How to play
Four players in two partnerships, sitting opposite each other, play with 24 cards: the 9, 10, jack, queen, king and ace of each suit. Everyone gets five cards and one card is turned face up.
Choosing trumps. Starting on the dealer’s left, each player can order up the turned card: its suit becomes trumps, and the dealer adds it to their hand and throws one card away. If everyone passes, the card is turned down and each player in turn may name any other suit, or pass. If it gets back to the dealer, the dealer has to name one.
The bowers. The jack of trumps (the right bower) is the best card in the game. The other jack of the same color (the left bower) comes next and counts as a trump, not as its own suit. Then come the ace, king, queen, 10 and 9 of trumps.
Playing. The player on the dealer’s left leads. Follow the suit led if you can; if you can’t, play anything, a trump included. The highest trump wins the trick, or the highest card of the suit led if nobody trumped.
Scoring
The partnership that chose trumps needs at least three of the five tricks. Three or four score 1 point; all five (a “march”) score 2. If they take fewer than three they’re euchred and the other side scores 2. Whoever chooses trumps can go alone: their partner sits the hand out, and taking all five alone scores 4. First partnership to 10 (or 5 for a short game) wins.
Playing together
Seat any mix of people and computer players; seats 1 and 3 play together against seats 2 and 4. With more than one person on the same device, each hand stays hidden until its owner taps their name. Online, everyone opens the invite link on their own phone and computer players fill the empty seats.
Tips
Count the bowers and trumps before you order: three good trumps and an off-suit ace usually makes it. Think twice about ordering a jack up to the other side’s dealer. If you chose trumps, lead them to pull the other side’s trumps out; if you didn’t, lead your aces. Don’t take a trick your partner is already winning.