Euchre User’s Guide

BREW Version 1.0.1

Introduction

This document provides you with the information required to play the game “Euchre” on supported BREW handsets. The game menus are designed to be fairly self-evident, but this guide attempts to resolve any ambiguities that may arise.

Device Requirements

Euchre runs under BREW on the Motorola T720 family, the Audiovox CDM 8600, 8900, 9500, the LG 4400, 4500, 4600, LG VX6000, the Kyocera SE47 and Samsung A530 and A610.

Starting the Game

To load the game, use the left and right arrow keys to find Euchre from the list of games. Press OK or Select to start loading. Once the game has finished loading, the main menu will be displayed. Select “New Game” to start a new game, or “Resume Game” to resume an existing game.

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Bringing Up The Main Menu

The menu for Euchre allows the user to personalize and control the game. The main menu is described in more detail below. To bring up the main menu from the game screen, press either of the softkeys (for all phones except the CDM 8600, 8900, 9500) or press the CLR key.

Exiting the Game

To exit from Euchre, you should select “Exit Game” from the main menu. You can also exit the game by pressing the button with the red phone just to the left of the arrow keys.

Suspending the Game

The game will suspend automatically to receive an incoming phone call. When the phone call is terminated, the game will resume automatically.

Pausing and Resuming the Game

During actual game play, you can pause the game by bringing up the main menu. To resume the game, select “Resume Game” from the main menu.

Euchre Overview and Rules

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.

Cutthroat Euchre

This is a 3-player game with each player playing for himself. A deck of 20 cards is used (10-Ace of each suit). When any player orders up or selects trump, the other two players become partners for that hand and the bidding player is essentially playing alone. Otherwise, the rules are the same as in standard Euchre.

Game Menus

The game menus allow you to get more information about Euchre and to personalize the game. The main menu items are as follows:

  • New Game. This item allows you to start a new game.
  • Resume Game. This item allows you to return to an ongoing game. This item is only displayed if there actually is an ongoing game that the player can return to.
  • Options. Selecting this item brings up the Options menu.
  • View. Selecting this item brings up the View menu.
  • Exit Game. This menu item lets you exit from the game.

The Options menu has the following items:

  • Game Totals. This item shows you a cumulative total of games won and lost for each type of game.
  • Game Rules. Lets the player select between Standard, Play to 15, Railroad, British or Cutthroat Euchre.
  • Card Decks. This item lets you choose the design on the back of the deck of cards to use for the game. There are six colorful designs to choose from.
  • Difficulty. This item lets you select easy, medium or hard difficulty level.
  • Sound. This item lets you select whether sound effects and music are on or off.
  • Help. This item presents you with help on how to play Euchre for BREW
  • Credits. This item tells you more about the creators of this Euchre game for BREW, i.e., West of Pluto Software (

Contact Information

Euchre for BREW was developed by West of Pluto Software ( Please visit us on the web for more information.

We hope you enjoy this game! Please send questions or comments to us at .