Creating Connections with Euchre
A card was placed in the center of our AP Chemistry lab table, the possible trump: a jack of hearts. It would be a shame for any of us to not call it. All of us should, my friend Xyza, my other friend Sam, my other friend Willem, or even myself. It would give that card the highest value in the game. All eight of our eyes stared at our partners across from us, creating nonverbal hints about what would be the best idea.
Xyza holds her euchre hand out to show that she is the unlucky receiver of all four nines and a king.
“Pick it up,” Xyza said.
“I don’t know what I’m doing,” Willem said again, similar to the last time we played.
Laughter and groans erupted and remarks of ‘we’ve been playing this all year’ flew across the table.
Euchre is one of the best and most popular multiplayer card games played in the midwest region of the United States. It’s a simple, yet complex game to understand. The rules may seem difficult to remember at first, but the more it is played or watched, the easier it becomes to play. Each game varies, based on the dynamics of the players and their knowledge of tactics.
If it is played with familiar people, then the game could lead to both fun and competition. If it were played with unfamiliar people, it would allow for the players to bond over the shared game.
The game originated in Alsace-Lorraine as Juckerspiel and was brought to the midwest, a new area almost 4,500 miles away by Germans exploring the New World. Much like its title, its German terminology evolved to more Americanized versions; such as bowers from bauer, meaning farmers and marsch to march, a five trick win.
Euchre has had such a great influence on the midwest that Michigan Radio considers Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania to be part of the ‘euchre belt’. However, there is nothing stopping this game from being taught and gaining popularity in other parts of the United States or even across the world.
It’s an easily accessible game that can also be played on online websites against AIs, in addition to the simple deck of cards and friends. These games tend to be relatively quick, in an experiment, each round on the website: https://cardgames.io/euchre/ only lasted an overall average of 40.54 seconds.
Euchre is something that can bring many different people together and connect them by their love for the game.