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After much deliberationAs [[Psychology]] majors, postJonathan and Zach were eventually endowed with a knowledge of basic statistical tests, and from the point of learning the chi-squared analysis --commencement online games have been decided the statistical test with the power to not determine which of the two was, statistically, a better player -- frequent such tests would be used to analyze the running tally of wins and losses, usually by the player who was ahead. Interpreting data by a valid marker Pearson's chi-square analysis is done using the formula: :<math> \chi^2 = \sum_{i=1}^{n} {(O_i - E_i)^2 \over E_i}</math> where <math>O_i</math> is an observed frequency and <math>E_i</math> is an expected (theoretical) frequency asserted by the null hypothesis. In the case of the 508 games played in the four years of any sort cribbage competition, our expected number of truth to wins for each player is 254. Note that we use the word "Who's Better?expected" and will not be statistically included here in the cold, impartial sense of the statistician, who generates his expectations on pure probability. In this expectation, therefore, we ignore such obvious cues as, for example, the blondness of one player, the increased height of one player (resulting in a lower brain to total mass ratio), city of birth, etc. We can plug this expected value and the observed number of wins into the equation to determine the <math>\chi^2</math> value for the analysis: :<math>\chi^2 = {(264_z - 254)^2 \over 254}+{(244_j - 254)^2 \over 254}</math>:<math>\chi^2 \approx 0.787401575</math> We now compare this value of <math>\chi^2</math> to a threshold value of <math>\chi^2</math> in our chi-squared distribution of two degress of freedom. Since graduationIn experiments of this kind, Jonathan has used the biased Yahoo! Games forum it is customary to begin take a confidence level of at least 6595% as evidence that your data demonstrates a significant trend, however to have a confidence of 95% that one player were better than the games with other in this case we would need a <math>\chi^2</math> value of '''3.84''' or greater. 0.787... is far too low, corresponding more closely to a confidence of about 40%. Though it went against the advantage standards of every academic field, including his own basic training in Psyc statistics, Zach seemed satisfied by this level of confidence. He wrote, ''There was a time senior year when a t-squared analysis ''[sic.]'' on the opening cribnumber of victories each showed that Zach was, statistically, a superior cribbage player to Jonathan. To Once that point was reached, Zach felt his creditpoint was proven and lowered his level of play, he has put this unfair edge allowing Jonathan to win a few games and regain a bit of dignity... at least statistically speaking.'' ==Cribbage moments== ===Play sequences=== *'''A23423A2'''*'''J54345''': 10 pts by one player to decent use 0*'''4443526'''*'''Q23A23Q''': a palindrome!*'''75757''': a zero-point palindrome!*'''3425A67''': same day as previous!*'''34372424''': 0 points*'''446352A3'''*'''3576422'''*'''J5555 JJ2'''*'''77564 354'''*'''3645273 6'''*'''735462A''': 17 pts pegged by Zach*'''J2T32AAA'''*'''3425634''': in building a 13-person game *'''7462345'''*'''42T843''': with J at 119 and Z at 120 ===Hands=== *'''A777 A''': Zach, 20 pts*'''78889''': 21 pts in Zach's crib, first hand. biggest post-graduation lead over grad crib*'''AAAA''': by J-Dawg, who then discovered that this is the only hand not helped by any cut*'''QQQQ 5''': Zach , 20 pts*'''5555 7''': by July of 2006J-Dawg, 20 pts. Additionallyuseless 7 cut by Z*'''2222 9''': by J-Dawg, an integral part of cribbage 20 pts ===Trash talk=== *''I ate Forge wings for dinner beats your hand.''<br>- trash-talking during play Z*''Where's your crib? . . . Oh yeah, I stole it.''<br>-- is a much muted factor over online instant messager Z*''I've had more flushes today than it is during facein all of history combined.''<br>--Z:''Diarrhea?''<br>-to-face matchups. Scholars agree that ZachJ*''Man, I don't even ''need''s written barbs online appear to be worth look at least 5 points per game less than they have proven the score to be in personal encountersknow I'm beating you.''<br>--J
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[[Category:Games]]
The most games of cribbage on the Williams campus in a four-year period were probably played between the [[Fall 2001|Fall fall of 2001]] and the [[Spring 2005|Spring spring of 2005]], during which ran a continuous tournament between two students. A concise history of this semi-epic battle, complete with win-loss statistics, is collected in this article.
[[Image:Cribbage500_pegging.jpg|right|thumbnail|Zach and Jonathan square off in the semi-millenial match (#500), held beachside (by [[Perry]] [[volleyball]] court).]]
==Rules of the Game==
There is little need for this article to enumerate the rules of Cribbage. If you do not know how to play, one of the following sites can teach you. The Williams Cribbage championship was played without the Muggins rule; otherwise all rules were standard. Winter Study Tournaments, however, have been played with the muggins rule in effect.
