According to the 17th-century author of Brief Lives, John Aubrey, Sir John Suckling invented Cribbage. Strong evidence, however, supports the notion that Sir John merely codified the game called "Noddy." In the absence of further evidence, it's impossible to say how a game as old as this came to be invented.

The game came into prominence early in the 17th century, when it ranked as a favorite of gentlemen gamblers in many parts of Europe. Early English settlers brought cribbage to America, where its popularity still endures.

The game is a fast, absorbing two, three or four-handed game, which makes it ideal for sailors and fishermen (travellers!. Eskimos used to manufacture the boards for sale to the crews of the vessels that visited their coasts. Originally brought home as souvenirs, some of these walrus-ivory boards are now valuable museum pieces. In Europe, too , there are some superb examples of marquetry cribbage boards and elaborately inlaid cribbage tables: on one of them, in 1809, King Gustavus IV of Sweden signed his abdication.