RAILROAD EUCHRE

Railroad Euchre is a unique blend of different playing styles. The name can mean different things depending on where you’re from. I’ll be showing you just one version of Railroad Euchre, which follows the basic Turn Up rules, but you can also apply the railroad rules to the bidding phase if you prefer.

This version of Euchre is a bit different. It uses a Joker, a deck of 32 cards instead of 24, and has a higher target score. It also has some special rules for going alone. With 32 cards, you can have three teams playing at the same time. Get ready to experience Turn Up Euchre in a whole new way!

THE CARDS & THE DEAL

In this variation, we’ll be using a deck of 32 cards (7’s to Aces) instead of the usual 24. We’ll also add one Joker to make a total of 33 cards.

In the game of cards, the order of the cards in three of the suits stays the same (from 7 to Ace), but this changes when it comes to the trump suit. The highest-ranking trump card is always the Joker. The second-highest card is the Jack of the trump suit, followed by the same-colored Jack as the third-highest card. For instance, if spades are chosen as the trump suit, the order would be 7♠, 8♠, 9♠, 10♠, Q♠, J♣, J♠, Joker.

To decide the teams, each player selects a card from the deck before adding the Joker. The two players who have the lowest cards will be on the same team, while the two players with the highest cards will form the opposing team. The player with the lowest card is responsible for dealing first and keeping score throughout the game.

So, here’s how we start the game: the dealer gathers up all the cards and throws in the Joker for an extra twist. After giving the deck a good mix, the dealer deals out seven cards to each player. For games with six players, the cards are distributed in packs of 2-3-2.

Now, here’s where things get interesting. The remaining four cards are set aside to form what we call the “kitty.” But wait, there’s more! We flip over the top card of the kitty, which helps us determine the trump suit. This turned-up card is known as the “turn up.” However, the other three cards in the kitty won’t come into play.

Let’s Figure Out Who Gets to Be Trump

It’s time to decide who wants to be the trump suit. Starting with the player to the left of the dealer, they take a look at the suit of the turn-up card. If they fancy that suit and want to make it trump, they simply tell the dealer to pick it up. On the other hand, if they’re not too keen on that suit, they just say “pass.”

Now, things get really exciting when the dealer is told to pick up the turn-up card. Once that happens, the chosen suit becomes the trump for the game. But here’s the catch: the dealer has to discard one of their own cards face down onto the kitty. Talk about a nail-biter!

If no one wants to be the first to choose a suit, we turn the card face down. Then, it’s the player on the left of the dealer’s turn. They can either pick the trump suit or decide to pass. If everyone passes again, we consider it a misdeal and start over by collecting the cards and passing the deal to the left.

But if the player who has the power to choose trump believes in their skills and thinks they can win all the tricks, they can declare a loner hand. This means they choose one card from their hand and offer it to their partner. In return, their partner gives them their best card to help out. Remember, this happens before we even reveal the turn-up card.

Now, here’s the twist: once a player declares a loner, an opponent can decide to play alone as well. That means it’s just one player against the loner. The lone opponent also gets to exchange one card with their partner. So it’s a showdown, a one-on-one battle for the win.

If I’m feeling pretty confident about my skills, I can go all out and declare a Jambone. I’ll lay my cards face up on the table, and then someone from the opposing team gets to pick which cards they want to play against me. It’s a bold move that can’t be countered alone.

Once we decide on the trump suit, we can start playing.

Ready to Play

The game always kicks off with the player to the left of the dealer, no matter who chose the trump suit. That player selects a card from their hand, lays it face up on the table, and we’re off to the races. This card starts the round. Now, here’s the thing—each player has to follow suit if they can. But if they don’t have a card of that suit, they can play a trump card or any other card they want. Once everyone has put down their cards for the round, the highest card in the led suit or the highest trump card wins the round. And guess what? The player who takes the round gets to lead the next one.

When we play this game, we keep going until all the tricks are done. Once we add up the scores, the dealing moves to the next player on the left.

The Joker

The Joker is always the most powerful card in the game. If the Joker is the card that’s face up, there’s no suit that’s more important than the others. That means the Joker wins every time, and the highest cards in each suit are considered the best. The Joker is the only exception to the rule that the highest card in the suit that was first played wins the trick.

How Scoring Works

The team that chose the trump suit needs to win at least four tricks. If they do, they get one point for each trick they won. If they don’t win at least four tricks, the other team earns points for each trick they captured.

If you decide to play alone, you have to win at least four tricks. Your points will be doubled for the tricks you win. But be careful, if you don’t win at least four tricks, the other team will earn double points for their tricks!

If you choose to go against the alone player and manage to win at least four tricks, you’ll triple your points.

If you declare a Jambone and successfully win all the tricks, you’ll earn 28 points. However, if you fail to win all the tricks, the other team will earn 28 points instead.

Once the trump suit is determined, if you have the five highest ranked cards, you can declare a Jamboree. This will give you an extra 16 bonus points. If you combine a Jamboree hand with a Jambone, you’ll score a total of 44 points.

HOW TO WIN

The game is won by the first team to reach 64 points or more.