Elementary School Bridge

Lesson

Teacher Manual
PreK-1st Grades

By Donna Compton

With Content Assistance from Toni Archambault

Added text by Audrey Grant

with

Extensive use of the ACBL Bridge Series

and English Bridge Union MiniBridge Materials
INTRODUCTION
Overview of Teaching Approach
This material is designed to teach bridge to a target group of children ages 4 to7. The basic
approach is to start with the game of War and progress through the games of tricks, trumps
and whist to arrive at MiniBridge near the end of the course. The key word for these lesson
plans is FUN. The children have years to continue learning the game of bridge if they enjoy
their first experiences with cards. If the children have fun, you have succeeded.

The words in quote marks are the concepts that you want to get across to the children. You
should choose short and easy words when talking with them. You must use visual aids such
as cards or posters to introduce new concepts. The “Fun Work” pages are for the children to
take home to their parents.

War is a card game between two people. The dealer places one card face up in the middle of
the table. Her opponent places one card face up beside the dealer’s card in the middle of the
table. The player with the higher-ranking card wins the trick and takes both cards and places
them in a separate pile on her side of the table. The player who won the trick places one card
face up in the middle of the table. Eventually one person will have won all of the cards.

Tricks is a card game played with four people. The player to the left of the dealer goes first
and places one card face up in front of him. The player to the left of the opening leader now
plays a card of the same suit in front of him. Each player clockwise in turn plays a card of the
suit led. The person with the card of the highest rank wins the trick. If the player cannot follow
suit, that person should play a small card of another suit. The player who wins the trick gets to
play first to the next trick. You can take out the 2’s, 3’s & 4’s and use a 10-card deck with very
young children.

Trumps is the game of tricks with the addition of a trump suit. The trump suit is higher-ranked
than the other suits. The dealer announces which suit will be trumps and places a card on the
table. The other players follow suit clockwise in turn. The player with the highest ranking card
wins the trick keeping in mind that the 2 of trumps is higher than the Ace of any other suit.
Therefore, when a player cannot follow suit, that player may play a trump to the trick and win
the trick. The winner of the trick then chooses the next card to be played.

MiniBridge is bridge without bidding. All players announce their points in turn. The side with
the most points plays the hand. The partner with the least points puts dummy down and their
partner, declarer, chooses a contract while looking at the dummy.

Lesson Format
Each lesson is structured to last for an hour. Elementary school after-school activities are
usually 45 minutes to one hour. It is easy to stretch out the lesson plans by simply allowing
the children to play the game they learned for the day. The same format should be used each
week. Students like a familiar structure. The format is:
• A very short interactive talk at the beginning (five minutes maximum). There are
sample talks in this guide with each new term bolded.
• Play the game of the day. Some lessons have deals included within the lessons.
• Material in quotes indicates what the teacher might say and material in italics
indicates instructions to the teacher.

E-Z Deal Cards (Bidding Course cards, The Club Series) are not recommended with this age
group. Plan on using pre-dealt hands for the six hands in lessons 6, 7 and 8.
2
LESSON 1
The Deck of Cards and Taking Tricks

(Use “HELLO my name is” name tags for the first few lessons if that is okay with your
sponsoring teacher. Have the students write their names as they come into the room. The
arrival and seating of students needs to be discussed with your sponsor, as well as the setup
of the room. If desks are to be used for card tables, usually four can be pushed together. See
what works for your group. Local players may well be willing to contribute old bridge tables
for a worthy cause. Teachers can usually store folded card tables behind cabinets or in big
closets.)

Materials
• Bring two decks of cards for each expected table plus a few extra.
• Name tags.

Objectives
• Recognize the four suits.
• Recognize the relative rank of cards.
• Learn the rules of War.

“Welcome to the Bridge Club. We are here to learn to play the best card game there is that
can be played with a regular deck of cards. My name is (your name) and my teaching partner
is (their name). We will be your bridge teachers.

“Raise your hand if you think you already know how to play bridge. Raise your hand if you
know a little bit about bridge or you have other family members who play. (You can ask each
who raised their hand something about their experience – keep it brief.)

“How many of you have played other card games? Raise your hand if you’ve played Hearts?
Spades? War? (If most raise their hands, tell them that bridge is like four-person war.) Raise
your hand if you have never played any card games at all. Who knows how many suits there
are? (Call on someone to answer this.) Does everyone know the names of the suits? (Call on
someone to answer this.)”

