Learn about bridge, a card game with many tricks

Bridge is a fun card game that uses tactics, communication, memory and probability. It is not very hard to learn, but it needs a lot of thinking. If you don’t know how to play, well, maybe you can learn a little from us right now. We belong to a bridge club, and it is so much fun.

You need four people to play, split into two partnerships. A "trick" means a group of four cards, one from each player. Here is how Wikipedia explains the game: The game consists of several deals, each progressing through four phases (North, South, East and West). The cards are dealt to the players, and then the players bid to take the contract, specifying how many tricks the partnership receiving the contract (the declaring side) needs to take to receive points for the deal. Partners communicate information about their hand and the length of its suits. The cards are then played, the declaring side trying to fulfill the contract, and the defenders trying to stop the declaring side from achieving its goal. The deal is scored based on the number of tricks taken, the contract, and other factors. If you win the trick, the card is faced horizontally and if you lose the trick you place your card vertically. You win tricks by putting down a higher card than your opponents or trumping them. Whoever wins the most tricks wins the game.

Now that you understand the basic rules and strategies for bridge, you can start playing with your friends and family.

Thomas Hughes' fifth-grade class, Lakeville Elementary School, Great Neck