Euchre is an interesting game that I never heard of until I moved to Ohio and is very popular in the American Midwest, Canada, and other English-speaking countries. Growing up I was a spades player so I picked up Euchre quickly and have been hooked ever since. Euchre card game is a fun, fast-paced four-player trick-taking card game involving bidding, trumping, and teams of two. The first few times you play it will feel like the rules are meant to confuse and mess you up. You'll catch on pretty quickly so don't get too upset. So, what's the deal with Euchre?
The history of euchre
Until I did the research for this blog I had no idea about the history of Euchre. There seem to be a few different ideas of how Euchre made it to the newly discovered world. This is just one of them. Euchre card game originated in Alsace as "Junkerspiel" and was brought to the new world by German-speaking immigrants and has been played in North America since the 19th century. Interestingly some of the terms of the game come from the German language. The jacks are "bowers" which comes from "Bauer", the German word for farmers. If you win all five tricks it's called a "march" which stems from "marsch". Euchre was in the 19th century regarded as the national card game and was once the most popular card game played in America. Euchre has made a comeback in the United States in the last decades. Many Euchre tournaments and leagues are played around the country.
Small Euchre Board
$15.00
Handmade Are you tired of having to keep score and remember who's trump in the classic card game of Euchre? Well, look no further! Our small and compact Euchre board is perfect for any Euchre club - no more asking… read more
Small Euchre Board
$15.00
Handmade Are you tired of having to keep score and remember who's trump in the classic card game of Euchre? Well, look no further! Our small and compact Euchre board is perfect for any Euchre club - no more asking… read more
How Euchre is played
Let's face it. Every household has different rules, so I won't try to cover them all. I'm about to give you the bare essentials. Once you start playing with other people you'll soon find out that everyone has different rules. Two teams of two need to use a deck of 24 standard playing cards (using only 9, 10, J, Q, K, and A). The objective of Euchre is for your team to win 10 points. Each player draws a card and the one that gets the lowest card is the dealer who deals each player five cards.
Aces are high and 9's are low. The Jack of the trump suit is called the Right Bower and it is the highest-ranking card. The left bower (same-colored suit) becomes the Jack of the trump suit when the Jack of the suit (same color suit) is a Jack of the suit.
You deal clockwise using two or three cards at a time until each player has five cards. The dealer will flip up the top card of the remaining four which will become the possible trump.
If the suit of the upcard is declared trump by anyone during the first round of bidding, the dealer must pick up the upcard and discard one face down. The last three cards left are called the kitty and are not to be seen by anyone and must be discarded.
The player to the left of the dealer bids first in the first round of bidding and can decide what trump is. If they decide on trump, the dealer will draw the upcard. If everyone passes, another round of bidding starts. The players can make any of the three remaining suits trump (not the previous upcard) or pass again. When someone picks trump the bidding is over.
Here is a quick overview of how to play. For a more in-depth review check out the book of Hoyle rules. The team that declares trump must win the majority (three) of the tricks to win. If they don't win all three hands, you get euchred. The jack of the trump suit(i.e. spades) is the highest card and then the jack of the same color(i.e. clubs) is the second highest. They're known as "bowers". You must always follow suit unless you don't have any cards of that suit.
The player closest to the left of the dealer always plays first by throwing a card in the center of the table. You play clockwise and whichever suit is led must be followed by every player that has a card with that suit.
So if the first card played is a spade, everyone with a spade in their hand must play one. If you don't have a card of the suit that is led you may use a trump. The trump beats everyone else. The winning team collects the trick and the player who won the last trick starts the next one.
I usually play whichever team wins ten games, but as I mentioned earlier, each household is different.
Euchre Board
$40.00
Euchre Board - Handmade for an Unforgettable Gaming Experience Looking for an Euchre board that combines functionality and style? Look no further! Our meticulously crafted Euchre board is designed to elevate your gaming sessions to new heights. With its… read more
Euchre Board
$40.00
Euchre Board - Handmade for an Unforgettable Gaming Experience Looking for an Euchre board that combines functionality and style? Look no further! Our meticulously crafted Euchre board is designed to elevate your gaming sessions to new heights. With its… read more
Why I came up with a Euchre board
In my experience, it doesn't matter which people you play with. Beer, a little trash-talking, and good times are involved. So this one question will be asked every hand. "WHATS TRUMP"? On every hand, someone will always ask "what's trump" or "what's the score", or "how many games have we played". So I came up with this Euchre board so people can stop asking these questions and just look at the board. With the Euchre board it holds your Euchre deck in it, tells you what trump is, tells you what the score is, and how many games have been played. I make big and small Euchre boards that can be used in any type of play. The smaller ones are more suited to tournaments or if multiple tables are playing at once. Each table will have a little board and they can keep score and show what trump is. The bigger ones hold your deck and tell what trump is, what the score is, and how many games have been won. So when the next person asks what trump is, I just point at the board. After a few times of this people will just look at the board and not keep asking questions.
Conclusion
Euchre is a great excuse to use to get together with friends or family and enjoy a fast-paced fun game. We try to play with friends or family each month and make it our date night. Our kids play together while the parents have some drinks and good laughs playing Euchre. In this busy world, it is a must that we all decompress and have fun and we use Euchre to do that. If you're looking for high-end gifts check out the site www.askalexww.com. What are your house rules for Euchre?