Dominion Strategy Forum

Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Pages: [1]

Author Topic: Bridge  (Read 1121 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

ehunt

  • Torturer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1528
  • Shuffle iT Username: ehunt
  • Respect: +1855
    • View Profile
Bridge
« on: November 08, 2015, 07:36:12 am »
+4

Bridge is the German board game to end all German board games, despite neither being German nor using a board. The scoring system has been relentlessly balanced to reward extremely precise, meticulous, strategic play. At the same time, there are elements of luck, deception, and communication, as in Poker, except, unlike in Poker, your reaction to the signals you receive informs the way you solve a logic puzzle. To win at Bridge requires not only exacting thought, but also a general feel for the lay of the hand, a lot of good judgment, and a little bit of luck.

To have fun at Bridge, on the other hand, requires none of these investments, but only a couple hours to get accustomed to the rules.

Three common objections to bridge:

1. The scoring system is needlessly complicated. Part of this is true -- the scoring system is complicated. But every little tweak matters. The scoring system was meticulously balanced in the early part of the 20th century (before Bridge was a distinct game from Whist) and has been rebalanced once or twice sense (most noteably in the late 80s, in response to a rarely-arising OP sacrifice bid). Every number has been thought about, and changes the strategy of the game (sometimes in big ways; sometimes in subtle ways). The good news is that strategy for beginners isn't very sensitive to the finer points of scoring; you can go ahead and start playing right away, looking up the scores as you go.

2. I don't have time to memorize the incredibly arcane bidding conventions. Fair! Nobody does -- you can't just pick up a book full of sequences and have it in your head. Start with a simple system that you can fit onto a page. As you gain experience, sequences stop seeming like artificial code and start seeming totally obvious. Then, add as many "gadgets" as you like, but never more than you can handle. You'll start to come up with clever meanings for some bids yourself; you'll ask yourself -- why don't they do it this way?

3. Bridge is for little old ladies. This one is true too: a lot of little old ladies play bridge. But here's the catch: those little old ladies will kick your butt. Spending 20 years doing the same thing after Tuesday afternoon has a way of making you pretty good at it.

OK, you've convinced me: now what?
Join your local bridge club! If you're in the US, Canada, or Mexico, it'll be listed on acbl.org. Most small to medium sized cities have at least one; try Google. For online play, nothing beats bridgebase.com. If you have Windows, they also offer a lot of free teaching software.
Logged

Jack Rudd

  • Saboteur
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1323
  • Shuffle iT Username: Jack Rudd
  • Respect: +1379
    • View Profile
Re: Bridge
« Reply #1 on: November 08, 2015, 07:59:09 am »
0

I play bridge occasionally. I will play any bidding system my partner likes, provided it is some variant of Acol. :D
Logged
Centuries later, archaeologists discover the remains of your ancient civilization.

Evidence of thriving towns, Pottery, roads, and a centralized government amaze the startled scientists.

Finally, they come upon a stone tablet, which contains but one mysterious phrase!

'ISOTROPIC WILL RETURN!'

Awaclus

  • Adventurer
  • ******
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 11809
  • Shuffle iT Username: Awaclus
  • (´。• ω •。`)
  • Respect: +12848
    • View Profile
    • Birds of Necama
Re: Bridge
« Reply #2 on: November 08, 2015, 08:09:50 am »
+3

I play bridge occasionally.

Usually when I buy a Bridge, I play it pretty often.
Logged
Bomb, Cannon, and many of the Gunpowder cards can strongly effect gameplay, particularly in a destructive way

The YouTube channel where I make musicDownload my band's Creative Commons albums for free

mpsprs

  • Explorer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 332
  • Respect: +169
    • View Profile
Re: Bridge
« Reply #3 on: November 08, 2015, 10:31:27 pm »
0

I'm a big bridge fan, but I rarely play it.  Because I'm in a sort of hole without good acbl coverage.  There are basically no nearby evening games, and I can't play during the day when all the little old ladies play.  I keep planning to head to nearby sectionals and regionals, but I haven't been able to make it happen.
Pages: [1]
 

Page created in 0.09 seconds with 20 queries.