Minibridge (also written as MiniBridge) is a simplified form of the complex

card game A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games (such as poker). A small number of card g ...

Contract Bridge Contract bridge, or simply bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard 52-card deck. In its basic format, it is played by four players in two competing partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each other around a table. Millions ...

designed to expose newcomers to declarer and defensive playing techniques without the burden of learning a detailed bridge

bidding system A bidding system in contract bridge is the set of agreements and understandings assigned to calls and sequences of calls used by a partnership, and includes a full description of the meaning of each treatment and convention. The purpose of bidd ...

. The game was first introduced in France and the Netherlands in the 1990s. The variant described in this article is the one advertised by the

English Bridge Union The English Bridge Union or EBU is a player-funded organisation that promotes and organises the card game of duplicate bridge in England. It is based at offices in Aylesbury. The EBU is a member of the European Bridge League and thus affili ...

for use in

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

s as a way to improve pupils' performance in mathematics. Like other forms of bridge, Minibridge is played by four players in fixed partnerships, sitting crosswise. A full pack of 52 cards is dealt to the players, each receiving 13 cards. As in contract bridge, it is then decided which player becomes ''declarer'', but a key innovation of Minibridge is that this decision is taken out of the players' hands. Declarer's partner then lays open their hand, and declarer announces a contract. This is a trump suit or ''no trumps'', together with an undertaking to win more than half the tricks (''partscore'') or even to win 100 trick points or more (''game''). The remainder of the game is very similar to contract bridge. In particular, declarer's partner becomes ''dummy'' (i.e., declarer plays both hands).

Bidding

Each player adds all high-card points in their hand and announces the result. The partnership with more combined high-card points then plays the hand. If both partnerships have the same number of high-card points (i.e., 20 each), the hand is redealt. Of this partnership, the partner with more high-card points becomes the

declarer Card players are those participating in a card game. Various names are given to card players based on their role or position. Position Games of Anglo-American origin In games of Anglo-American origin played in English-speaking countries, ...

. The partner with fewer high-card points becomes the dummy: this player's hand is put face up on the table, and is played by declarer in addition to declarer's own hand. If both partners have the same number of high-card points, the one who states his high-card point count first is the declarer. Having consulted dummy's hand, declarer decides the denomination (i.e., the

trump Trump most commonly refers to: * Donald Trump (born 1946), 45th president of the United States (2017–2021) * Trump (card games), any playing card given an ad-hoc high rank Trump may also refer to: Businesses and organizations * Donald J. T ...

suit, if any), and whether to be in

game A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (su ...

or a partscore. For partscore, declarer needs to win 7 tricks in order to score. For game, 9–11 tricks are necessary, depending on the denomination. Declarer's decision is often based on a few simple guidelines: # Two balanced hands usually require about 25 high-card points to score a game bonus. # With eight cards (or more) in either

Major suit In the card game contract bridge, the major suits are spades () and hearts (). The major suits are of prime importance for tactics and scoring as they outrank the minor suits while bidding and also outscore them (30 per contracted trick for majo ...

(a "Golden Fit"), that suit should usually be the

suit. # Without a "Golden Fit" in a

, play notrump.

Card Play

Card play is as in any other form of Bridge (and as in any other variant of

Whist Whist is a classic English trick-taking card game which was widely played in the 18th and 19th centuries. Although the rules are simple, there is scope for strategic play. History Whist is a descendant of the 16th-century game of ''trump'' ...

, except that declarer plays two hands). The player to the left of declarer leads to the first trick. Players must follow suit whenever possible. The winner of a trick leads to the next trick.

Scoring

The declarer must always win at least 7 of the 13 tricks played. Each trick beyond 6 scores 30 trick points, or 20 trick points in case of a minor suit contract (clubs or diamonds). For a notrumps contract, 10 trick points are added to the trick points total. When a partscore contract is won, declarer's partnership scores their trick points plus 50 bonus points. To win a game contract, declarer must achieve at least 100 trick points. When a game contract is won, declarer scores the trick points plus 30 points for each trick beyond the minimum number needed to win the contract, or 20 trick points in case of a minor suit contract (clubs or diamonds), plus a bonus of 300 points. If declarer does not win the necessary number of tricks, then declarer's partnership scores 0 points and the opposing party scores 50 points for every missing trick. In the table this is written as negative scores (which do not exist).

External links

MiniBridge
– Information from American Contract Bridge League.

- Interactive / Learn to Play Online
No Fear Bridge beginners' booklet
- Beginners Bridge Notes

section of Auction Bridge article fro
pagat.com
card games website. * https://web.archive.org/web/20060909065633/http://www.wbfteaching.org/introduction/default.htm * https://web.archive.org/web/20070206173708/http://www.watson-eaton-bray.freeserve.co.uk/freebies3.htm

- online platform for playing and teaching Minibridge

Bibliography

* {{WPCBIndex Contract bridge