By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Give Midwestern Americans a deck of cards and there’s a good chance they will start dividing it up for a game of euchre.
The card game is believed to have landed here with German immigrants in the 19th century. Brought by farmers, it spread to steamboats and mining camps – but not spreading far beyond midwestern borders.
The game has been passed down through generations, with rushed games in factory breakrooms, lazy games by the pool in the summer, and a tradition when families gather together.
Keeping the trend going are college students across the Midwest.
That was the case at Bowling Green State University on Sunday, when the university euchre club hosted a tournament with the help of Bicycle Playing Cards 2026 College Euchre Tour.
The tour is stopping at 12 universities over the next two months, with the winners at each school receiving $1,000 in scholarship funds and a chance to advance to a regional tournament, then possibly the world euchre championship in Wisconsin.
While the scholarship money was enough to lure students to the tournament, so was the chance to compete at a game many of them learned from older generations of their families.
“I was taught by my grandpa at a young age,” said Trevor Dorn, from Findlay. “It’s not entirely luck. You have to have a strategy.”
Dorn’s strategy and his ability to read other players has led him to his most impressive victory of going alone with a jack and a nine of trump. (If you’re from the Midwest, that likely makes sense to you.)
On Sunday, he and Josiah Leichty, also of Findlay, were partnering up in hopes of winning the scholarship.
“I think we’ll hold our own,” Leichty said.
At another table, Nathaniel Brown, from Houston, was waiting for his partner to show up. Houston – not exactly Midwest.
“My Dad is from Michigan, so that’s why,” Brown said, explaining his familiarity with the game. “I’m just a long way from home, and this is a nice little refresher. We don’t have this in Houston.”
Patrick Witschey, from Wadsworth, Ohio, also learned from his grandpa.
“My grandpa played in the Navy. He taught them all,” Witschey said.
Abby Hebreard, from Chicago, and Jenna Yurchiak, from Akron, paired up for the tournament.
“I like that it’s a team game and it keeps me connected with my family as well,” Yurchiak said. “It’s a little luck-based, but you also need to know when to play the cards.”
By time the tournament began, there were 28 teams of two players, shuffling brand new Bicycle decks to get the slick newness out of them.
It was only a year ago that three BGSU cross country runners from Ohio – Josh Risko of Mentor, Bryce Weber of Painesville, and Luke Woolard of Columbus – who happened to also love playing euchre, created the BGSU Euchre Club. On Sunday, they divided their time organizing the tournament and competing themselves.
Risko said he’s been playing the game since he was 8 years old.
“It’s a midwestern classic, in my opinion,” he said.
Club adviser Roc Stark said the first meeting of the group attracted fewer than 10 people.
“They’ve come a long way in a year,” Stark said as he watched the tournament tables fill up on Sunday.
Stark said he thinks of euchre as “bridge light.”
“It’s bridge for people who aren’t smart enough to play bridge,” he said with a grin.
“It makes you think a little,” said player J.J. Meyer, of Bodkins.
Before the first game was dealt, Weber went over the basic rules. The tournament would not allow redeals for “ace no face” games, but would follow “screw the dealer” rules.
There would be no table “talk” between partners – with words or facial expressions – during a game. “You’ll be under a microscope from then on,” Weber said.
There were the standard rules about reneging, going alone, trumping, and getting skunked.
It appears that euchre may have originated from the Alsatian region of German and French cultures as “Juckerspiel,” with “Jucker” meaning Jack and “spiel” meaning game. Euchre can be translated as the Jack’s Game – with the jack being king in euchre.
Jacks of the red or black trump suit are referred to as bowers, based on the German word for farmer.
Euchre has undergone unique rule variations in different regions, further diversifying the game, such as:
- Bid euchre: Players bid for the number of tricks they believe they can win.
- Cutthroat euchre: Each player plays for themselves in a cutthroat fashion.
- Stick the dealer: The dealer must select a suit if all players pass.
- Three-handed euchre: A rare variation played with three players.
