Euchre is a quick partnership trick-taking game with a small deck: 24 cards, Nines through Aces. Four players receive five cards each, partners sit opposite each other, and your team competes for tricks with a pair of Jacks that change rank, and even suit, depending on trump. The game probably comes from Jucker, once played in Alsace, and it is still a social favourite in the American Midwest, Ontario and Cornwall. Press Play now at the top of the page and bots take your partner's seat and both opponents', no account needed.
Mobile gameplay: Euchre
See the game board, controls and moves on a mobile screen.
How to play
- In the first bidding round, order up the exposed card’s suit or pass. If ordered up, the dealer takes that card and discards one, unless the dealer’s partner goes alone.
- If everyone passes, a second round allows choosing a different trump suit. A fully passed hand is redealt in this version.
- The Jack of trump is the right bower, the highest card. The Jack of the other suit of the same colour is the left bower and also belongs to trump.
- Follow the led suit if able, using the left bower’s effective trump suit. The makers need at least three of the five tricks.
- Only the player who names trump may go alone, and says so once trump is made, before the first lead. Their partner lays their cards face down and sits out, and the player to the lone player’s left leads. A dealer’s partner who orders it up decides before the dealer picks up: going alone, the dealer sits out without taking the up-card or discarding.
Example
With hearts as trump, the Jack of diamonds changes sides: it counts as a heart for following suit, beats the Ace of hearts and loses only to the Jack of hearts.
Playing tip
Makers score 1 for three or four tricks and 2 for all five, or 4 for all five when playing alone; defenders score 2 if the makers take fewer than three. The match target is 10. Before you call trump, count your bowers: they are the strongest trumps in the game.
Guides and tools
Frequently asked questions
Is the Jack of diamonds always a trump?
Only when diamonds or hearts are trump. In any other hand it is just the Jack of diamonds.
Do I need four people online?
No. The game at the top of this page fills your partner's seat and both opponents' with bots, and you can play it without an account.
Can you play euchre with 2 players?
Standard euchre is a four-player partnership game, and that is the version played here — bots take the empty seats, so one person is enough. Two-handed euchre is a separate table variant with its own deal.
What is a farmer’s hand in euchre?
A house rule that lets a player whose hand holds only nines and tens (definitions vary) swap cards with the kitty. It is not part of standard euchre, and the game here does not use it.