Domino Euchre and Variations
This is an archive copy of a page from the former website cardsanddominoes.com, with thanks to Howard Fosdick for permission to republish it here.
Euchre was the most popular social card game in the U.S. from the middle of the 1800’s to the end of the century. It’s the game for which the Joker was invented, probably by the Pennsylvania Dutch. Euchre means Joker.
Euchre is an easy but fun partnership game for four players. Hands are quick, at only five tricks each, so if you’re dealt a poor one you have but a minute or two to wait until you get another.
The game is simple, yet it has its subtleties. Players’ strategies often change as one team approaches the game point across hands. These shifts give the game a certain fascination.
Given Euchre’s popularity, it was a cinch that players adapted the game for dominoes. You’ll find dominoes add the slight twist that takes game play up a notch. We’ve reconstructed these rules from an old copy of Hoyle’s Standard Games from about 1900 published by Laird and Lee.
Rules for the Call-Ace Euchre variant and rules for how to play Euchre with playing cards follow.
Domino Euchre
Goal
To win the game by being first to accumulate 5 points across as many hands as necessary.
The Deck and Players
You can play domino Euchre as two or three individuals, but the game is by far best as a four-player partnership game.
Use a standard 6-6 set of dominoes.
Dominoes are arranged in suits in the same manner as most other domino games that use the tiles as “cards” to play to tricks--
| ---Suit--- | <--high Members low--> |
| 6’s | 6-6 6-5 6-4 6-3 6-2 6-1 6-0 |
| 5’s | 5-5 5-6 5-4 5-3 5-2 5-1 5-0 |
| 4’s | 4-4 4-6 4-5 4-3 4-2 4-1 4-0 |
| 3’s | 3-3 3-6 3-5 3-4 3-2 3-1 3-0 |
| 2’s | 2-2 2-6 2-5 2-4 2-3 2-1 2-0 |
| 1’s | 1-1 1-6 1-5 1-4 1-3 1-2 1-0 |
| Blanks | 0-0 0-6 0-5 0-4 0-3 0-2 0-1 |
Each suit consists of 7 tiles. The key point is that the double or doublet is the highest tile in each suit.
Appoint one player “dealer” and shuffle all dominoes face-down. The dealer rotates clockwise in subsequent hands.
Each player takes 5 tiles into his hand.
Bidding
The dealer now turns one of the remaining unused dominoes face-up. The higher number on this tile is the proposed trump. If the turn-up is a doublet, the single number on its face is the proposed trump.
The player to the left of the dealer may either--
- Pass
- Accept the proposed trump as the trump suit
- Accept the proposed trump as the trump suit and say “I play alone”
If the player passes, the same opportunity passes to the next player (clockwise).
This process continues until either a player has accepted the proposed trump suit, or all four players have passed.
If all four players pass without anyone accepting the trump suit, the opportunity to make trump passes around a second time. This time each player may either--
- Pass
- State any suit (other than the initial proposed trump suit), that he will play with as the trump suit
- State any suit (other than the initial proposed trump suit), that he will play with alone as the trump suit
If no one accepts a trump suit after two times around the table, the hand is thrown in, and the next person in clockwise rotation becomes the “dealer.”
The Trump Suit
The trump suit is one tile longer than any other suit. Its highest tile is the doublet of that suit, and its second highest tile is the next lower doublet. For example, if 5 is the trump suit, the 4-4 is the second-highest trump. From highest to lowest, the 5-suit trump tiles rank like this--
5-5 4-4 5-6 5-4 5-3 5-2 5-1 5-0
The highest trump is called the right bower. The second-highest trump is called the left bower. If 5 suit is trump, these tiles are the 5-5 and 4-4, respectively.
In the case where the Blank suit is trump, the 6-6 becomes the left bower. So when blanks are trump, the trump tiles rank like this--
0-0 6-6 0-6 0-5 0-4 0-3 0-2 0-1
All tiles in the trump suit are considered only members of the trump suit for the duration of the hand (even though singlets have another suit number on their face).
Play
If the bidder won a bid to play alone, his partner lays his tiles face-down. Neither that player nor his dominoes have any further role in the hand. Whether played alone or not, the bid winner leads a tile to the first trick.
All players must follow suit to the first tile led to a trick. For any non-trump tile lead, the higher number on the first tile to a trick determines the suit for that trick. Leading the 6-4, for example, means leading a 6-suit tile. Any trump lead means that the suit to follow is the trump suit.
If you can not follow the suit led, you may play any tile you like.
If any trump tile(s) are played to a trick, the highest trump played wins the trick. Otherwise the highest tile of the suit led wins the trick.
The winner of each trick takes the tiles and places them face-down at his side prior to the next trick. He then leads any tile to the next trick.
Scoring
If the side who won the bid wins 3 or 4 tricks, they made their bid. They win 1 point. If they win all 5 tricks, they win 2 points. If they don’t win at least 3 tricks, their opponents win 2 points.
