and argues that, "on linguistic grounds alone there can be no doubt as to [Euchre's] origin in the Alsatian game of Juckerspiel as brought to America by German immigrants." Not only are Jucker and Euchre phonetically alike, but the terms Bauer and Marsch have been imported into Euchre as 'Bower' and 'march'. His conclusion is that Euchre derives from the Alsatiam game of Jucker which, in turn, is descended from Triomphe or French Ruff, probably via Bête. Related games Recently, members of the International Playing Card Society identified two games, still being played today in the region north of Alsace in Germany, that could be descendants of Juckerspiel: Bauer and Hunsrücker Bauern. Hunsrücker Bauern Possibly the closest relative of Juckerspiel is a variant of Bauer, or Bauern, played in the Hunsrück, uses 32 French-suited cards and is a six-handed, two-team game in which there are two Jacks as top trumps: the trump Jack and the Jack of the same colour. Like Jucker, players receive 5 cards each and there is a bonus for a slam, known as a Durch. If the cut card is a Jack, it determines the trump suit unless superseded later. Players are dealt five cards each from a Skat pack and, if trumps have not already been decided, the top card of the skat is turned for trumps. If it is a Jack, it determines trumps even if the cut card was a Jack. If it is a Jack, the bottom card of the skat is turned and, if it is the same suit, dealer may exchange with it. If not, players are asked in turn if they will play with the turnup suit. If any player says yes, the dealer may exchange with it. If no-one wants to play with the turnup suit, it is turned over again and players are asked if they will play with another suit. If all pass, the cards are redealt. This process is similar to that used in Euchre. Teams start with five lines marked on a slate (Striche) and play for the best of five tricks. If the declarers win, they erase a line; if they lose, they add a line and the winners erase a line. Bauer There is another version of Bauer played in the Saarland which is a four-handed, plain trick, partnership game. This time 8 cards are dealt to each player clockwise in two