Bridge Game FAQ

Bridge is a trick-taking card game for four players in two partnerships, played with a standard 52-card deck. Each deal has two phases: an auction, where the players bid to name a trump suit and the number of tricks they expect to win, and the play, where thirteen tricks are contested. The partnership that fulfils its contract scores points; the other side scores when a contract fails.

Yes. bridgeonline.app is completely free and runs entirely in your browser. There is nothing to buy, download, or install, and there are no video ads, premium tiers, or paywalls. Press Play and a hand is dealt.

You sit South and play with a computer partner (North) against two computer opponents (East and West). All three are built into the page and run on your device, so there is nothing to wait for and no need to find three other people.

Bridge grew out of whist through the 19th-century game of biritch (bridge whist). Contract bridge, in which the auction decides the contract, was devised by Harold Vanderbilt in 1925 and popularised by Ely Culbertson in the 1930s. It is now played worldwide, both socially and in duplicate tournaments.

Each player gets 13 cards. Starting with the dealer, players bid clockwise until three passes follow a bid. The last bid is the contract: its level plus six is the number of tricks the declaring side must win, in the named trump suit or in No Trump. The player left of the declarer leads, the declarer’s partner puts their hand down as the dummy, and the declarer plays both hands. Follow suit when you can; the highest trump, or the highest card of the suit led, wins the trick. Then the deal is scored.

This game uses duplicate-style scoring for every deal. A made contract scores contract points (20 per trick in clubs or diamonds, 30 in hearts or spades, 40 then 30 in No Trump) plus a bonus: 50 for a part-score, 300 or 500 (vulnerable) for a game, and slam bonuses for six or seven. Overtricks add points. A failed contract gives the opponents 50 or 100 (vulnerable) per undertrick, more if doubled.

Vulnerability makes bonuses and penalties larger for a side. It rotates through the 16 standard boards: none, North–South, East–West, then both. A vulnerable game is worth 500 instead of 300, and vulnerable undertricks cost 100 each instead of 50. Your side’s status is shown in the header of the table on every deal.

The dummy is the declarer’s partner. After the opening lead, the dummy’s hand is laid face up so everyone can see it, and the declarer chooses which dummy card to play at each turn. The dummy does not decide anything. When you are the declarer, you play North’s cards from the top row of the table as well as your own.

A double, made only on an opponent’s bid, increases the points for making the contract and the penalties for failing it. A redouble, made only by the doubled side, doubles them again. Use a double when you believe the opponents’ contract will fail. Doubling a contract that makes gives the declarer a bonus.

Bid by choosing a level and then a suit or No Trump in the bidding box, or type 1–7 followed by C, D, H, S or N. P passes and X doubles. In the play, click a card (tap once to lift it and again to play on a touch screen), or use the arrow keys and Enter. H shows a hint, N deals a new hand, and M toggles sound.

If all four players pass with no bid, the deal is passed out. No cards are played, no one scores, and the next board starts. A passed-out deal counts as played in your stats but does not change your win streak.

The player to the declarer’s left makes the opening lead, before the dummy is shown. If you are on that side of the table you choose the lead with only your own hand and the auction to go on. Afterwards, whoever wins a trick leads to the next one.

Each deal is scored on its own using duplicate-style scoring, with dealer and vulnerability rotating through the standard 16 boards. Your running total across deals is kept in your stats. There is no rubber to complete and no need to track part-scores between hands.

The computer players use a natural bidding style: about 12 points to open, five-card majors, 1NT for a balanced 15–17, weak twos and higher pre-empts, simple overcalls, and takeout doubles. They use no artificial conventions, so a call means roughly what it says, which makes their bids straightforward to read as a learner.

Yes. Press the lightbulb or H when it is your turn. During the auction a hint suggests a call, and during play it highlights a suggested card. Hints follow the same bidding and play logic as the computer players, so they are a sensible baseline rather than a perfect answer.

Learn to count points and shape, then practise the auction: open with the right strength, look for a major-suit fit, and stop at the right level. In the play, count your winners and losers before you start as declarer, and think about which suit to lead on defence. The tips page walks through each habit.

No. The computer players decide their bids and plays from their own hand, the auction, and the cards that have been played, plus the dummy once it is exposed — the same information a person would have. They do not see your hand.

Only when you are the declarer. If North is the declarer, you are the dummy and the computer plays your cards for you, so you can simply watch the hand played out. If East or West declares, you are a defender and lead or follow from your own hand.

A made part-score is worth 70–140 points and a made non-vulnerable game 400 or more. Slams are worth over 900. On a defensive deal you score when the opponents fail their contract. Over many deals, a positive running total means your side is out-bidding and out-playing the table.

Deals played, deals won, your total and best score, contracts you made as declarer, slams, and your win streak are saved locally in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server and there is no account. A hand in progress is not saved if you close the tab.

Yes. The table is designed for touch. Your hand fans across the bottom of the screen, the bidding box is a compact grid above it, and cards use tap-to-lift then tap-to-play so you cannot play the wrong card by accident. It fits a portrait screen without pinch-zooming.

Open Stats with the trophy button and use Reset progress, then confirm with the second tap. That clears deals played, scores, streaks, and contract records on this browser. It cannot be undone.

Any current browser with JavaScript: Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari on desktop, plus their mobile versions. If the table does not respond, update the browser, allow scripts for this site, and reload.