If you miss those weekly card-playing nights around the dining room table in this fast-paced world we live in, get ready!
LaGrange County game developer Brett Hahn has launched Euchre Mate, the first free online Euchre game ever built in Indiana.
A New Jersey transplant who found his way to the Midwest for work in the gaming industry, Hahn admits he’d never heard of the game until he met his wife Katelynne in Chicago in 2015 and she mentioned her family, who he would be meeting that Christmas, played cards, notably Euchre.
Once hooked on the game, a member of the family, and raising his own in LaGrange County, Indiana, he began looking for a project that would bring the concept of card nights and family fun “back to the table,” as he calls it, in this busy 21st century.
Julia Meek tracks the adventure with Brett, discussing how this handy web companion works to connect players, coach newcomers and keep that long-popular game alive and well.
Get connected and start a game at the Euchre Mate website.
Hahn is supporting his community and offering the public a chance to try Euchre Mate first-hand as a proud sponsor of the upcoming Progressive Euchre Tournament benefiting the Wolcottville Community Initiative.
Event Information:
Courtesy/Euchre Mate
WCI Euchre Night Fundraiser
Rome City American Legion Hall, Rome City, Indiana
Thursday, Aug. 27
5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Find ticket information and register here.
This is a transcript of our conversation:
Julia Meek: Brett Hahn, welcome.
Brett Hahn: Thank you for having me.
Julia Meek: Now, thanks to you, that iconic card game Euchre is back home again in Indiana, quite literally. Let's start with why here and now and free?
Brett Hahn: Yeah, well, I grew up in New Jersey, so Euchre was not known to me. Never played it in my life until about a little over a decade ago, I met my wife in Chicago, and she's from Fort Wayne.
So that winter, we came back to Fort Wayne to meet the in-laws for Christmas, and so first time meeting them. And I sat down at the table, and we started playing Euchre.
And it was my first experience into the Midwest family game night. Growing up in New Jersey, family game night wasn't really a thing, at least not in my family, and definitely not Euchre.
So, it was just a ton of fun. I was horrible, but my father-in-law was patient to teach me, and you know that's obviously a key part of Euchre.
And I had my wife as my partner, so didn't do too bad. You know, it was great. And then I would go to extended family gatherings with my wife, and they'd be playing Euchre and Michigan Rum and Spades and Hearts and all that good stuff.
And I was like, man, this is such a cool culture and just made it a lot of fun when families got together. So that was my intro to family game night here in the Midwest and in Indiana.
And you know, over the years, it kind of started to disappear as families kind of spread out, and social media kind of took over, and doom scrolling, and all that good stuff.
And you know, we're not quite as connected anymore, even though online it seems like you are.
Julia Meek: Okay, but then what changed?
Brett Hahn: I had a passion to develop a free-to-play game ever since I left the casino industry a little over a decade ago.
Julia Meek: Okay, so Brett, you cut your teeth in the opposite end of the gaming world, so how did that inspire you to take this about face with Euchre?
Brett Hahn: Yeah, I, you know I started my career in the casino industry.
In 2015 I was working for an online gaming casino company in Chicago and was running the marketing for at the time one of the biggest free-to-play casino games called Jackpot Party Slots.
So that was my first experience working with game designers, producers, artists, and it was fascinating. Even though it was kind of casinos.
And so ever since I left the casino industry, I said, you know, I really would love to make a free-to-play game, but not something that kind of predatory [laughs] you know, something something a little more fun.
You know, my background's in marketing technology and development and machine learning.
So, over the years, as I've gotten stronger in that side of things, and obviously as AI tools have come to light over the years, yeah, I've gotten to a place where I can independently develop a game.
So, about a year ago, really just chomping at the bit to kind of develop something, but I couldn't figure out what it was. And I was like, man, I really want to develop a game, but again, I don't want it to be a casino game.
There's a million of them out there, and I want something that's a little more wholesome, something that could bring families together.
And my father-in-law Tony said, Hey, if, if you can make a Euchre game where I could play with my sisters...you know, he's got one sister in Tampa, another one in Indianapolis, he's got another one in the region.