Exercise 1: Rank of the Cards

“Do you all know the rank of the cards? Which card beats all the others? (Call on someone to
answer this.) What is the next highest card? And next? And after that? What is the lowest
card? Does anyone know how many cards are in a full deck? (Call on someone to answer
this.) How many cards are there in a suit? (If no one raises their hand give them a hint – 52
divided by four is?)

Exercise 2: The Game of War

Explain the directions for the game of War and allow the students to play War the remaining
time in class.

3
BIGGEST!
A

10

2
SMALLEST
4
5
 THE GAME OF WAR
(2 People)

Shuffle & Deal

1. There are two methods of shuffling:
a. Hold half the deck horizontally and loosely in one hand
and then push the second half into the first.
b. Lay cards face down on the table and mix the cards
together.
2. Once the deck is shuffled, deal out all the cards face
down, one at a time to each player, starting with your
Opponent until each of you has 26 cards.
3. Stack your cards without showing them to the other player.

Taking Tricks
1. The dealer places one card face up in the middle of the
table.
2. Her opponent places one card face up beside the dealer’s
card in the middle of the table.
3. The player with the highest-ranking card wins the trick and
takes both cards and places them in a separate pile on her
side of the table.
4. The player who won the trick places one card face up in the
middle of the table. Then you repeat steps 2 through 4 until
one player has all of the cards.

Rules
1. If the players put two of the same rank in the center of the
table at the same time, then WAR is declared.
2. When WAR is declared, each player must place three
cards face down on top of their original card and then
one card face up. The player with the highest-ranking
card of the new faced-up card wins all 10 cards!
3. If the two new faced-up cards are of equal rank, then WAR
is declared again.

6
 FUNWORK
Lesson 1

1. Practice shuffling your new deck of cards.

2. Tell your family and friends the names of

the four suits.

3. Show your family and friends the highest

ranking card in each suit.

4. Show your family and friends the lowest

ranking card in each suit.

5. Teach your family and friends how to

play WAR.

6. HAVE FUN!!!

7
Lesson 2
The Game of Tricks
Materials
• Bring two decks of cards for each expected table plus a few extra.
• Name tags.
• Card holders.

Objectives
• Recognize the four suits.
• Recognize the relative rank of cards.
• Shuffle and deal and sort the cards.
• Understand how a trick is won at notrump.

Exercise 1: Shuffle & Deal

“I am giving a deck of the cards to each table. Raise your hand if you are able to shuffle a
deck of 52 cards. (Get a few students to demonstrate ways of shuffling and/or shuffle one
yourself.) Does everyone know what the term shuffle means? There are two basic types of
shuffle. One way is to divide the deck in half and then slowly riffle the edges of the two halves
together, pushing them together as one deck again. The other way is to hold half the deck
horizontally and loosely in one hand and then push the second half into the first.” (At this age,
they will probably need to put the cards face down on the table and mix them around and then
deal them out.)

“Once the deck is shuffled, deal out all the cards face down, one at a time to each player,
starting with the player to your left. Do this by going around the table in turn until the cards are
all dealt. How many cards will each player have? (Call on someone to answer this.)

“Going around in that direction is known as clockwise. Raise your hand if you already know
that term. Does anyone know why starting on your left and going around is called clockwise?
(Call on someone to answer this.) The person who gives out the cards in a card game is
known as the dealer. There should be no cards left over. Why? (Call on someone to answer
this if it seems appropriate.) How many cards does everyone have? (We hope 13, else we will
learn about misdeals.) It’s a good habit to count your cards before you pick them up, so that if
there is a problem with the deal, the person with too few cards can just pick a card from the
one with too many. Does everyone have the right number now?”

Exercise 2. Sorting into Suits

One of the biggest problems for 4-7 year-olds is learning to sort the cards. Help them by
offering at least one of the approaches below. Also bring some card-holders for them to try.
You can use old pencil or shoe boxes for card holders.

“When all the cards are dealt out, I want you to each pick up your cards without showing them
to the other players and hold them in one of your hands. Right-handed people usually hold the
cards in their left hand and vice versa. Sort your cards into the four suits from highest to
lowest. This isn’t all that easy when you have 13 cards.