Point scores are the same when a player plays alone, except that if he wins all 5 tricks, he wins 4 points.
Strategy
Skill in bidding is important in Euchre. Remember the special role of the left bower when reviewing your hand.
The third and fourth players in bidding will want to be quite confident in their hands before making trump, as their partners have already suggested weakness by passing.
Playing alone is only advantageous if you can win all five tricks (see Scoring above). Only play alone with a “slam” hand.
Alternate Rules
These rules are standard from original 19th century sources. But there are many rules variations for the card game Euchre you might try with the domino game. Some play a game to 7 points instead of 5. Most play that the lead to the first trick is by the player to the dealer’s left. If played alone, the lead to the first trick would be the player to the bid winner’s left. Thus, the bid winner may or may not be the person leading to the first trick. A few change the scoring for playing alone such that the bid winner scores 2 points for winning 3 or 4 tricks (instead of 1).
Many play that the dealer may exercise the privilege of taking the turn-up into his hand if the proposed trump as accepted by the bid winner (in exchange for any other tile in his hand). A few play that the bid winner has this option. Also, some believe that the player who leads a trick states which suit that tile belongs to, rather than suit being determined by the higher number on the tile.
More Information
From the entry for “Domino Euchre” in Hoyle’s Standard Games, by Laird and Lee, 1908.
Call-Ace Domino Euchre
This variant changes the above rules of Domino Euchre by eliminating fixed partnerships. Instead, prior to leading to the first trick, the bid winner declares another suit that will determine who his partner is for the hand.
The suit he declares cannot be the trump suit or the suit from which the left bower comes. For example, if the trump suit is 5, the bid winner must pick some suit other than the 5’s or 4’s suits.
No one responds to the bid winner’s declaration of who his partner is. Instead, players must figure it out for themselves during the play of the hand.
The result is that the holder of the partner tile knows that he is the bid winner’s partner, but no one else does -- including the bid winner -- until this tile surfaces during play.
Another possibility is that the bid winner is playing alone because he himself holds the partner tile. No one will no this but the bid winner.
A third possibility is that the partner tile is one of the several tiles not in play for the hand. In this case the bid winner will be playing alone but will not know it!
Scores are kept individually in Call Ace. The points won by each partnership in each hand are awarded to both members of the partnership. The first player to win 5 points across hands is the Game winner.
Call Ace increases the “luck factor” in Euchre, but it also increases the fun factor. Try it for a change after you’ve tired of standard Euchre. The game works as well for five players as four.
Euchre (with playing cards)
Euchre was the most popular family card game in America during the mid-19th century. People who had religious restrictions about playing cards played Domino Euchre. Here are standard rules for the card game:
Players, Cards and Deal: This is a four-player partnership game. Partners should sit across from one another. Use a 24 card deck (you can create this by removing all cards below the 9 from a standard 52-card deck). Deal 5 cards to each player, and turn one card up to indicate the suggested trump suit.
Trump Rank: Cards in the trump suit rank: Jack of Trump, Jack of the same color, A, K, Q, 10, 9
Example: If spades are trump, the rank of the trumps is:
Jack of Spades, Jack of Clubs, K, Q, 10, 9
Note the Jack of Clubs is considered a spade for the duration of the hand.
Non-trump Rank: Cards in the three non-trump suits rank: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9
Bidding: Starting with the player to the dealer's left, each player in turn can either accept the suit of the turned up card as the trump suit for the hand, or say “pass”. If no player accepts the turned up suit as trump, the players go round a second time and say if there is any suit they want to play as trump. If everyone passes in this second round, the hand is tossed in and the player to the left of the dealer deals everyone a new hand.
As soon as any player accepts a trump suit, the bidding round halts. That player will lead to the first trick. The player can also optionally announce “I play alone”, in which case his partner places his hand face-down on the table. That player and his cards take no further part in play.
If the turn-up card suit was accepted as trump, the Dealer may optionally take it into his hand and discard any card face-down.
Play: The bid winner leads any card he likes to the first trick. Each player around the table in turn plays a card to the trick. Players must follow suit if possible, otherwise they can play any card.
Each trick is won by the highest trump, if any are played. Otherwise the highest card of the suit led wins the trick. The trick winner places the four cards from the trick face-down at his side and leads any card he likes to the next trick.
Scoring: After all five tricks are played, points are awarded for the hand as follows:
- Bid winners win 3 or 4 tricks = 1 point
- Bid winners win all 5 tricks = 2 points
- Bid winner plays alone and wins 3 or 4 tricks = 1 point
- Bid winner plays alone and wins all 5 tricks = 4 points
- Bid winners fail to win at least 3 tricks = 2 points to their opponents
Game: Game is won by the first partnership to 7
points across as many hands as necessary. (Some play to
10 or 11 points.)