Guide
How to Play Bridge
Bridge is a game of two halves: an auction to choose the contract, then thirteen tricks to fulfil it. Learn the table, the bidding, the play of the hand, and how every deal is scored.
Play Bridge OnlineThe objective
Win tricks and make your contract
Bridge is played with one standard 52-card deck by four players in two partnerships. On every deal your side either bids a contract and tries to win the tricks it promised, or defends against the opponents' contract and tries to stop them. Make your contract and you score; miss it and the other side does.
The game has two halves. In the auction each player bids or passes in turn until a contract is set. In the play, thirteen tricks are contested with the declarer controlling both their own hand and the dummy. There is no clock: the challenge is judging your hand, trusting your partner, and planning the play.
The game is free, runs in the browser, and needs no account. Open the board when you want to play; use this guide for the rules, the bidding, the scoring, and the habits that win more deals.
The table
Four players, two partnerships, 52 cards
You sit South and North is your partner; East and West are the opposing partnership. Every player receives 13 cards, and the dealer and the vulnerability change from board to board on the standard 16-board rotation. The board number, dealer, and whether your side is vulnerable are shown above the table.
The three other players are computer opponents that run in your browser. They bid and play with a natural, convention-light style and only use information a real player would have: their own hand, the auction, the cards played, and the dummy once it is down.
Controls
Click, tap, or use the keyboard
Every method does the same thing. Pick whichever fits the device in your hand.
Everywhere
Tap or click
In the bidding box pick a level, then a suit or No Trump to bid; Pass, X (double) and XX (redouble) are single buttons. To play, click a card. On a touch screen the first tap lifts the card and the second tap plays it, so a slip never costs you a trick.
Desktop
Keyboard bidding
Press 1–7 to choose a level, then C, D, H, S or N to bid that suit or No Trump. P passes and X doubles (or redoubles when a redouble is legal). H asks for a hint, N deals a new hand, and M toggles sound.
Desktop
Keyboard play
Press the left or right arrow to move across your cards, and Enter or Space to play the focused card. Cards you cannot legally play are dimmed. As declarer you play dummy’s cards from the top row the same way.
The loop
Four steps in every deal
Every deal follows the same cycle, from the first card you see to the score.
- 1
Sit down and read your hand
Four players sit at a table: you (South) and North are partners against East and West. Each player is dealt 13 cards. Count high-card points — Ace 4, King 3, Queen 2, Jack 1 — and note how many cards you hold in each suit. Points and shape decide your bidding.
- 2
Bid in the auction
Starting with the dealer and moving clockwise, each player calls: a bid (a level from 1 to 7 plus a suit or No Trump), Pass, Double, or Redouble. Each bid must outrank the last. A level-4 bid in hearts is a promise that your side will win ten of the thirteen tricks (the level plus six) with hearts as trumps.
- 3
Play the hand
When three players pass in a row after a bid, the last bid becomes the contract. The declarer is the first player of the winning side to name that suit. The player to the declarer’s left leads; then the declarer’s partner, the dummy, lays their hand face up and the declarer plays both hands. Follow suit if you can, and the highest trump — or the highest card of the suit led — wins each trick.
- 4
Score the deal
Count the tricks. If the declaring side takes at least the level plus six, it scores contract points plus any game, slam, and overtrick bonuses. If not, the defenders score penalty points for every trick short. Then the next deal starts, with a new dealer and possibly a new vulnerability.
Rules & scoring
Every rule that decides a move
The objective
Win tricks. A partnership scores by fulfilling the contract it bid, or by defeating the opponents’ contract. Tricks beyond the contract are bonus overtricks; tricks short of it are undertricks.
Card rank and trumps
Cards rank Ace (high) down to 2 in each suit. In a suit contract, the bid suit is trump and any trump beats any card of another suit. In No Trump there are no trumps; the highest card of the suit led wins. Suits rank ♣ < ♦ < ♥ < ♠ < No Trump when comparing bids.
Contract points
Each trick beyond the sixth in the contract scores 20 in clubs or diamonds, 30 in hearts or spades, and 40 for the first No Trump trick then 30 each after. A doubled contract doubles these points, and a redouble quadruples them. Trick points of 100 or more are a game.
