Beth Ann Klogo marked her team’s score with a pegboard, during a doubles cribbage game she was playing with Amanda Castro, Tony Dierickx and Stephanie Van Epps last weekend. A total of 20 two-person teams took part in a cribbage tournament held at the Brau Brothers taproom last weekend.

MARSHALL — The chance to have fun and make friends was something worth traveling for, area cribbage fans said.

“It’s like having another family,” said JoEllen Froseth.

Froseth, a Sioux Falls resident, said cribbage fans manage to find places to play all around the country. Last weekend, Marshall was one of those places. Around 40 people gathered at the Brau Brothers taproom for a cribbage doubles tournament.

“It’s to get people out playing. We’re always trying to get new people interested,” said Jason Anderson. Anderson was one of the organizers of the tournament, and a member of the Marshall Area 29’ers Cribbage Club.

For the doubles tournament, tables at the taproom were set up with decks of cards and the pegboards used to keep score in cribbage. The mood was friendly, with the two-person teams talking and joking with each other between hands.

Area residents have been playing cribbage at the taproom for the past three years, with two years as a club, Anderson said. The Marshall Area 29’ers Club, which is named after the highest possible scoring hand in cribbage, meets on Sundays to play. So far, around 14 to 18 people a week meet up for club play in Marshall from September to May, he said.

“We’re trying to grow as a club,” Anderson said.

Cribbage is a card game where players score points based on the combination of cards in their hand. Anderson said he’s been playing for many years. “Sometimes the hands are good, sometimes the hands are bad,” he said.

The idea to form a Marshall area cribbage club came together after Anderson was looking for chances to play in the Twin Cities area, where he worked.

“I Googled cribbage clubs, and found one in Apple Valley,” he said. A cribbage club seemed like it might be a good fit back in Marshall, too.

A total of 20 teams of two people took part last weekend’s doubles tournament. Players came from the Marshall area, and from as far away as Sioux Falls and New Ulm.

Froseth said the Sioux Falls and Marshall clubs’ schedules worked out well for members to play on weekends.

“We have league on Saturdays, and (Marshall) has league on Sundays,” she said.

Through organizations like the American Cribbage Congress, cribbage players can find clubs and games wherever they go, Froseth said. “People look up clubs as they come through town.” Members of the Sioux Falls cribbage club also travel to play at events around the country, she said.

“It’s something to do, and it’s a fun game,” Sioux Falls resident Pat Siemonsma said of playing cribbage.

John Madland and Dale Peterson, who were among the players at the tournament from South Dakota, said they liked to play cards most days out of the week. “There’s going to be a card game someplace,” Peterson said.

The connections players made with other people were also a big part of the appeal of cribbage. Stephanie Van Epps said she got into the game because of family.

“My dad was into cribbage,” Van Epps said. For her, playing was a way to honor his tradition. “Not only that, but it’s a good community here,” she said.

The Marshall Area 29’ers are one of eight American Cribbage Congress grass roots clubs in Minnesota. There are clubs spread around the state, including in the New Ulm area, the Twin Cities, St. Cloud and Duluth. There are also cribbage clubs in South Dakota, including in Sioux Falls.

More information on Marshall Area Cribbage is available at the club’s Facebook page. People can also find local cribbage clubs at the American Cribbage Congress website, www.cribbage.org.