“For those of you who have never sorted this many cards before, I am going to give you a
step-by-step technique for doing this:

8
 Sorting Your Cards

1. Pick up the dealt hand and group all the cards together, with
the backs of the cards facing out.

2. With one hand tightly on the bottom, use the thumb and first
finger of the other hand to spread out the top corners of the
cards so that you can see the number or picture letter (J, Q,
K or A) to form a fan shape.

3. Now take the lowest diamond from the hand and place it
behind the other cards, so that you cannot see it any longer.

4. Take the next lowest diamond and place it behind all the
other cards so that you cannot see it any longer.

5. Continue with step (4) above with all the diamonds.

6. Repeat steps (3) to (5) with the club suit.

7. Repeat steps (3) to (5) with the heart suit.

8. Repeat steps (3) to (5) with the spade suit.

9. You will now be looking at the lowest diamond, the first card
you moved to the back. Spread out the cards as you did at
the beginning (in step 2 above) and your hand will be
sorted.
Alternatively they can put the cards in the same order in a face down stack or even in
separate suit piles (helpful to a sharp opponent). Give out the card holders at this point to
anyone who is struggling.

9
Exercise 3: Taking Tricks
“You are about to play cards. Is everyone ready? The player – notice that you are all card
players now – to the left of the dealer is going to go first. Remember, this is just an
experiment. Take one of your cards, any card, and place it face up in front of you. This is
called leading. Don’t put it in the middle like you would for other card games. Put it on the
edge in front of you. Now the player to the left of the opening leader, please play a card of
the same suit in front of you (yes, the first lead is called the opening lead). Then each player
clockwise in turn plays a card of the suit led.

“Raise your hand if you played the card with the highest rank. Congratulations, you have won
the first trick. A trick is when everyone has played one card. The game of bridge has a lot of
special terms. If I use a word that hasn’t been explained yet just raise your hand and ask me.

“Turn the card you played face down in front of you slightly to the left. Players who lost the
trick, place your card so that the long side is along the table’s edge; in other words, parallel to
the side of the table. The player who won the trick, place your card the opposite way, so that it
points to the middle of the table and to you. Since you won the trick, you get to lead to the
next trick, so lead any card. (Wait for the next comment until after the trick is played.)

“Now that everyone has played a card, turn your cards over, overlapping a little more than half
of the first card on the right side of it. Again, the winner turns their card so it points to the
middle. Since you won the trick, you get to lead to the next trick, so lead any card. Your
objective is to win as many tricks as you can.

“There are two main rules at this point. First of all, the card that wins the trick will be the
highest card in the suit that has been led. The second rule is that you must play a card in the
suit that has been led, if you have one. This is called following suit. When you can’t follow
suit, you have to play a card of any other suit and it cannot win the trick. That is called
discarding. Let’s play!

Let them play the whole deal out. Do not help them other than to correct technical errors.
Remind them that it is just an experiment at this point.

“Now let’s look at the cards that won tricks. Turn the winning cards face up. What do you
notice about these cards? Now have a look at the cards that lost tricks. Turn them over. How
do these cards differ?

Ideally, not all the cards that won tricks are high cards so that the concept of long suits comes
up – that is, low cards winning a trick when everyone else is out of that suit. Play another
hand unless time is short.

“Okay, the player to the left of dealer please shuffle and deal the next set of hands. The new
dealer is always the next person clockwise around the table. Let’s play this game again.”

If you have two decks per table, now is the time to introduce the idea that the person opposite
the dealer should be shuffling the just-played deck while the fresh deck is being dealt.

