Every Friday morning, between the hours of 8:30 and noon, you’ll find a quartet of good friends in the back room of the Warren Senior Center playing Cribbage, a card game that has deep roots and “relatively few rules, yet many subtleties which accounts for its ongoing appeal and popularity.”

Locally, the players of note include 87-year-old Frank Nencka, 85-year-old Charlie Francis, Jeanne Cotta, who’s been playing for the past 13 years, and newcomer, Rose Cote, who replaced 97-year-old Ida Hoffma, who retired after many years of competition.

It’s fascinating watching these individuals play this game in such a relaxed atmosphere, even during tournament play, and on Monday afternoon and Thursday evenings. They’ve even made donations to the Bristol County Lodge of Elks.

Historically speaking, Cribbage was created by the English poet Sir John Suckling in the early 17th century, as a derivation of the game, “noddy.” The objective of the game is to be the first player to score a target number of points, typically 61 or 121. Points are scored for showing certain jacks, playing the last card, for card combinations adding up to 15 or 31, and for pairs, triples, quadruples (cards of the same rank), runs (sequences of consecutive numbers irrespective of suit) and flushes (sets of cards of the same suit.)

According to Nencka, who's been a faithful member of this hallowed Cribbage club since 2002, over 2,000 visitors from nearby communities come to town to play cribbage, including some from faraway states.

“It’s a wonderful game,” said Charlie Francis, “and we love beating the ladies.”

Jeanne Cotta, who works diligently with the Senior Center’s weekly Bingo program, loves being a part of the Cribbage activity.

“It’s really enjoyable,” she said. “We always look forward to playing every week.”

Rose Cote feels the same way.

“Everyone looks forward to playing Cribbage here,” she offered. “It’s a lot of fun and we all get along so well.”

“This game really keeps everyone sharp,” said Nencka. “I’m firmly convinced the game sharpens your cognizance skills.”

Ida Hoffma played with her fellow cribbage mates for about 6 years before bowing out, and it wasn’t easy for her.

“I really loved this game,” she admitted. “Charlie Francis was my partner, and we used to win. I miss it now. These are a great group of people.”