He said, If you can make a game where we can all just play online together, that would be pretty cool. And I said, All right, well, let me start making it.
And you know, in the back of my mind was always like, how do I bring families together, communities together? So that's how it got started.
Julia Meek: Okay. And thank the family here in the Midwest with the Euchre tendencies, once again. One thing that you stress is no apps. So why not? And what's the alternative then?
Brett Hahn: You know, people hate adding another app to their, to their phone. [chuckles] There's a million of them. It gets hard to even know what apps you still have on your phone. Apps track you and all that good stuff.
So, you know, I really you'll--there is a big shift going on in the gaming experience, app experience where it's just, it's browser based and it's giving the exact same experience as if you had an app, but you don't actually have to download the app.
So that was my goal: was how can I make this easy to access? Free was, was very important because if you look at all the other euchre games out there, yes, they're free, but they have a bunch of ads in your face, or it costs a good bit.
So, I wanted to make sure that was easy to access, which is why I didn't want to do an app. I wanted to make it free and very easy to start playing.
So you could just go to euchremate.com, click play, and then get started and having fun.
Julia Meek: And people have--it's most amazing. Your statistics are remarkable since July 6th is when all this started. Just how quickly is all this catching on?
Brett Hahn: Well, the first week it was about 500 people, mainly across Indiana, and then week two, by the end of week two, which was I guess last week, right?
Jumped over 1000, and then we just hit over 1300 as of yesterday. So, it's starting to spread out. There's people all over the country playing. The majority are here in Indiana. [chuckles]
Julia Meek: Does it go beyond, though?
Brett Hahn: Yep. So, Indiana, then Illinois is the second highest state. Then Michigan, Ohio, but there's people down in Florida, which a lot of the snowbirds are down there, right?
It goes out to California. I've seen people playing in England, Netherlands, Norway, so it's splintering nicely, which is great.
And the cool thing is, I come to find out there's Euchre clubs all over the country, tons of them. Local Euchre clubs. Every college has a Euchre club.
There's Euchre clubs even overseas, in Europe very much. So, it's a huge community that again, before I even got into this, I didn't even realize how how big it was.
So, I think it speaks to like, well, why are people playing it and sharing it with friends and enjoying it? And it's I think that's why.
Julia Meek: It's the whole social...this is a social scene.
Brett Hahn: Oh yeah.
Julia Meek: Now finding a game, you offer three ways to do so. Plus, Marty, that's our personal mate, a coach.
Brett Hahn: Yeah.
Julia Meek: How does this part of the connection work?
Brett Hahn: Yeah. So, the three ways, you can play solo. So, it's just you against three AI players, essentially.
So just computer players, and it's great for new people learning, or if you're a seasoned euchre player, it's great for just practicing and getting sharper on your, your craft.
And then there's a multiplayer option, which is where you can create a game, and then you can share a link with family and friends, and then they can join.
And then you can play anywhere across the country with family and friends, and playing a game, which is great.
And then the third option is find a game where you can play head-to-head against a stranger, and then so you each will have an AI partner, but you're playing one against one, right?
And then you have the AI partners, or you can play as pairs. So, if you and a friend want to play another pair that's a stranger, you can do that as well.
That aspect, that third option's newer, so not fully adopted yet, but I'll be refining it over time. But Marty is in all the games. Marty's the rooster at the top, and he is going to be your Euchre coach.
So, he's custom-developed AI model, essentially as a coach, where Marty knows all the rules, but he's also there to help you if you're new.
Say, Marty, how do I play, or what should I do here? Or if you're a seasoned euchre player, say how did I do last hand? Did I, did I make the right move? Could I have been better? What should I do here, Marty?
So he's very much there to help the, the novice, but also for the seasoned Euchre players, help them get stronger and better because that's the name of the game.
You want to be, you know, it's all about strategy and like, should I have done that, and was that the right card to lead with? And so, there's, there's so much that goes into Euchre.
So, I wanted to make sure there was a mate there with you because Euchre naturally is, it's a pair. That's the beauty of Euchre. It's, you have a mate.
