RoundfelloRoundfello

🃏 How to play

Bridge rules

Bid a contract, play it with your partner's cards on the table, score deal by deal.

Players
4–4
Time
30–60 min
You need
Standard playing cards

The goal

Score the most points over a set of four deals (or eight). Chicago scoring means every deal stands alone.

How a hand works

  1. 1

    Deal and bid

    Four players in two partnerships, 13 cards each. Players bid in turn: a number of tricks over six (1 to 7) and a trump suit or no trumps. Clubs < Diamonds < Hearts < Spades < No Trump.

  2. 2

    The contract

    The last bid is the contract. The partner who first named that suit is declarer; their partner becomes dummy and lays their hand face up.

  3. 3

    Play

    The player to declarer's left leads. Declarer plays both hands. Follow suit if you can; trump wins otherwise.

  4. 4

    Vulnerability by deal

    Deal 1: nobody vulnerable. Deals 2 and 3: the dealer's side is vulnerable. Deal 4: both sides vulnerable.

Chicago scoring

  • Each trick bid over 6: ♣ ♦20
  • Each trick bid over 6: ♥ ♠30
  • No trumps40 first, then 30
  • Game (100+ trick points) bonus300 / 500 vul
  • Part-score bonus50
  • Small slam / grand slam500 / 1000 (750 / 1500 vul)
  • Each undertrick (undoubled)Defenders 50 / 100 vul

Doubling and redoubling multiply trick points and penalties. Enter each partnership's points for the deal and Roundfello keeps the totals.

A deal

  1. 1.Not vulnerable, Leo makes 4♥ exactly.
  2. 2.Trick points 4 × 30 = 120, plus the 300 game bonus → 420.
  3. 3.If he'd made only 9 tricks, the defenders would score 50.

Winning tips

  • Count your high-card points: A 4, K 3, Q 2, J 1. Around 13 is an opening hand.
  • Partnerships with 26 points between them usually have game.
  • As declarer, plan the whole hand before playing to trick one.

Popular house rules

  • Rubber bridge carries part-scores toward a game and adds rubber bonuses.
  • Many Chicago tables play that a part-score made on deal 4 earns 100 instead of 50.

Let Roundfello keep score

Roundfello adds up every Bridge hand for you, with live standings and a champion at the end.

Start keeping score