10
 THE GAME OF TRICKS
(Four People)

Shuffle, Deal & Sort

1. Hold half the deck horizontally and loosely in one hand and
then push the second half into the first.
2. Once the deck is shuffled, deal out all the cards face down, one
at a time to each player, starting with the player to your left.
3. Pick up your 13 cards without showing them to the other players
and hold them in one of your hands. Sort your cards into the four
suits from highest to lowest. See “Sorting Your Cards” handout.
Taking Tricks
1. The player to the left of the dealer is going to go first. Take one of
your cards, any card, and place it face up in front of you. This is
called leading.
2. The player to the left of the opening leader plays in a clockwise
direction a card of the same suit in front of him.
3. Each player in turn plays a card of the suit led.
4. The person with the highest rank wins the trick.
5. Turn the card you played face down in front of you slightly to the
left.
6. Players who lose the trick, turn their card so that the long side is
along the table’s edge.
7. The player who won the trick, turns his card so that it points to
the middle of the table.
8. The player who won the trick gets to play first to the next trick.
Continue playing until all 52 cards are played and each player
has 13 tricks in front of him.
Rules
4. The card that wins the trick will be the highest card in the suit that
has been led, if you have a card in the suit led. This is called
following suit.
2. When you can’t follow suit, you have to play a card of any other
suit and it cannot win the trick. This is called discarding.

11
 FUNWORK
Lesson 2

1. Practice shuffling your deck of cards.

2. Practice dealing the cards to 4 players

starting with the person to your left.

3. Practice sorting your 13 cards.

4. Teach your family and friends how to

play TRICKS.

5. HAVE FUN!!!

12
LESSON 3
The Game of Trumps

Materials
• Two decks of cards for each expected table plus a few extra.
• Name tags if you are using them.
• Card holders.

Objectives
• Reinforce what you learned in Lesson 2 (you may have some new students this
lesson):
• how to shuffle,
• deal,
• sort a hand,
• take tricks at notrump.
• Take tricks with trumps.

Exercise 1: Repeat the Trick-taking

When this is an after-school activity, you may have new students this lesson. In that case, you
repeat the trick-taking exercise from last week before starting the new material.

“Every table has a deck of cards. Please shuffle and deal. Last week you familiarized
yourselves with the deck of cards. (For the benefit of the new players ask, Who wants to
name and describe the four suits?) You learned to shuffle and deal out all 52 cards to the four
players. Then the players learned to sort their hands into suits. How many cards did each
player receive? The player to the left of dealer played the first card, which is called making the
opening lead. After that, the highest card played in the suit led won the trick. Can someone
explain what a ‘trick’ in bridge is for the new players?

“You will be learning a lot of new terminology in this lesson, so please raise your hand any
time I use a new word that I have not explained yet. For example, the term rank refers to how
high or low a card is. That is to say whether it is an ace or a two.” (Check that the new players
know the card ranks if necessary. Continue on with the trick-taking exercise, then do it again
with a trump suit. Get them used to the idea that the deal passes clockwise, and if you have
two decks per table, have the person opposite the dealer shuffle the other deck for the next
deal.)

Exercise 2: Playing in a Trump Contract

“So far all the hands have been played in notrump – the highest card in the suit led wins the
trick. Now you will have a trump suit (or “Magic Suit”). For this deal I am calling diamonds the
trump suit. In the future you will pick your own trump suits.

“When you have a trump suit, you can use a trump to win the trick when you can no longer
follow suit. In other words, instead of discarding, you may play a trump. The trump suit
outranks all the other cards. So the deuce of trumps can beat the ace of another suit. If more
than one trump is played on a trick, the highest trump wins. The trump suit can be led at any
time just like any other suit. What makes it special is that you can win a trick with a trump,
even though another suit is led, as long as you are out of that suit.”

13
 THE GAME OF TRUMPS
(2 to 4 People)
Shuffle & Deal
1. There are two methods of shuffling:
a. Hold half the deck horizontally and loosely in one
hand and then push the second half into the first.
b. Lay cards face down on the table and mix the cards
together.
2. Once the deck is shuffled, deal out all the cards face down, one
at a time to each player, starting with your opponent until each
person has 13 cards.
3. Look at your cards without showing them to your opponent.

Taking Tricks
1. The dealer announces which suit will be trumps. A trump is the
special suit picked for this individual game which is higher than
any other card placed in the center of the table except a higher
trump.
2. The dealer places a card face up on the table in front of her. Her
opponent chooses a card that she thinks will beat the card on the
table and places that card face up in front of her. The play
continues clockwise with all four players contributing a card.
3. The player with the highest ranking card wins the trick, keeping in
mind that the 2 of trumps is higher than the ace of any other suit.
4. The winner of the trick turns the card face down in front of her,
facing the center of the table. The losers on that trick turn their
cards face down in front of them along the side of the table.
5. The winner of the trick then chooses the next card to be played.
Then you repeat steps 2 through 5 until the 13 cards are
gone.

