Contract bridge is a four-player partnership game where two sides compete through an auction to decide a contract, then play thirteen tricks to fulfill or defeat it.
The deck contains 52 cards across four suits (♠ ♥ ♦ ♣), ranking from Ace (high) down to 2. Suit ranking in the auction is spades (♠) highest, then hearts (♥), diamonds (♦), and clubs (♣). Spades and hearts are major suits, while diamonds and clubs are minor suits. Notrump has no trump suit and ranks above spades in the auction.
- Auction & Contracts: Players make calls (bid, pass, double, redouble) clockwise starting from the dealer. A bid promises to win a number of tricks equal to the level plus six, using the named denomination or notrump as trumps. The auction ends after three consecutive passes, making the final bid the contract.
- Roles: The player who first bid the final denomination becomes declarer. Declarer's partner becomes the dummy (whose cards face up after the opening lead), and the opponents are defenders.
- Play & Tricks: A trick consists of one card from each player in clockwise order. Players must follow suit if able; otherwise, they may discard or ruff (play a trump). Trumps beat all other suits, while in notrump contracts, the highest card of the suit led wins.
- Hand Evaluation: Strength is measured in high card points (HCP) where Ace=4, King=3, Queen=2, Jack=1. A balanced hand contains no void and no singleton. A partnership seeks an eight-card fit in a trump suit.
- Scoring: Declarer scores trick points per odd trick (20 for ♣/♦, 30 for ♥/♠, 40 for the first NT trick and 30 thereafter). Contracts worth 100+ points are game contracts, while level 6 is a small slam and level 7 is a grand slam. Failing contracts result in undertricks penalized more heavily when vulnerable.
You may only communicate with your partner through legal bids and plays.
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