START WITH THE SUITS
Euchre trump and bowers, made visible.
A suit is the symbol on a card: ♥ hearts · ♦ diamonds · ♣ clubs · ♠ spades. Before each hand, the players choose one of these four suits as trump. A trump card beats any card from the other suits.
Example: hearts are trump for this hand
The two red jacks now belong to hearts. They are stronger than every other card:
- J♥1. Right bowerThe jack printed with the chosen suit.
- J♦2. Left bowerThe other red jack. It counts as a heart this hand.
- A♥3. Ace of trumpNext come K♥, Q♥, 10♥ and 9♥.
“Bower” is just the euchre name for one of these two special jacks. If spades are trump, J♠ is highest and J♣ is second. For diamonds, J♦ then J♥; for clubs, J♣ then J♠.
Does trump mean I can play a heart whenever I want?
No. The first card played in a trick sets the suit you must follow. A trick is one card from each active player; its winner takes those cards.
Clubs were led. You hold A♣ and J♥.
You have a club, so you must play A♣. You cannot choose your trump jack instead.
Clubs were led. You hold 9♠ and J♥.
You have no clubs, so you may play either card. J♥ is trump and beats a club. The 9♠ cannot win a club-led trick.
The left bower follows its new suit
Keep hearts as trump. If a diamond is led and your only printed diamond is J♦, you have no diamonds for this hand and may play any card. But if a heart is led, you must play J♦ when it is your only trump: it now counts as a heart.
If several trump cards are played, the highest trump wins. If no one plays trump, the highest card in the suit that was led wins. Cards outside those suits cannot win the trick.
Try it in a practice game →The Quick lesson on the game page lets you choose cards with guidance. Read the complete rules or see how tricks become points.