It's you and another person versus two other people. But it's nice to have a coach there to help you because one of the things which was perhaps why Euchre kind of fell on the wayside was because people didn't want to take time to teach new people.
Julia Meek: There's a lot of rules and innuendos.
Brett Hahn: Yeah, and you can play...you just want to get down to business and have fun. So, you want to just play, so you don't want to spend time teaching people, but that's what Marty's there to do.
Julia Meek: Okay, were we launching a game right now, would you walk us through the very basics very quickly?
Brett Hahn: Yeah. So, if you're launching a a solo game, you, you just click play. Um, you can either play as a guest or create an account.
And if you create an account, it'll track your play, which is great. So, to play, you just go to euchremate.com. You'll see a play button. Click play, and then you can choose solo, multiplayer, or the live find-a-game.
Let's say you click play, the solo option. You go in there. You can either create an account to keep track, or you can play as a guest.
But then once you jump in the game, it'll get started. You'll be the first player. It'll let you know who is the dealer. The trump card will be showing.
You can either order it up, pass it, or go alone based on your hand. And then let's say you say let's order it up, and then it'll go around the table and go to each player, and it's going to be a best of 10 games.
So, the tricks are to five. There is house rules that you can choose if you wanted to do Stick the dealer, Canadian loner, or you want to play win by two, or you want to play to 15 or 11.
So I've got a good bit of traditional family house rules from around different regions, and I'll be adding more as time goes. So, I've got all the main popular ones, and that's, that's how you can play.
Julia Meek: You can even go it alone if you are feeling bold.
Brett Hahn: Oh yeah, go alone and get those four points, oh yeah. [chuckles]
Julia Meek: He thinks of everything!
Brett Hahn: Mm-hmmm.
Julia Meek: So, you claim it is ad-free to play and designed to simply put the phone down on the table and deal someone in.
Brett Hahn: Yep.
Julia Meek: That really does sound too good and too free to be true. How does it sustain itself?
Brett Hahn: Yeah, I think you know, for me, it is a, it is a passion project. [both chuckle]
Julia Meek: Okay, okay.
Brett Hahn: You know, but no, I think I do offer a premium option for five bucks a month. So it's same amount as a cup of coffee, and what that'll do is just give you additional, such as more house games options and different tracking.
I even have a community board for premium members wherever you want certain features in the game. You can put that on the board, and then other premium members can vote that up.
So that's very much what that's there for. But you know, I think that the name of the game is keep it free, keep it simple. I'll never add ads because they drive me nuts, and it ruins the experience.
So, I think my goal is, you know, families can play this, have fun. You know, I think the cool thing is I've gotten a lot of outreach from people saying, "Man, my kids are going off to college.
You know, we played a lot as family, but now they're going to college, and this is going to be a great way that we can keep playing, even if they're far away."
So that's what I--that's my mission, and that's really fun.
Julia Meek: That's very clever, very, very clever, and well thought out, Brett. Now, okay, family nights are totally hard to come by, as we're discussing, especially in this fast-paced 21st century.
It makes old-fashioned card games endangered species, quite literally. How can this, should this change things?
Brett Hahn: You know, I think there's an appetite for people wanting to be getting back to basics.
But getting back to kind of traditional way of things a little bit because yes, everything's a little too fast-paced. We're kind of stuck on our phones, half the time.
You know, the goal of this is to bring you back to really fun, traditional family game night, you know, and really just get you back to spending time with family.
Even if you're spread apart, you can still play the game, you know, even if you're on your phones. It's, it's a lot different than just scrolling on social media.
It's having fun with family, connecting with them. You can still banter, and you can still have the phone calling people while you're playing.
And kind of make it the, you know the true card, uh...you know, conversation aspect going [both chuckle] so I think hopefully my goal is, it gets people back the traditional way of just having fun as a family.
Julia Meek: And to that end you have actually launched a Euchre Club sponsorship program. Would you give us a quick word on the merits of card clubs, they are still in existence, and just how this works for you?
Brett Hahn: Yeah, I think as I started researching Euchre deeper to make sure I developed the game right, it fascinated me just how many, like I mentioned earlier, how many euchre clubs there are across the country and actually across the world.
