Bridge Player

This program allows you to play the game of bridge

without having to find three people to play with. It

does not use prepared hands: instead the hands which

you will see result from random shuffling, which is

why you will have to wait a few moments for each new

hand to appear. Although it is not a bridge tutor it

will provide enjoyable and useful practice, particularly

for beginners and intermediate players, in both

bidding and playing the cards.

On each hand, unless you elect for option 2 (see

below), you will be South and your hand will be

displayed as if you were holding the cards. Using the

Acol system you will then be able bid your own hand,

with the computer bidding the other three hands. Once

the bidding is complete North and South's hands will

be displayed and you will be able to play the hands as

declarer, with the computer playing the opponents'

hands. All legal bids are allowed including doubling

and redoubling. If, by mistake or design, you enter

an illegal bid it will not be accepted. Similarly

during the play of the cards you can play any card

which you are legally entitled to play but a revoke or

the purported play of a card not held is not accepted.

To assist the declarer, the computer will make a small

'beep' whenever a defender makes a ruff i.e. trumps

another suit led.

You do not have to bid the hand if you do not want to.

Option 2 allows you to see all four hands and then

decide what contract to play in and who is to be the

declarer. Thereafter you will be able either to play

the hand as before (i.e. playing only the declarer's

and dummy's cards) or to play all 4 hands yourself.

Whichever option is selected the computer will always

display (in addition to the 2 or 4 hands, as

appropriate) the sequential hand number, who was the

dealer, the vulnerability of North/South and East/

West, any part score and (once these are known) the

contract and who is the declarer. In addition, once

you have started to play the hand the number of tricks

won by North/South and East/West will be shown as well

as the cards played to the previous trick.