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cribbage Wikipedia Cribbage Page] Includes simple rules section.
* [http://www.cribbage.org/rules/ Tournament Rules of Cribbage]
==Winter Study Tournament Winners==
2012 - Jackie Lusardi '14
2011 - Sean Donnelly '14
==2010-2011==
Durring the 2010 and 2011 school year, two frosh, Julia Simon and Sean Donnelly, lived in Sage E. Over the course of the year they played approximately 212 games of cribbage. At that rate, they would have easily beaten the existing record for games played over 4 years, if not for unforeseen circumstances which ended their competition after only one year. However, over the course of the year they did a lot to advance cribbage playing on campus. After organizing a successful tournament during Winter study (Sean won, and Julia was skunked and eliminated in the first round twice) they went on to co-found Williams Cribbage, an organization to gather existing cribbage players for games and to teach new people how to play.
More information on Williams Cribbage is available by emailing jss2
==The 2001 - 2002 Season==
In the [[Fall 2001|Fall fall of 2001]], [[Jonathan Landsman]] '05 and Zachary McArthur '05 were freshmen living together in [[East#East_3|East 3]]. In the first week of school, Jonathan noticed a cribbage board lying on the top shelf of Zach's bookshelf. "You play?" he asked. "Yes," replied Zach. "I'm looking for an opponent." So it began. In Zach's first journal entry of freshman year, on September 3rd, he wrote "Oh and Johnathon down the hall plays cribbage!! What a surprise! He beat me in the 1st game we played."
Though the spectator base was still fairly small, and confined mostly to the current residents of East 3, the first year of cribbage was considered by some to be most exciting. Of all four years, the 2001-2 season featured the greatest number of changes to the frontrunner. Analysts have since speculated that this was due to the players' slow acclimation to each others' style of play, and some house rules. For example, Zach taught Jonathan the rule that five flushes are the only kind that score in the crib. He also engaged in some head games, claiming that King-7 was the most dangerous throw to your opponent's crib. Jonathan believed this garbage, until Zach's father visited and accidentally disillusioned his son's opponent.
By the third year, Zach and Jonathan were essentially cribbage machines, able to play full games in an average of 15 minutes with ease, or as little as 10 when rushing. Distances were again a test to the rivalry: with Jonathan having returned to the [[Odd Quad]] on [[Currier]] third floor, and Zach perched high in [[Gladden]] 5, altitude became a significant factor in addition to distance. Nevertheless, the competition churned onwards.
This year brought a small decline in total number of games played, after a substantial rise from freshman to sophomore year. Scholars explain this by focusing their study on the [[Winter Study]] period of this year, during which Zach and Jonathan attended [[Lessons In Go]]. Some scholars of this era have offered their Theory of Divertment Dilution to explain this phenomenon. It holds that, with Zach and Jonathan now faced with a choice of how to spend their time together, between playing Go and Cribbage, the overall probability that cribbage is played diminishes when total free time is held constant. This theory has met with stiff resistance from scholars of the Second Year, who assert that, if the theory held, there ought to have been a reduction of cribbage play in year two in light of increased Ms. Pacman play.
Whatever the governing force behind it, the decrease in total games seems not to have impacted total skunks, which went from 15 to 16 this year. From Jonathan's claim of 9 of these to Zach's 7, coupled with similar trends Senior Year and after, analysts mark this year the beginning of a shift in Jonathan's gameplay to follow a more aggressive strategy. A look at all four years shows that this may have been the key to Jonathan's downfall: in every year, the leader in skunks was also the loser of the century match, and the year's series.
The site was the [[Odd Quad]], a triangle of grass surrounded by concrete sidewalk right in front of Jonathan's dorm of [[Currier]]. Before the event, Jonathan and Zach labeled squares of the circuit of sidewalk with numbers from 1 to 30, so that human "pegs" could make the rounds four times to reach victory. Live assistants were needed to play the role of peg for each player; for Jonathan, the lovely Margit Sande-Kerback '05 stepped forth, and for Zach, the enchanting Julia Brown '06 presented herself.
The wood-burned scoreboard was brought from its place in Currier to be displayed on a post, which was actually an ancient sign promoting Amy and Todd, from the [[College Council]] co-presidential campaign of [[Spring spring 2000]]. The spirit imbuing the wood, the game's excellent placement, and the growing reknown of cribbage all contributed to draw the biggest and most enthusiastic spectatorship yet, at about 20 people. It was a very windy day, and everyone except the pegs huddled around the two players kneeling in the grass, both to share warmth and to protect the game from blowing away.
The result is less important than the historical record of the event itself, but if you must know, Jonathan was thrashed in front of friends, friend's family, and girlfriend.
