Fast partnership trick-taking with a 24-card deck and trump named by the upcard.
Setup & play
24-card deck: 9, 10, J, Q, K, A of each suit. 4 players in two teams (partners across).
Deal 5 cards each (in 2/3 or 3/2 packets) and turn up the top card of the kitty. Bidding goes around twice: first, players can order the dealer up to take the upcard suit as trump; if all pass, the second round lets players pick any suit (or stick the dealer if enabled).
The bidder's team must take 3 of 5 tricks to score. Going alone — declaring you'll play without your partner's help — scores big if you make it.
Scoring
Make 3 or 4 tricks: 1 point.
Make 5 tricks (march): 2 points.
Go alone and make 5: 4 points.
Euchred (fail to make 3): Defenders score 2 points.
Game: First team to 10 points wins.
Trump card hierarchy (high to low): Right Bower (J of trump suit), Left Bower (J of the same-color non-trump suit, treated as trump), then A, K, Q, 10, 9 of trump. Non-trump suits go A K Q J 10 9.
Variants
- Standard 4-player
Default. Partners across.
- Stick the Dealer
If both bidding rounds pass without a trump being named, the dealer is forced to pick a suit. Faster games.
- Bid It Up / Double
Bidder declares "no trump" or "double" — scores 4 points for a march if successful, but loses 4 if euchred. Optional house rule.
- Farmer's Hand redeal
Holder of all 9s and 10s can demand a redeal. Off by default — purists hate it.
Common house-rule decisions
These are the questions that come up most often. The Rules tab toggles between the common choices — agree before the first hand or you’ll re-litigate them mid-game.
- Stick the dealer (default on).
- Bid it up / no-trump option.
- Farmer's hand redeal allowed.
- Screw the dealer (dealer's team scores 4 if they're euchred when forced to call).
- Game target — 10 is standard; some groups play to 7 or 11.