My three games? Euchre, Oh, hell, and Yahtzee.
1) Euchre
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| Source: Wikipedia |
I love playing cards, and have ever since my brother taught me to play poker when I was a little kid. When I was in college at Ohio State, I learned to play Euchre. It's been my favorite game ever since.
Euchre is a trump game, and is played with four players, who pair off in sets of two. The highest card is the jack of the selected trump suit, called the right bower, and the second highest card is the jack of the same color, the left bower. All other cards are ranked according to face value. The hand above would be the perfect, unbeatable hand for a round with spades as trump.
I've never been particularly great at the game, but I've always loved it. While I usually end up with a hand full of 9s (the lowest card in Euchre,) nothing beats picking up your cards and seeing those jacks and aces.
2) Oh, hell
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| Source: publicdomainpictures.net |
I learned to play Oh, hell as a child, when I was about 12 years old. My mother's cousins were big card players, and I remember visiting them and learning to play Oh, hell. Even though I was only 12 and the other players were adults, I took to the game at once. It became a family joke as I was so serious about the game, I acted as if I was in Vegas playing high-stakes poker. Unfortunately, I didn't win, and my 12 year old self was not the least bit happy about that.
I don't take it seriously any more, but I still enjoy the game, which involves taking tricks. The object of the game is to bid the exact amount of tricks you think you will be able to take in each hand. I often play the game now with family members on holidays, and we always have a lot of laughs while playing.
3) Yahtzee
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| Source: Wikipedia |
This is another game I've loved since childhood, and the picture above brings back wonderful memories. This is the original Yahtzee game that was sold back in 1956, and the set my family had when I was a kid looked just like this. We would bring the game with us to Martha's Vineyard each summer, and play while we sat around the table after a day at the beach. I loved rolling the dice in the little wooden container, and keeping track of my score with the little golf-style pencils. I have no idea what happened to this set, but I'd love to find it again.
So those are my games. It was fun to pick these, and I want to say thanks again to Alex J Cavanaugh for hosting this blogfest!
I never played Euchre. I remember at a few camps I went to others playing it but I never had a desire to learn it. I think I thought it was an old person game and not cool. =S
ReplyDeleteYOu know, I've never played yahtzee! I should try it one of these days. looks like a fun game. :)
ReplyDeletenutschell
www.thewritingnut.com
Need to take you to Vegas then!
ReplyDeleteThanks for participating in the blogfest.
Oh Hell sounds like a lot of fun. I've never heard of it. I love that you found a picture of a 1956 Yahtze game. Great Fun & Games post!
ReplyDeleteCheers.
Good ones. I've never played Euchre. Sounds a little like Bridge, which I really don't understand.
ReplyDeleteYahtzee was one of those summertime games my friends and I played when the heat got too bad outside. We'd go to the neighbors cool basement and play for what seemed like hours.
Euchre has a special place in my heart since it was how I met my future wife. She knew how to play it and I didn't. She tried to teach me but I never learned. Got to keep her though!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your list! My list is here.
Julie! The fab Tonja fixed me. :D
ReplyDeleteI would love to learn the card games you mentioned. I met a dude who was surprised I didn't know euchre since my grandpa was a railroad man.
Yahtzee! Totally forgot about that one. Used to love playing that one.
ReplyDeleteLee
Tossing It Out
Oh Hell sounds similar to canasta. I love Yahtzee, still have mine. Great game for rainy day :)
ReplyDeleteJules @ Trying To Get Over The Rainbow
Yahtzee is a great game! It's nice to meet you, Julie.
ReplyDeleteQuite fancy the sound of Euchre, never heard of it before today! Yahtzee is great.
ReplyDeleteEuchre gave me spending money in college.
ReplyDelete'Nough said?
Wow, i haven't heard the word Euchre in about 20 years. My first boyfriend tried to teach me, to no avail.
ReplyDeleteThe relationship didn't work out. ;)
Another Euchre player. That's what we played when I lived in Michigan. And Yahtzee almost made mu list. My kids love it too.
ReplyDeleteWe never played card games as a kid. I'm really, really BAD at them! I do love Yahtzee though!
ReplyDeletethanks for the game game! i see you like the classics =)
ReplyDeleteand i gave you an award, come get it (i forget if i already told you)
@Patricia Lynne, an old person's game, really? Ha ha, maybe so. :D
ReplyDelete@Karen, I like Mah Jong too, I forgot about that one.
@nutschell, it really is a fun game, I think you'd like it. :)
@Alex, thanks for hosting this, it's fun! Great idea for a blogfest.
@Rawknrobin, thanks! I couldn't believe I found that Yahtzee pic, I love it.
@L.G. I've never been able to understand Bridge either. I think it requires too much concentration for me! ;)
@Tim, great story!! Thanks for coming by here, it's nice to meet you.
@Mary, yay for Tonja!! That's funny about euchre and the railroad, kind of fun to think of a bunch of guys sitting around playing in railroad cars.
@Lee, Yahtzee is a great game, no doubt.
@Jules, I think Canasta and Oh, hell are very similar, I seem to remember hearing that.
@Laura, thanks, it's great to meet you as well.
@Dorothy, agree about Yahtzee!