== The Summer 2004 Season ==
[[Image:CribbageSmr04.jpg|right|thumbnail|Jonathan (left) and Zach (right) face off in Jonathan's summer penthouse, high in [[Morgan#East|Morgan East]], [[Summer 2004]]. Photo taken by [[Alaya Kuntz '04]].]]
After a resolution made a year prior to spend a [[summer in Williamstown|summer together in Williamstown]], the friends (and foes) lived for 2 months on bustling [[Spring Street ]] from mid-June to mid-August 2004. The first 2 weeks of summer found Zach bunking on Jonathan's floor in Morgan East while Zach's apartment over [[Restaurants#Helen's Place|Helen's Place ]] was getting sterilized from the [[football]] team's contamination the previous year. This situation allowed for the heated rivalry of 2003-2004 to go straight into an overtime, so both players' skills stayed sharp for the real, and final, season senior year.
Games were played both in [[Morgan #East |Morgan East]] during bridge club nights and at the apartment over Helen's Place, once Zach had moved in. The combination of enormous amounts of free time (Jonathan frequently did not start work until 2 pm and Zach was largely unemployed) [edit: Zach was largely employed by TWO jobs; in fairness, rarely did either require more than 6 hours of work per week] so the pair played in the morning hours for really the only time during their college careers. The combination of enormous amounts of free time and the presence of cribbage boards in the Helen's Place apartment drew a few more casual players to the game, especially Emily Russell-Roy '06 and Dave Weimer '06, who seemed to have a rivalry of their own heating up.
A modest total of 29 games was played over the summer, but looking back it was these games that allowed for the frenzy of senior year games to reach an amazing cribbage milestone. It was agreed before the start of play that the summer would not count toward the "years won" tally, so Jonathan remained behind 2 years to 1 going into the final year, still with the chance to even the epic struggle. Interestingly, only 2 skunks were recorded, one per man, as it appeared both competitors were happy simply to play cribbage over the summer and less concerned about piling up points at the end of games.
== The 2004-2005 Season ==
Even Zach and Jonathan would probably have been surprised if they knew in early September 2004 the sheer volume of games they were going to undertake their senior season. Jonathan managed to snag a room in the elite senior year housing of Chadbourne House (pick 84), while Zach was in for another year of survival within the riff raff brick walls of Greylock (pick 110). This was not all for the worst, however, as Greylock and Chadbourne's doors were but a couple of hundred yards apart -- the closest the friends had lived since freshman year. The number of games reflected this proximity, as an incredible 153 games were played in the ~225 days spent on campus from September through May. All told, probably over 50 cribbage-hours were logged by the friends -- looking back, maybe two or three should have been put towards [[PSYC 401]].
Jonathan continued to have the edge in skunks, collecting 13 to Zach's 8 as his ever more aggressive play continued to pay off. When a large lead materialized early in the game, double skunks, or winning by 61 points, were often the subject of trash talking, but neither player would amass that large a margin of victory by the end of any match. This saved the two from deciding whether the elusive double skunk would be worth four points, or some other value in the tally.
As the rivals' college cribbage careers wound down, questions were raised about the Future. The two were highly accomplished at using cribbage to put off homework, but would they both put their procrastination skills to work on avoiding post-graduate employment? Zach certainly did, only picking up a job in September 2005 when a friend's father called him at home to inquire if he was working. Zach, in fact, had been lying in bed playing cribbage against his computer at that very moment. He took the job. Jonathan, however, managed only a single day off between graduation and starting work as a gardener near Philadelphia.
Since graduation, Jonathan has whipped Zach consistently both online in Yahoo! Cribbage game rooms and even face-to-face in his garden cottage in Devon, PAand online in the exclusive Yahoo! Cribbage Advanced Lounge 3. However, Jonathan has had a striking advantage online, using an obviously biased Yahoo! Games forum to begin at least 65% of the games with the advantage of the opening crib. To his credit, he has put this unfair edge to decent use in building a 13-game post-graduation lead over Zach by July of 2006. Additionally, an integral part of cribbage - trash-talking during play - is a much muted factor over online instant messager as compared to face-to-face insults. Scholars agree that Zach's written barbs online appear to be worth at least 5 points per game less than they have proven to be in personal encounters. Zach is not worried, however, as his 3-1 years won advantage will forever hold up - "the rest of life" only counts as a single year, so he is guaranteed bragging rights forever no matter how many games J-dawg wins in the long future ahead.
=== In Search of the Truth: Who's Better? ===
Of the 508 games of cribbage played between Fall 2001 and [[Commencement]] 2005, Zach was victorious in 264 games, Jonathan in 244. However, only 31 of Zach's victories were skunks, to Jonathan's 36. This accounts for the smaller margin of difference in the final score: Zach 295, Jonathan 280.
