BriJ

  BJ Bridge for Android

Getting started

Your first look at BriJ

Hi - you'll have reached this page because you're interested in learning how to play bridge or you're wanting to practice / improve your game. Bridge is increasingly popular with younger people, particularly now it is being introduced into schools. BriJ will give interested beginners a good start and more experienced players a fun way of learning and practicing.

See below for links to other "how to..." pages. These include details on how to set up BriJ , notes on BriJ bidding layouts and hints, BriJ playing layouts and hints, connecting with Bluetooth and the method BriJ uses for duplicate scoring.

Also, look out for the symbol on these pages, signifying a link to a video that may help with the topic.

The game of bridge is played in two phases: bidding in an auction and then playing the cards. Each player is in partnership with the player opposite. Each player bids in turn to decide which pair of players gets the contract. The contract winner plays both his or her cards and also partner's cards (the dummy hand which is exposed to all the players after the first lead. Play is just like whist apart from this.

The aim of the game is to make as many tricks as possible and ideally as many tricks as were promised in the auction.

When you launch BriJ, the cards are automatically shuffled and dealt. You can select New Game  to redeal an unlimited number of hands. Once you have dealt, you're invited to start bidding. If you're new to the game of bridge, a Did you know? screen will appear from time to time to help you on your way. The idea is to bid, as in an auction, for the best contract.

In a duplicate bridge club, cards are arranged so that every pair plays the same cards as everyone else, so the game is very competitive! BriJ has a way of representing duplicate scoring to give some idea of the competitive excitement of the game and give you a measure of how well you're playing.

If you want to know more about the basics of Bridge, there are some useful web links on our Beginners page.

Guide to BriJ features

More information is available via the following pages BriJ Benjamised Acol bidding style and playing style is summarised in the following Convention card:

BriJ Bidding and Playing Conventions

This page also explains some of the jargon you may come across in BriJ help and hint displays.

Touch here for the next topic: Bidding