@GigglesandGuns, LOL. I probably wouldn't have wanted to play you then, I'm still not very good at the game even though I love it. :D
@li, reading about the games has been a great blast from the past for me, there have been so many I've read that I hadn't thought about in decades.
@Stephen, it seems like Euchre is a really popular game in Ohio and Michigan both. Great to know kids still like Yahtzee!
@Jemi, it seems like everyone loves Yahtzee, such a fun game. :)
@Tara, I must have posted at the same time as your comment! Oh, thank you for the award, I didn't know. I will be by to get it, thanks so much!
ReplyDeleteGreat post Julie. I loved Yahtzee as a kid too, and my girls are slowing taking to it. I think I'll bring it out tomorrow-thanks for the inspiration.
ReplyDeleteI love card games. Great picks. My fave is gin rummy because I used to play my grandma all the time. But I 've played euchre and Oh, hell too!!
ReplyDeleteEuchre is great, I learned to play a few years back and really enjoyed it. It does challenge the player with remembering trump for each hand and keeping track of those jacks.
ReplyDeleteOh, Hell sound a bit like spades. Spades is another card game I enjoy, and it can get interesting when players are trying to get the other pair to accumulate bags.
I remember playing Euchre with just about anybody, and playing Oh hell with my family. Both great games.
ReplyDeleteThere's a similar game to Oh hell, and I can't remember the name, but you actually make discards and based on those discards, 'bid' on how many tricks you're going to make - a diamond for zero, a spade for one, a heart for two, a club for three, or something like that. It's a really challenging and fun game!
Thanks for blog-festing!
What fun to hear about your favorite games! We love playing games in my family - it's one of the best things to do together! I mean seriously! - laughing, teasing, playing, snacking, even being ornery on purpose!
ReplyDeleteOne of our fav card games is Wackee Six - it's a fast-paced game where everyone's trying to find a place to lay their cards down at the same time! :D
All the games sound like fun! The last family game we played was Catch Phrase. Thanks for reminding me how wonderful games can be! Julie
ReplyDeletePrinted Playing Cards. Nice Blog
ReplyDeleteGot to love those card games! Great choices.
ReplyDelete@Tim, thanks! I hope you and the girls have fun playing Yahtzee. :)
ReplyDelete@Kelly, oh, I forgot about gin rummy! I used to play that all the time. It's been so long I don't even know if I remember how to play now, but I'm sure it would come back. Great game!
@Claire, I have played spades a few times and thought it was fun, I can't really remember how to play now though as it's been a long time. I love just about any card game.
@kelworthfiles, that game sounds like fun, too! Thanks for visiting, great to meet you. :)
@Brenda, I agree, games are such a great thing to do as a family. I've never heard of Wackee Six but it sounds fun, the name is funny!
@Julie, I don't know if I've ever played Catch Phrase. Thanks so much, I'm glad you liked the post.
@Adam, thanks!
@Ellie, I agree, thank you! :)
I've never played Euchre but it sounds a bit like Bridge. I was taught how to play Bridge about 6 years ago and I'm addicted to it now.
ReplyDeleteYahtzee's good too, a bit like Poker but with dice.
I used to play Yathzee all the time and beg my siblings to play with me.
ReplyDelete@Rosalind, I think that's why I like Yahtzee so much, it's almost like playing cards with dice. I've never learned to play Bridge, tried but I didn't get anywhere with it. Maybe I should try again at some point.
ReplyDelete@Nicole, hi, thanks for coming by! LOL, that's cute about begging to play Yahtzee. :D
Fun blogfest indeed. :-)
ReplyDeleteOf the games you've picked, I only know Yahtzee, but I didn't play it often.
'Oh, hell' sounds like fun!
we used to bet on yahtzee games in university!
ReplyDeleteCOMPLETELY forgot about Yahtzee. Wow. Shame on me.
ReplyDeleteAny friend of animals is a friend of mine. Nice to meet you. (And, umm....like your template) :)
Oh I love Euchre! Such a fun game. it's one of those "minute to learn, lifetime to master" sorts of games. It's very nice to meet you. Thanks so much for the visit and follow.
ReplyDeleteTina @ Life is Good
Not being much of a card player, except for Uno and Go Fish, I have never heard of either of those games before. Yahtzee was my downfall. I liked it but I never could figure it out. Thanks for stopping by and sorry for getting back so late. Apparently the bloggy gods thought I needed a bloggy break and decided to give me one against my will. bleh
ReplyDelete@K.C., Oh, hell really is fun! One thing I like about it as there's no limit to how many people can play, so it's fun to play with a group.
ReplyDelete@baygirl, oh, that sounds like fun! I've never bet on Yahtzee before.
@Bryce Daniels, thanks! It's always great to meet another animal lover! :)
@Tina, thanks so much, I'm so glad to have met you as well.
@Dafeenah, I'm sorry Blogger was giving you trouble, it seems like there have been so many problems with it lately. I love Uno and used to play Go Fish a lot, I forgot about those games!
great list julie! we like yahtzee here too!
ReplyDeletehappy belated gameblogfest!
@Tara, thanks! Happy blogfest to you as well! :)
ReplyDelete