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Buddy Bridge

Bridge for Two

Downloads

Download the Rules PDF

Download the Scorepad on PDF

Introduction:

Buddy Bridge is a style of Honeymoon Bridge that combines elements of Memory Bridge, Draw Bridge, and German Whist.

Players and Cards:

Buddy Bridge is a two-player game using a standard 52 card deck along with both Joker cards.

Cards in each suit rank, from low to high: Joker, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace, Joker. The Joker cards can either be played as the highest trump card or the lowest card of a trick. Jokers are only utilized during the Exchange Phase of the game.

The Deal:

The dealer is determined by a drawing of cards. The lowest card deals. Each player starts with a Joker and then dealt 12 cards, one at a time. The remaining undealt cards are kept in a stack called The Stock. The top card of the stock is flipped indicating the initial trump suit of the first trick and beginning the exchange phase of play.

The Play:

Exchange Phase:
The play begins with the top card of The Stock being flipped to indicate the initial trick’s trump. The non-dealer starts the play/trick with any card. The suit of the played card must be followed unless a player would like to play a Joker. A Joker cannot be trumped/undercut by another Joker. If a player is void in a suit, they may play any card in hand as a discard and lose the trick. The winner of the trick takes the flipped face up card while loser takes the top facedown card of the stock. These cards are placed in each player’s hand and may be used moving forward through the exchange phase. The top card of the stock is again flipped to indicate the next trick’s trump suit. The winner of the previous trick starts the next trick. Play continues until there are only two cards remaining in The Stock. If a joker has not been used during the 13 initial tricks it may be exchanged for one of the two remaining stock cards. The player may look at both and decide. If both players have unused Jokers, the player with the most won tricks gets the top stock card and the bottom card goes to the player who won the least. At the end of the Exchange Phase the player who won the most tricks scores as though they had played a contract of 1NT (40 pts) below the line and gets an additional 10 points above the line.

Contract Phase:
The next phase begins with each player taking turns making bids on how many tricks they think they will win above 6 tricks and declaring a trump suit for the phase. The bidding begins with the player who won the most tricks in the Exchange Phase. Each player is given the opportunity to outbid the previous bid. Bidding continues until one player passes. The current holder of the bid has an opportunity to raise their own bid before the bid is accepted in a contract. The player with the winning bid is called The Declarer. The player losing the bid is called The Defender. The Defender begins play in the Contract Phase with any card for the first trick. Suits must be followed in the Contract Phase unless a player is void in suit and can play any card or trump. The winner of the trick starts the next trick. Play continues until all cards are played.

Bidding Table:

+1 ♣ | +1 ♦ | +1 ♥ | +1 ♠ | +1 NT
+2 ♣ | +2 ♦ | +2 ♥ | +2 ♠ | +2 NT
+3 ♣ | +3 ♦ | +3 ♥ | +3 ♠ | +3 NT
+4 ♣ | +4 ♦ | +4 ♥ | +4 ♠ | +4 NT
+5 ♣ | +5 ♦ | +5 ♥ | +5 ♠ | +5 NT
+6 ♣ | +6 ♦ | +6 ♥ | +6 ♠ | +6 NT
+7 ♣ | +7 ♦ | +7 ♥ | +7 ♠ | +7 NT

Example: A bid is a contract declaring how many tricks are to be won above 6 tricks. A winning bid of +2 indicates the declarer believes they will win 8 tricks in the Contract Phase.

Trumps are ordered:
Minor Trump: Clubs / Diamonds
Major Trump: Hearts / Spades

Scoring:

Contracts are awarded the following:
Minor Trump Bid – 20 pt for each trick of the contract
Major Trump Bid – 30 pts for each trick of the contract
No Trump Bid – 40 pts for first NT trick / 30 for each additional trick of contract.
Points for winning the exact contract – 40 pts.

No Below Line points are awarded for Bags (tricks over the bid amount) / 10 points are awarded for Bags Above Line

Failed Contract – Negative 50 pts below the line – Defender gets 50 points above the line

Winning:

300 points below the line ends a game. The total points above and below the line at the ending of the game determine the winner. If 300 Below the Line points are reached during the Exchange Phase by either player, the game will continue until the end of the Contract Phase. Buddy Bridge can be played in Rubbers.

Buddy Bridge by Ryan is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0