Like many Maritimers, Kieran Allain has spent his fair share of time huddled around a cribbage board, hoping to get a good hand to move his peg past the finish line. “It’s a good thing for bonding with friends and families and old and young people can play it,” he said. “It’s a great family game. “Cribbage is such an interesting game. It’s a fun game where there are so many hands you can get dealt. It’s like poker where you get a good hand that are almost once in a lifetime. It involves lots of luck but I enjoy that it has strategy as well.” Allain noted one problem with the game: many pegs look the same, which can make them hard to track if the players forget whose piece is whose. He’s hoping to solve that problem with Crib Pegz, a Halifax-based business that uses a 3D printer to create customized pegs. Allain initially made the pegs, which come in different colours and can have names on them, for friends and family earlier this year. It took a few tries to make sure the pegs fit into the holes on typical cribbage boards. Allain posted the custom pegs online and immediately started attracting interest from players in the region and around the world. “I realized there’s potential here,” he said. “My mom has helped me along the way. It got so busy I ended up getting a friend to help me as well. He has his own printer at home. “If it wasn’t for the team effort, I wouldn’t be able to handle the orders. I didn’t think it would get this busy.” Along with the personalized pegs, Allain also offers pieces with symbols such as lobsters, moose and the Canadian flag. The pegs are available across the country as well as the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. “Not a lot of people realize when you put something out there and you can sell it locally, how much people want it,” he said. “People will sell something locally and not realize how much they can expand. It’s crazy seeing people’s reactions.” Allain recently launched a cribbage caddy that holds pegs in between games. “People have been very happy and pleased,” he said. “It’s been fantastic. Caught me super off guard. “I love playing cribbage at home, it’s a great rainy-day game. I’m glad people enjoy it as much as me.” For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
