Two partnerships, an auction where partners talk in bids, then a contract played by one player with two hands: their own and their partner’s hand laid face up.
Completely free · runs in your browser, nothing to install
PlayersFour, in two partnerships sitting opposite
Cards52 cards — thirteen in each hand
Match lengthFour boards with duplicate scoring
About the game
Bridge is the best known trick-taking game in the world, with an international federation that writes its laws and runs its championships. The partnerships bid for a number of tricks and a suit, and the side that wins the auction becomes the declaring side, bound to make what it promised.
What sets it apart is the dummy. After the opening lead the declarer’s partner lays their hand face up on the table and the declarer plays it alongside their own. The declarer plans with twenty-six cards in view, while the two defenders work together to defeat the contract from what they can see.
Basic Bridge rules
Four players in two partnerships sitting opposite, with a full 52-card deck, thirteen cards each, and play passing clockwise.
The dealer opens the auction. A bid is a level from one to seven with a suit, the level counting tricks above six, so a bid of four means ten tricks. Bids rise by level and then by suit: clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades, no trumps.
An opponent bid may be doubled and a double redoubled. Three passes after a bid end the auction, and four passes from the start throw the board in with no score.
The declarer is the player of the winning side who first named the contract suit. The player on the declarer’s left makes the opening lead, then the dummy hand goes face up and the declarer plays it.
Following suit is compulsory, and a trick goes to the highest trump in it, or else the highest card of the suit led.
Contract points: twenty for each bid trick in clubs or diamonds, thirty in hearts or spades, and in no trumps forty for the first and thirty for each one after. Doubling and redoubling multiply them.
A contract worth a hundred points or more is a game and earns three hundred extra, or five hundred when vulnerable, while a part score earns fifty. Six and seven level contracts carry larger slam bonuses.
A failed contract gives the defenders fifty for each trick short, a hundred when vulnerable, and more when doubled. Vulnerability rotates between the sides by the standard board table.
A match is four boards, and the side with the higher total wins.
How to play Bridge on Balotk
Open the app in your browser and create a free account, or come in as a guest.
Choose Bridge on the home screen and start quick play, which seats you with players online now and fills any empty seat with a bot.
During the auction the screen offers only legal bids, together with pass, double and redouble when they are allowed.
If you become declarer you play from your own hand and from the face-up dummy, each in its turn.
After each board the contract, the tricks taken and both sides’ scores appear, and after the fourth board the winning side is announced.
Frequently asked questions
Is Bridge free to play on Balotk?
Yes, Bridge needs no subscription and no payment, and it runs in your browser on phone or computer with nothing to install. Chips in the app are play tokens with no cash value.
What is the dummy in Bridge?
The dummy is the declarer’s partner. Once the opening lead is made that hand goes face up on the table, and the declarer, not the dummy, plays it together with their own.
Which rules does Bridge follow on Balotk?
The laws of the World Bridge Federation: the auction, double and redouble, four passes throwing the board in, and the duplicate scoring table used in tournaments with vulnerability rotating between the sides.
What is a game contract in Bridge?
A contract whose bid tricks are worth a hundred points or more, such as three no trumps, four hearts or five clubs. Making it earns three hundred extra, or five hundred when vulnerable.
How many boards are in a Bridge match?
Four boards, with the dealer and vulnerability moving in the standard order. Each side adds up its points and the higher total wins.
One site for Baloot, Jackaroo, Ludo and more
Looking for the best site for online card and board games? Balotk brings nine of them together: Saudi Baloot, Jackaroo, Ludo, dominoes, Last Card, Kankan, Hand, Estimation and Bridge. Open it in your browser and play — no download, no waiting.
Play Baloot, dominoes and Last Card with your friends in one place: open a table and invite whoever you like, or let matchmaking find players for you. And if you want to know how to play Jackaroo or Kankan online, every game has its full rules on its own page.
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