Rules
1. High card wins the trick.
2. Trump cards beat high cards.

14
 FUNWORK
Lesson 3

1. Practice shuffling your deck of cards.

2. Practice dealing 13 cards to you and your

opponents.

3. Practice sorting your 13 cards.

4. Tell your family and friends about trump

cards.

5. Teach your family and friends how to play

TRUMPS.

6. HAVE FUN!!!

15
Lesson 4
The Game of Whist

Materials
• Two decks of cards for each expected table plus a few extra.
• Name tags if you are using them.
• Card holders.

Objectives
• Reinforce what you learned in Lesson 3:
• How to deal,
• sort a hand,
• take tricks at notrump.
• Take tricks with trumps.
• Introduce Face (Honor) Cards.
• Learn the game of Whist.

Exercise 1: Honor Cards

Review how to deal, sort a hand and take tricks at notrump and with trumps.

“Has anyone ever noticed that some of the cards have faces on them and some of the cards
just have numbers? Well, those cards that have faces on them are called honor cards and
they are going to be very important later on in our lesson.” Display each of the honor cards
and have them guess the names of each card.

Exercise 2: Whist

“Today we are going to learn a new game called Whist. Please turn the deck of cards over
and look at the bottom card. That suit will be trump in your next game. Go ahead and deal out
all 52 cards and sort them into suits. Then play your game and remember to lay your card
side ways if you lose the trick or turn your card towards the middle of the table if you win the
trick.”

Play as many hands as possible.

16
 THE GAME OF WHIST
(Three to Four People)

Shuffle, Deal & Sort

1. Hold half the deck horizontally and loosely in one hand and then push the
second half into the first.
2. Once the deck is shuffled, deal out all the cards face down, one at a time
to each player, starting with the player to your left.
3. Pick up your 13 cards without showing them to the other players and hold them
in one of your hands. Sort your cards into the four suits from highest to lowest.
See “Sorting Your Cards” handout.
Taking Tricks
1. The player to the left of the dealer is going to go first. Take one of your
cards, any card, and place it face up in front of you. This is called leading.
2. The player to the left of the opening leader now plays a card of the same suit
in front of him.
3. Each player clockwise in turn plays a card of the suit led.
4. The person with the card of the highest rank wins the trick.
5. Turn the card you played face down in front of you slightly to the left.
6. Players who lose the trick, turn your card so that the long side is along the
table’s edge.
7. The player who won the trick, turns his card so that it points to the middle of the
table.
8. The player who won the trick gets to play first to the next trick. Continue
playing until all 52 cards are played and each player has 13 tricks in front of him.
Rules
1. The dealer and his/her partner get to call the CONTRACT.
2. They can choose between NOTRUMP OR TRUMPS.
3. When you are playing in a NOTRUMP CONTRACT: The card that wins the trick
will be the highest card in the suit that has been led, if you have a card of the
suit led.
4. When you are playing in a TRUMP CONTRACT: You can use a trump to win the
trick when you can no longer follow suit. The trump suit outranks all the other
cards. So the deuce of trumps can beat the ace of another suit. In other words,
when you can’t follow suit, you may trump the trick instead of discarding.
5. If more than one trump is played on a trick, the highest trump wins.
6. Trumps can be led at any time just like any other suit.
7. Whist is a partnership game, so don’t trump your partner’s ace!
8. If you have only three people, make the dealer’s partner the dummy.
Scoring
You get 1 point for every trick your partnership takes after the first six.

17
 FUNWORK
Lesson 4

1. Practice shuffling your deck of cards.

2. Practice sorting your 13 cards.

3. Tell your family and friends about Honor

Cards: Aces, Kings, Queens and Jacks

4. Teach your family and friends how to play

WHIST.

5. HAVE FUN!!!

18
Lesson 5
Playing with a Partner

Exercise 1: Partnership Game

“Deal out the cards but don’t start playing the cards yet.

“How many of you know that bridge is a partnership game? Raise your hands. Good.
From now on in this bridge club, you will be playing with a partner. When your partner
wins the trick you also win the trick. So if your partner is going to win a trick, you don't
need to try to win the trick as well. In other words, don’t play your ace on your partner’s
king if you can avoid it!

