Card games
Euchre
Order it up, go alone, euchre them
Euchre is the trump game of Midwestern kitchen tables and college dorms: two teams of two, a 24-card deck and five cards each. One card is turned up, and the table decides whether its suit becomes trump. The jack of trump is the top card — and the other jack of the same color, the left bower, is a trump too. On Masa you play it at a 3D table with friends from anywhere.
- Players
- 4 players
- Length
- 10–25 min per game
- Type
- Card games
Play Euchre online with friends
Euchre needs four players, and Masa keeps the table full: invite your partner and two friends, or let bots take the empty chairs — a friend can take a bot’s seat before the first call or when the next game starts. Talk it over on voice chat, and watch the up-card fly to the dealer when someone orders it up.
How to play
- 1
Four players in two teams; partners sit across from each other. The deck has 24 cards, 9 to ace. Everyone gets 5 cards, and the top card of the 4-card kitty is turned face up.
- 2
Round 1, starting at the dealer’s left: pass, or order it up — the up-card’s suit becomes trump, and the dealer picks the card up and buries one card face down.
- 3
If everyone passes, the card is turned down and round 2 lets you name any other suit as trump. If everyone passes again, the next dealer deals a new hand (with “stick the dealer”, the dealer must name trump).
- 4
The player who makes trump may go alone: their partner lays their cards down and sits the hand out.
- 5
The player at the dealer’s left leads (the loner’s left when someone goes alone). Follow the suit led if you can — the left bower counts as trump — otherwise play any card. The highest trump wins the trick, else the highest card of the suit led.
Frequently asked questions
What are the right and left bowers?
The jack of the trump suit is the right bower, the highest card. The jack of the other suit of the same color is the left bower, the second highest — it belongs to trump for the whole hand, so with hearts trump the jack of diamonds is a heart.
When should I go alone?
When your hand can take all five tricks without help — usually both bowers, or the right bower with more trumps and an off-suit ace. A lone march scores 4; if you are euchred, the other team still scores only 2.
What does “stick the dealer” mean?
A table rule: when everyone passes twice, the dealer must name trump instead of throwing the hand in. Masa offers it when you create a table; it is off by default.
Can I play Euchre with bots?
Yes. Bots fill any empty seat and play by the same rules, and a friend can take over a bot’s chair before the first call or when the next game starts.
