Languages: English, Portuguese

Game Play: Standard Rules: Euchre is played between 4 players in 2 teams of 2 players each. Players sit opposite one another. In this wireless version of Euchre, 3 of the players are computer players and 1 is the human player, i.e., you. Euchre is played with a deck of 24 cards consisting of the 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace of each suit. The objective of the game is to be the first team to reach 10 points. Play proceeds in successive hands (rounds) where each player is dealt 5 cards. A team receives points any time it wins 3 (or more) of the 5 tricks played in any given hand. To win a trick, a player must play a card that is higher in value than the card played by any other player during that trick. Like Hearts and Spades, Euchre has a trump suit such that any card of the trump suit is higher in value than any card of a non-trump suit. Jacks in Euchre are also special in that the Jack of the trump suit is the highest scoring card (called the Right Bower). The Jack of the suit with the same color as the trump suit is the second highest scoring card (called the Left Bower) and is considered temporarily to be a member of the trump suit until the hand is completed. For the other non-trump suits, the value of the cards is in the expected order, i.e., the 9 is the lowest and the Ace is the highest.

During each hand, play proceeds as follows. The dealer begins by dealing 5 cards to each player, dealing in twos and threes. After the cards are dealt, the top card of the remaining cards is turned face up. The suit of this card is now the proposed trump suit. Starting at the dealer’s left, each player has a chance to accept the trump suit or pass. If the player accepts the trump suit, he is said to 'order up' the up card. If any player orders up, the dealer must pick up this card and discard one of his other cards. If it is the dealer himself that orders up the card, he is said to 'pick it up.' Any player (including the dealer) that orders up also has the opportunity to play alone, which means that this player’s partner does not participate in the remainder of this hand (i.e., until the next deal). If all 4 players pass, the cut card is turned over and the next player can select any suit (except the suit of the cut card) as the trump suit, or pass. The player can also decide to play alone. If all 4 players pass again, the deal is thrown in and the next player on the left of the previous dealer becomes the current dealer. Play begins as soon as trump is selected. The player to the left of the dealer begins play, and this player can play any card from his hand. Play proceeds to the left until all players have played. Each player must play a card from the same suit as the lead card if possible. If the player has no such card, he can play any card in his hand. The player that plays the highest scoring card wins the trick. When all tricks have been played, each team counts the number of tricks won. If the team with the player that declared trump (the 'bidding team') wins 3 or 4 tricks in the hand, this team scores 1 point. If this team wins all 5 tricks, it points. Finally, if the bidding team consisted of a player that was playing alone, and this player wins all 5 tricks, then the bidding team scores 4 points.

Controls: The game starts automatically when you select New Game from the Main Menu. To select between passing, ordering up, and playing alone, use the up and down arrow keys. If the trump suit can be selected, use the LEFT or RIGHT arrows to select the desired suit. To select a card to play, use the LEFT or RIGHT arrow keys. Note that cards that cannot be played right now are grayed out and cannot be selected. To finalize any of these selections, use the OK or SELECT key.

Euchre Variations Several other variations of standard Euchre are available in this mobile Euchre game and can be selected in the Options-Game Type menu. These include Play to 15, Railroad Euchre, British Euchre, and Cutthroat Euchre. This section discusses the differences between the standard Euchre rules and the particular variation.

Play to 15. Same as Standard Euchre except the winning score is 15 instead of 10.

Railroad Euchre. Same as Standard Euchre except a Joker is added to the deck. This Joker is the highest scoring card (called the Best Bower) and is always of the trump suit. If this card is turned over at the start, it proposes Hearts as the trump suit.

British Euchre. Same as Standard Euchre except:

1. A Joker is added to the deck, just as in Railroad Euchre.
2. The dealer’s partner cannot order up, i.e., he must pass or play alone.
3. The winning score is 11 rather than 10.

A User's Guide in MS Word format can be found here.

Availability Euchre is currently deployed under BREW on Verizon for all the BREW handsets listed above. It is also available on VIVO in Brazil for a subset of these BREW handsets. The J2ME version will be available soon on several US carriers.