Better Bridge in Barry County
By Gerald Stein
Bidittle --
The Bridge to Bridge: A Bidding and Trick-Taking Card and Board Game
Audience:
2-4 Players Ages 7+ to Adults
Purpose:
Teaches trick-taking and bidding techniques to younger players using a board game
layout as preparation for entry into the world of bridge
Today’s column features a review of a game called
Bidittle we found at an American Contract Bridge League tournament a few years
ago. Advertised as a board game with tokens and cards, this item quickly caught
the grandparent-eye in both of us. The vendor was enthusiastically enlivened to
see grandparents with money hovering over his wares. He quickly pointed out the
advantages of having a game like Bidittle in our home when the grandchildren come
over for a visit and want to do something different. The teachers-in-us both saw
this as a way to teach our grandchildren the wonderful opportunities of
learning to play bridge without all of the technical aspects that can quickly
lose little ones’ attention.
Set up as a board game, Bidittle offers two games
for the price of one. For younger players, and while the board directions
suggest an age of 10+, our grandchildren of five and seven had little
difficulty learning the basics on the easier of the two sides of the game. Two decks of cards are included as in the
game of bridge, but here the differences quickly become evident. Only seven cards are dealt to each player.
Seven cards are just the right number of cards for little hands to hold, and
the creators of this game have recognized that in little hands 13 cards are
highly unmanageable. With seven cards, even our five-year-old granddaughter can
keep her cards in order.
As a player and a teacher in Bidittle, it is
important to let the younger players know that they are on their way to playing
bridge like adults do. This seems to intrigue them and encourages them to learn
the game. Organizing cards into the four
suits is a fun activity, and giving the correct names of the suits is step
number one. Telling the grandchildren
that the suits are in alphabetical order (Club, Diamonds, Hearts, and Spades)
makes this an easy first lesson. Alternating red and black cards next helps
them keep the suits separate.
The bidding is a simple bidding process of one
through seven, the same number of cards as in their hands. The key to bidding
is to determine how many cards there are in each suit. If there are at least
three cards in one suit, then the player has to make a judgment call and can
make a bid of that suit. Making a bid is done by using colored markers or
tokens for each player, and the bidder places a token on the number on the
board that corresponds to the number of tricks that she thinks she can take
with her hand. At first, Bidittle is just an individual bidding and
trick-taking game, but before long partnerships develop, and players become
very competitive in bidding and playing as in real bridge.
Bidding continues, with additional tokens being
placed on the board from one all the way to six (small slam) and seven (grand
slam). As in bridge, the bidding ends
when there are the requisite number of passes.
The play of the hand then begins, and the quick
round of playing is reminiscent of euchre with leads, wins, and losses. A pad
of score sheets (included) allows each player to know the bid and how well the
play of the hand went. Children like the fast pace of Bidittle.
As the children grow older and more proficient
playing Bidittle, additional concepts are added to make the bidding and the
play of the hand even more comparable to bridge. Using the High Card Points of
four for an Ace, three for a King, two for a Queen, and one for a Jack, the
children soon learn how to count the points in their hand for even better
bidding skills.
Once the basics of Bidittle have been mastered, the board can be flipped
over to begin The Bridge to Bridge with all of the bridge contract scoring
concepts included right in the center of the board. No longer using the seven
cards but a full deck of 52 cards, the players have now progressed to using
total points and partnerships to reach part score, game, small slam or grand
slam status. Rebids, no trump bids, and doubling
are all included in a fun and entertaining way.
If you want to pass on your love of bridge to
others, especially to your children and grandchildren, consider going to the
Bidittle website and investigate further the fun you will have showing them a
new game called Bidittle, the bidding and trick-taking board game.
Gerald Stein, April 12, 2012, 821 words.
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