How to play Euchre
- Four players play in two teams, and partners sit opposite each other. Playing alone, you and Green, your computer partner, play Purple and Blue. With 2 Players, Orange and Green play Purple and Blue: each person has a computer partner.
- The deck has 24 cards: the nine, ten, jack, queen, king and ace of each suit. Each player gets five cards, and the next card is turned face up on top of the rest (the kitty).
- Choosing trumps, first round. Starting on the dealer's left, each player can order up the turned card, which makes its suit trumps, or pass. If someone orders it up, the dealer takes the card and puts another card away face down.
- Second round. If all four pass, the card is turned down, and each player in turn can name one of the other three suits as trumps, or pass. If all four pass again, the cards are dealt again by the next player.
- Whoever chose trumps (the maker) can go alone: their partner puts down their cards and sits the hand out. If the dealer's partner goes alone, the dealer sits out and nobody takes the turned card.
- Trumps rank from the jack of trumps (the right bower), then the other jack of the same colour (the left bower), then ace, king, queen, ten and nine. The left bower counts as a trump, not as a card of its own suit. The other suits rank ace, king, queen, jack, ten, nine.
- Play the tricks. The player on the dealer's left leads the first trick. Everyone must follow suit if they can; if you can't, play any card, including a trump. The highest trump wins the trick, or else the highest card of the suit that was led. The winner leads the next trick.
- After five tricks, the hand is scored and the deal moves one seat to the left. The first team to 10 points wins, or 5 for a shorter game.
Scoring
The team that chose trumps needs at least three of the five tricks.
| What happened | Points |
|---|---|
| The makers win 3 or 4 tricks | 1 to the makers |
| The makers win all 5 tricks (a march) | 2 to the makers |
| A player going alone wins 3 or 4 tricks | 1 to their team |
| A player going alone wins all 5 tricks | 4 to their team |
| The makers win fewer than 3 tricks (they're euchred) | 2 to the other team |
Controls
- Choose trumps: tap Order up (or Pick it up if you're the dealer), tap a suit in the second round, or tap Pass. Tick Go alone first to play the hand without your partner. The panel shows the turned card and what everyone else has done so far.
- Dealer: when the card is ordered up, tap the card you want to put away, then tap Put it away.
- Play a card: tap it. The cards you're allowed to play stand up with a yellow edge.
- Keyboard: use ← and → or Tab to move along your cards or the buttons, and Enter to choose.
The turned card sits on the kitty in the middle of the table while trumps are being chosen, and the trump suit is shown at the top once it's known. Your hand is sorted with the trumps first, the left bower among them. With 2 Players, a cover screen hides the cards whenever the device passes to the other player.
Computer levels
The computer players only know what a person in their seat would know: their own cards, the turned card, every call and every card played so far. They never see another hand or the cards in the kitty. The level you pick is for your two rivals. Your computer partner always plays at Hard.
| Level | How it plays |
|---|---|
| Easy | Often plays any card it's allowed to, and its judgement of a hand can be well off when it chooses trumps. |
| Medium | Plays sensible cards, high to win a trick and low when its partner is already winning, but only chooses trumps with a strong hand. It doesn't remember which cards have gone. |
| Hard | Remembers every card played and who has run out of which suit, draws trumps when its team chose them, and calls trumps on more hands, which wins more games over time. |
| Expert | Before choosing trumps, plays out 60 imagined deals of the cards it hasn't seen for every choice, passing included. Before each card, it tries every card it could play on 120 imagined deals and plays the one that scores best. |
Tips to win
- Count your trumps. Three trumps with a bower, or two high trumps and an ace in another suit, usually win three tricks with your partner's help.
- Think about the dealer. Ordering up gives the dealer the turned card. That's a gift when the dealer is your partner, and a risk when it's your rival.
- Draw trumps when your team chose them. Leading your highest trumps pulls out the other team's trumps, so your aces can win later.
- Remember the left bower. The jack of the same colour as trumps is a trump. It's easy to forget it in a hand and when counting.
- Don't trump your partner. If your partner is already winning the trick, play your lowest card.
- Go alone with the top trumps. Both bowers and the ace of trumps, or the right bower and three more trumps with an ace on the side, can take all five tricks for 4 points.
About Euchre
Euchre came to North America from Europe in the 1800s and is still one of the most played card games in the American Midwest and in Ontario, Canada. The joker was first added to packs of cards for Euchre, as an extra highest trump. The rules here are the standard North American ones: 24 cards, ordering up and then naming a suit, going alone, and a game to 10 points. Some players use a joker, play with 32 cards, let a player defend alone, or make the dealer choose trumps when everyone passes twice ("stick the dealer"). Those aren't part of this version: here the cards are dealt again.
Questions
What are the right and left bowers in Euchre?
The right bower is the jack of the trump suit, the highest card in the game. The left bower is the other jack of the same colour, the second highest. With hearts as trumps, the jack of hearts is the right bower and the jack of diamonds the left bower.
What does it mean to be euchred?
A team is euchred when it chose trumps but won fewer than three tricks. The other team scores 2 points.
What does going alone mean in Euchre?
The player who chose trumps plays the hand without their partner. Winning all five tricks alone scores 4 points instead of 2.
What happens if everyone passes?
If nobody orders up the turned card and nobody names another suit either, the hand is thrown in and the next player deals.
How many points do you need to win Euchre?
10 points, the usual target, or 5 if you choose the shorter game. Only one team scores in each hand, so there are no ties.
Can two people play Euchre on one phone?
Yes. Choose 2 Players: each of you gets a computer partner, and a cover screen hides your cards while you pass the device.
Can I play Euchre alone?
Yes. Choose vs Computer: you and your computer partner play two computer players at the level you pick.
Is this Euchre game free?
Yes. It's free in your browser, with no download, no sign-up and no ads during a game.
Updated 9 November 2026