My love affair with Euchre.

I have re-discovered my love for Euchre this weekend, and it got me thinking about the reasons I love it.

I learned to play Euchre because my parents and their best friends, the Connors, would play it everytime they got together. There was lots of laughing, and joking and it generally seemed like a great time. So I had my dad teach me over and over again when I was young. But I would always forget it because it's one of those things you need ingrained in your memory. By the time of BSPS (Bowmanville Senior Public School) other people had discovered the card game but more people seemed to be interested in a game of Asshole, which is a fine card game but pales in comparison to Euchre. Euchre became a pastime in high school. I played it obsessively. Many hours wasted in the far south hallway on floor of BHS (Bowmanville High School) playing cards while cutting class with Joe, Julie, Karen, Chris and the Kreck. It was a great joy watching the teachers patrol the hall to make sure kids weren't loitering, but only stopping to ask us what the score was.
Euchre once again dominated a great deal of time during my first few years at Queen's University. A regular Tuesday outing to Queen's Pub (a staple of my undergrad, having continued on the tradition as best I could once Matt and Mark graduated) became a regular Tuesday night of cards, specifically Euchre. Nothing says good fun like beer, pub grub, and Euchre. In my last few years of undergrad I played the game far less frequently but still played the occasional game in the lobby.
Since I graduated I hadn't played the game all that much till this Thanksgiving weekend where quite a few games were played in Laura's kitchen.

There is something about a game like Euchre that just brings people together. It's far more social then most standard card games and it's more then the fact that it's a team game. Euchre tends to breed friendly competition and social out-bursts. It's a card game in which you have to focus but you don't have to focus that hard. It has lots of strategy but even the best laid plans can go sour due to the cards.

I highly recommend to anyone who is not familiar with this game to learn it. And to those who are... Who's up for a game?