Bridge
Bid it. Then make it.
A trick-taking game for four players in two partnerships: bid for a contract, then play to take the tricks you promised while the other side tries to stop you.
- Play at a real table
- Printable rules card
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BridgeHosted rooms open soon.
Want to play now? Play at a real table, no room code needed.
- Players
- 4, in two teams
- You need
- A standard 52-card deck
- Style
- Trick-taking with an auction
- Goal
- Score more points
- Time
- About 60 minutes
What is Bridge?
Bid for it. Then take it.
Bridge is a card game for four players in two partnerships. Partners sit opposite each other: North with South, East with West. Every deal has two parts: an auction, then the play.
In the auction, the sides compete to name how many tricks they will take and which suit, if any, will be trumps. Then the side that won the auction tries to take those tricks while the other side tries to stop them. One hand of the winning side is laid face up on the table and played by its partner.
A little history
A game of promises.
Bridge grew out of whist in the late 1800s. The form played today, where you score only the tricks you promised, was settled in the 1920s.
There are several ways to score a game like this. Our default is Chicago, taken from the Feral Game Kit’s definition of the game. The host can pick another way, and the table shows which.
Fun facts
- Each player gets 13 cards from a 52-card deck, and aces rank highest.
- The declarer plays both hands: their own and the dummy’s.
- The dummy takes no part in the play.
Why people love it
A bold bid. A shared plan.
You promise first.
A bid names how many tricks your side will take and in which trump suit, or in no trumps. Then you have to deliver.
One hand on show.
The dummy hand is laid face up, so the defenders see half of what the declarer holds.
Doubles raise the stakes.
Double the other side’s bid and a failed contract costs much more. A doubled contract that makes scores extra.
Partners work as one.
You never speak about your hand, but you can read your partner’s bids and plays. The best sides plan together.
How to play
Bid. Play. Score.
Setup
- Players: four, in two partnerships. Partners sit opposite each other.
- Deal: each player gets 13 cards from a 52-card deck. Aces rank highest.
- Start: the dealer bids first, then the auction goes clockwise.
- Chicago: our default is four deals. Nobody is vulnerable on the first deal.
Winning
The side with more points when the last deal is scored wins.
- 1
Bid, pass, double or redouble
A bid names a number from 1 to 7, the tricks over six your side will take, and a trump suit or no trumps. Each bid must be higher than the last: a higher number, or the same number in a higher strain (clubs, then diamonds, hearts, spades and no trumps).
- 2
End the auction
Three passes in a row after a bid end the auction, and the last bid is the contract. A double raises the stakes. A new bid cancels doubles. If all four players pass at the start, nobody plays the deal.
- 3
Find the declarer
The declarer is the player on the winning side who first named the contract’s strain. That is not always the player who made the last bid.
- 4
Lead and show the dummy
The player to the declarer’s left leads the first card. Then the declarer’s partner, the dummy, lays their whole hand face up. The declarer plays both hands.
- 5
Follow suit
Everyone must follow the suit that was led if they can. With none of it, any card may be played.
- 6
Win the trick
The highest trump wins the trick. With no trump in it, the highest card of the suit led wins. The winner of each trick leads to the next.
These are our default rules, taken from the Feral Game Kit’s definition of the game. Other ways to score a table are rubber and board scoring (each deal scored by itself), and the host picks. Printable rules card →
Scoring
Make it, or pay for it.
Making the contract scores trick points, doubled or redoubled if the contract was. A game earns a bonus, and so does a slam. Falling short gives the defenders points.
| Result | Points | |
|---|---|---|
| A trick in clubs or diamonds | 20 points | |
| A trick in hearts or spades | 30 points | |
| No trumps | 40 for the first trick, 30 for the rest | |
| Reaching 100 trick points | A game: 300 bonus, or 500 when vulnerable | |
| A slam (12 or 13 tricks) | A large bonus | |
| A doubled contract that makes | 50 more, or 100 if redoubled | |
| A contract that falls short | 50 or 100 a trick to the defenders, more when doubled |
In Chicago, the dealer’s side is vulnerable on the second and third deals, and both sides are on the fourth. Holding four or five top trumps in one hand, or all four aces at no trumps, can score 100 or 150 as honours.
Strategy
Play it smart. Then play it feral.
Tip 1
Count your high cards.
Give 4 for an ace, 3 for a king, 2 for a queen and 1 for a jack. About 25 points between the two hands can usually make a game.
Tip 2
Plan before the first card.
As declarer, think through your tricks before you play. Draw the opponents’ trumps early when your side holds most of them.
Tip 3
Know the vulnerability.
It changes what a contract is worth. Going two down doubled when not vulnerable costs 300, less than letting the other side make a vulnerable game.
Tip 4
Bid the part score late.
In Chicago, even a small contract made on the fourth deal is worth 100.
Tip 5
Defend as a pair.
Lead towards your side’s strength, watch the dummy and count the cards each player has shown.
The Feral Worlds community
Play-testing Bridge? Tell us in Discord.
Found a bug, a rule that feels off, or a house rule your family swears by? Our Discord is where we collect play-test feedback, and where game nights are starting to happen.
Glossary
Talk like a regular.
- Auction
- The bidding that decides the contract.
- Contract
- The last bid, once three passes follow it.
- Strain
- The trump suit of a bid, or no trumps.
- Declarer
- The player who first named the contract’s strain. They play both hands.
- Dummy
- The declarer’s partner. Their hand is face up and the declarer plays it.
- Trick
- One card from each player. The highest trump, or the highest card of the suit led, wins it.
- Double
- A call that raises the stakes on the other side’s bid.
- Vulnerable
- A side with higher bonuses and higher penalties on a deal.
- Undertrick
- A trick the declarer fell short by.
The Feral twist
Still under the hat.
Every game can be played with the default rules. In Feral mode, the host picks the way to score: Chicago, rubber or board scoring, with or without honours.
In play-testing
Bridge is in play-testing.
Bridge is not in a pack yet. You can play it in the Feral Table Games client while we test it.
$9.95, one time, to host every game in it. Playing is always free. Packs go on sale when the full game launches.
Bridge is in play-testing
Save a seat.
Hear when the Kickstarter opens, and when Bridge can be hosted with friends.