“When placing the cards on the edge of the table at the end of the trick, you turn your
card the same way as your partner does. So you point it towards you and your partner
if either of you won the trick.

“Ready to start? You're playing in notrump again, so the highest card in the suit led
wins the trick and there is no trump suit.”

Let the students work with a partner to take tricks. They will block suits, win tricks twice, forget
what partner led in the first place and generally have very little understanding about what is
happening. Don’t feel uncomfortable about this. The instructor also has to remember that at
this point the mechanics of following suit and playing with a partner are being introduced. This
is only the fifth lesson.

“So what was different about playing with a partner? (Call on a few to give their impressions of
it.) Was it more fun? More interesting? Let’s do it again.” (Play several hands at notrump,
time permitting.)

Exercise 2: Picking a Trump Suit

Have the dealer name a trump suit or notrump (or possibly pass the decision to his partner).
You can mention that Whist is played this way with the last card dealt being turned over briefly
to set the trump suit.

“Are you ready for a new challenge? Dealer is going to get to pick a trump suit. After the
trump suit is chosen, the person to the left of dealer makes a lead and you play. Remember to
not take your partner’s trick!”

Exercise 3: Whist Scoring

This should be introduced if you have an older class (6-7 year olds) otherwise, your students
are in information overload already).

“One thing you haven’t yet learned is how to keep score. In the game of Whist, you score 1
point for every trick your partnership takes after the first six. Why would that be?” (You have to
take more than half the tricks to get any score.)

19
 FUNWORK
Lesson 5

1. Practice shuffling your deck of cards.

2. Practice dealing 13 cards to each person.

3. Practice sorting your 13 cards.

4. Tell your family and friends about playing

with a Partner.

6. Play Whist with a Partner & keep score.

7. HAVE FUN!!!

20
LESSON 6
MiniBridge Part 1

Materials
• Pre-made boards.
• Name tags if you are using them.
• Laminated table number cards showing the compass points. These are needed
from now on.
• Poster with the values for aces, kings, queens and jacks on it. This can be added to
every week once bidding starts.
• Card holders.
• Counting blocks. Any small objects they can use to count their points.

Objectives
• Learn playing with a dummy.
• Learn picking a trump suit with partner.
• Learn scoring for Whist.
• Learn to count points.
• Learn the basic rules of MiniBridge without the scoring.

Exercise 1: Playing with a Dummy

“In the game of bridge, the person who named the trump suit or notrump gets to play both his
hand and his partner’s hand, which is laid down on the table. This player is called the
declarer and his partner, whose hand is on the table, is known as the dummy.

“The term dummy is not a reflection on that player’s intellectual capacity. Back when this
game was invented, dumb actually meant unable to speak. During the hand the dummy is not
allowed to speak or help his partner. Dummy puts his hand face up on the table with each suit
in a column facing his partner. Then, at his turn to play, he must play the card that his partner
calls for. The trump suit is always placed on the right side from dummy’s point of view, the left
side from everyone else’s.”

Exercise 2: Counting High-card Points

“Today you are going to start to learn MiniBridge. The first step is to learn how to figure out
how to count your points, so you can determine who has the best hand. The player with the
best hand will get to be declarer.

“Who can tell me what the best card is? (The ace.) We are going to assign a point count value
of 4 to an Ace. Any ideas what a king might be worth? (Call on someone if appropriate.) A
king is worth 3 points. How about the queen? (Call on someone – they should be able to
guess this one.) Yes, that is right, 2 points. And last and least, the jack is worth? (One.) Put
up the bridge poster now if you have one. Otherwise write the values of the cards on the
board.

“Here’s a challenge for you. How many points are available in a single suit, for example the
spade suit? (10.) What are the total high-card points available in the deck? (40.)” (These
questions may or may not be appropriate for the age group.)

21
HIGH-CARD POINTS

A=4
K=3
Q=2
J=1

22
Exercise 3: The First MiniBridge Hand
Distribute the counting blocks at this time. Explain to them how each block is equal to one
point.

“In the game of MiniBridge, after the cards are dealt, each player, starting with the dealer,
announces how many high-card points are in his hand. The total of all four hands should add
to 40. If not, recount!”

Deal 1: (E-Z Deal Cards: #1, Deal 2)

Dealer is North

Without Bidding: E/W ