Friday, September 29, 2006

Euchre for the blind

One of the great things about euchre is that you apparently don’t even have to be able to see your cards to play the thing. Our good friends over at EuchreLinks.com tipped us off to this site from the Wisconsin Council of the Blind and Visually Impaired. For a mere $10 you get play euchre with the blind and their friends. I wonder if they have a lot of kibitzing.

It’s really great because you even get ice cream and cash prizes. Unfortunately, it was conducted last weekend and I was unable to attend due to a conflict with my marathon joggling attempts in Toronto. But next year, I’m putting this one on my calendar. I hope you don't need a blind friend, I don't know any.

2 comments:

Perry said...

I can't figure it out either. Let's see. I don't think they use the option of telling people what their cards are because that would be tough to remember. The braille thing could lead to cheating but maybe they just trust people. The third option sounds the most promising.

I wonder about the "and friends". This must mean that at least some of the players are not blind. I wonder if they have to play in blind folds.

Unknown said...

I invented Euchre Cards for the Blind (alternative to braille) about 6 years ago when my WW2 vet father lost the last of his vision. I created cards which are an alternative to braille because most individuals over 50 have some neuropathy in their finger times and find braille difficult. Our family has enjoyed euchre and other card games for 50 or more years. I decided to comment after reading the above responders "I can't figure out how...". The idea behind cards for the blind is to allow blind or visually impaired individuals to have fun and recreation. The cards have very small notches along the edges which allow a blind person to very quickly determine the cards they are holding. The only difference in the game is that each player simply announces their as they play. My father learned to use the cards in 15 minutes. A sighted person generally does the shuffling and score keeping, but this isn't completely necessary. My father deals and plays almost as fast as a sighted player, and I sure better than many. Euchre buffs should be happy that "their" game is adaptable to the blind. The 24 card deck and 5 card hand make it possible to follow and enjoy the game. This has been a type of altruistic and charitable activity for me. We have given away nearly 200 decks in the last year. In addition the cards are for sale on etsy.com. The income from easy sales has gone into paying expenses of giving the cards to individuals and agencies who support the blind. I hope this helps your members understand this project. Enjoy your game.