Contract bridge

Contract bridge, or just bridge, is a trick-taking card game. It is played by two pairs of players, one pair against the other pair.^[1] Partners sit opposite each other at a table.

In face-to-face games, a convenient table size is from 32 to 40 inches (80 to 100 centimeters) square. The table is usually covered by green baize cloth. The point of the cloth is to stop cards skittering (sliding) across the table. In online computer play, players from anywhere in the world sit at a virtual table.

Millions of people play bridge in clubs, tournaments, online and with friends at home. It is one of the world's most popular card games.^[2] The World Bridge Federation is the governing body for international competitive bridge.

The game is played in a number of "deals".^[3] Each deal goes through four phases: dealing the cards, the auction (also referred to as bidding), playing the cards, and scoring the results.^[4]

1. ↑ Reese, Terence (1980). Bridge (7th ed.). United Kingdom: Teach Yourself Books. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-340-24884-3.
2. ↑ Moore, Martha T. (19 December 2005). "Billionaires bank on bridge to trump poker". USA Today.
3. ↑ The terms deal, hand and board may be used interchangeably in bridge literature. More accurately, a "hand" is one player's holding of 13 cards, a "deal" is the four hands from one set of 52 cards. A "board" is a term used in duplicate bridge and refers to a deal.
4. ↑ Kantar, Eddie (2006). Bridge for dummies (2nd ed.). Hoboken N.J.: Wiley. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-471-92426-5.