There's tons of them, and these are the clubs that are keeping the game alive. The beauty is these are the clubs that are bringing strangers together in communities and creating friendships, right?
And I think it's really important to me to make sure that they stay alive and they stay supported.
Courtesy/Euchre Mate
And so, very much why I created, if you go to eucromate.com/clubs, I have a bunch of free resources, so PDFs that they can print, such as tally trackers, certificates, all the different things that you would need at a live Euchre game.
I also have a live tracker on the website, so if you want to actually host the game in person and keep track all online instead of on paper, you can actually share a link with everybody else at the Euchre game, and they can keep track of who's winning.
Julia Meek: Super.
Brett Hahn: But then the sponsorship was important, where starting out, I'm doing $100 sponsorship for one club a month. Obviously, if the game grows, that will grow.
But again, it's more you know, putting my my money where my mouth is, where I want to support the clubs that actually keep the game alive and try to support them as much as I can.
Julia Meek: And the people that are out there really wishing to do it, you're also cross-generational.
Brett Hahn: Yep, and my goal is also to build out a full directory on the site. I have a handful of Indiana clubs that I list.
So, if people want to find clubs, my goal is to have a director of clubs across the country. You might want to tour around, and if you're on vacation, you say, you know, let's go check out a local, local Euchre game.
And again, that's how you're going to meet people and form connections and have fun.
Julia Meek: And extends the family's extended family of Euchre playing! [chuckles]
Brett Hahn: Oh yeah, exactly.
Julia Meek: Perfect. Now, with your background in the gaming world, you know the effects, quite often negative associated with gaming and getting out of control.
What does your strategy, your approach with this Euchre in particular, add to the positive side of things?
You know, how does it give it a good name, especially in these crazy times, where it's easy for people to get off-track?
Brett Hahn: Yeah, you know, I think a lot of free-to-play games are based on you buying chips or coins, or you know, whether it's slot machine games or Angry Birds.
They all kind of go on like you're spending a lot of money to keep playing and getting more statuses.
I very much went the opposite route of that, saying no, I don't want that because that's how people kind of get addicted for the wrong reasons.
You know, I think my whole goal is I want you to play with family. I want you to play live with friends or even strangers and make connections.
But I don't want you to be blowing a ton of money just to play a game on your phone. That was very much--I lived that world.
I saw that world. I was a marketer in that world, so I understood exactly how that worked, and that's very much where I said I don't want that at all.
Julia Meek: You turn it, you really turn it around into a real, very positive. Thank you for that. Are other classic card games like Bridge and Canasta, what have you, equally adaptable, do you think?
And bottom line, do you have a market for and interest in adapting them?
Brett Hahn: Yeah, I think, I think the top games that I want, you know, in the future. Obviously, I want to make sure this game is sustainable.
There's going to be little bugs and things like that. I'm an independent developer, so I'm learning as I'm going. And so, I'm not going to get too big for my britches too quick.
But I very much want to build a Michigan Rum game, a Spades game, Hearts game. So various games over time. But I don't want to just pump out games for the sake of it.
I want to make sure I'm making fun games, games again that are going to be built for families to come back to game night was my whole mission.
Julia Meek: And in the meantime, and last question, Brett, where do you hope this venture into family fun, good old family fun, new old family fun, family traditions, reviving card game night around that table that you talk about will continue to take its players now that you do have their attention?
Brett Hahn: I hope that it, it brings families back to the game table, right back. I hope that family game night does come back and it gets, it solidifies.
I hope that Euchre clubs continue to grow. I really hope that the game ofEuchre kind of gets front and center and going to be more mainstream.
Get back to being mainstream and having fun. But I think it's--the name of the game is, let's get families back to the kitchen table having fun together. I'm a family man, and I try to be as authentic as I can be.
Julia Meek: Brett Hahn is an independent developer from Lagrange County, the creator of Euchre Mate, Indiana's first free, online Euchre game.
Thank you so much for sharing your story of your creativity with us, Brett. May everyone win. Carry it on.
Brett Hahn: Thank you for having me.