Bonuses
A game earns 300 non-vulnerable or 500 vulnerable; a part-score earns 50. A small slam (12 tricks bid and made) adds 500 or 750 vulnerable, and a grand slam (13 tricks) adds 1,000 or 1,500 vulnerable. A made doubled contract adds 50 and a redoubled one 100. Each overtrick scores its trick value, or 100 (200 vulnerable) if doubled.
Penalties
An undoubled contract that fails costs 50 per undertrick, or 100 vulnerable. Doubled, the first undertrick costs 100 (200 vulnerable), the next two 200 each non-vulnerable, and further ones 300; vulnerable, every undertrick after the first costs 300. Redoubled penalties are double the doubled amounts.
Vulnerability and dealer
Dealer and vulnerability follow the standard 16-board rotation, so bonuses and penalties change deal to deal. The board number on the table tells you where you are in the cycle. Being vulnerable raises both the rewards and the risks.
Bidding guide
A short guide to the auction
The computer players bid this way, and so do the hints. Learn these four ideas and you can follow almost any auction on the table.
- 01 · 12+ points, or the Rule of 20
Opening the bidding
Open one of a suit with about 12 or more high-card points, or when your points plus the length of your two longest suits reach 20. Bid a five-card major first; otherwise open your longer minor. With a balanced hand of 15–17 points open 1NT, and with 20–21 open 2NT.
- 02 · 6+ points to bid
Responding to partner
With three-card support for partner’s major and 6–9 points, raise to the two level; 10–12 points invites game with a raise to three; 13 or more goes to game. Without support, bid a new four-card suit at the one level, or 1NT with a weak balanced hand.
- 03 · 8+ points and a five-card suit
Overcalls and doubles
When the opponents open, you can overcall in a good five-card suit with about 8–16 points, bid 1NT with 15–18 and a stopper in their suit, or make a takeout double — 12 or more points, short in their suit, and support for the other three.
- 04 · 25 and 33 combined points
Game and slam targets
Partnerships usually need about 25 combined points for game: 3NT, four of a major, or five of a minor. About 33 points suggest a small slam at the six level, and 37 or more a grand slam. Bidding stops once your side has shown enough to reach its target.
Common mistakes
Why makeable contracts get lost
Bidding on distribution alone
A hand with a long suit but no high cards is worth fewer tricks than it looks. Weak-suit hands belong in part-scores or pre-emptive bids, not in game contracts.
Ignoring vulnerability
A doubled contract that fails costs far more when you are vulnerable. Bid a little more cautiously when the penalty is steep, and a little more boldly when only the opponents are vulnerable.
Playing too fast as declarer
The dummy comes down and there is a pull to play the first card that looks fine. Pause, count your winners and losers, and decide the order before you touch a card.
Leading without a plan on defence
A random lead often gives the declarer a trick. Choose the suit your side is likely to build, lead from a sequence when you have one, and avoid leading away from an unsupported Ace.
Strategy habits
Tips to bid and play better
A summary — the full tips page walks through each in depth.
- Count high-card points and shape before every call. Points tell you how strong the hand is; length tells you where it wants to play.
- Look for an eight-card fit in a major first. A major-suit game needs about 25 combined points; a minor needs closer to 28, so 3NT is often easier.
- Do not bid a suit you cannot back up. A steady, honest bid helps your partner far more than a hopeful one.
- Before playing to the first trick as declarer, count your sure tricks and your losers, and make a plan for the rest.
- Draw the opponents’ trumps early when you have the length, unless you need trumps to ruff your own losers.
- On defence, lead the top of a solid sequence, or fourth-highest from your longest suit against No Trump.
- Watch the discards. The cards players throw away show which suits they hold and which they are giving up.
- Use the hint button to study a spot rather than skip it: ask for a hint, then work out why that call or card is sensible.
Where you can play
Same table on phone and desktop
bridgeonline.app runs in any modern browser with no app to install. Progress stays on the device you played on.
Desktop browsers
Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari all run the game with no plugin. Click to bid and play, or use the keyboard: 1–7 with C, D, H, S, N to bid, P to pass, arrows and Enter to play a card.
Phones and tablets
The layout is touch-first. Your hand fans across the bottom of the screen, the bidding box sits above it, and one-tap-to-lift, second-tap-to-play prevents accidental plays. A new deal never reloads the page.
Progress on this device
Deals played, deals won, total score, best deal, contracts made, slams, and win streak live in local browser storage. They stay until you reset them or clear site data, and they do not sync between devices.
Still stuck on a rule? Read the bridge game FAQ or jump in and play.
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