merrimack Public Library.

“You can come and go,” L’Heureux said, laying his “crib” on the table.

Cribbage, played by nearly 10 million people in the U.S. according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, is played with hands of six cards, with players alternately laying down cards until they reach 31, then counting the hand with pairs, triples, runs, flushes and pairs equalling 15. Pegs are moved across the cribbage board, usually until a score of 121 is reached.

“It was something we learned growing up,” Godfrey said after moving his peg a few spaces.

Brown agreed.

“We always played at our cottage, as soon as the dinner was over we cleared the places and the board was out,” she said.

Staff photo by Hannah LaClaire Friends Bob L’Heureux and Bill Godfrey chat as Godfrey moved his pegs forward on the cribbage board. The pair joined the Merrimack Public Library’s weekly cribbage group together.

Although playing in later in life, the group all agreed that it is a good game for kids to learn, as it teaches counting.

Godfrey and L’Heureux knew each other beforehand, and after L’Heureux read about the club, the two decided to check it out on Monday afternoons. They have been coming for some time now.

“That’s the thing, you never know who you’re going to be playing with,” Littlefield said.

The club meets from 2-4 p.m. Mondays at the Merrimack Public Library.

Hannah LaClaire can be reached at 594-1243 or hlaclaire@nashuatelegraph.com

Staff photo by Hannah LaClaire Bob L’Heureux adds up his points and moves his pegs across the board.

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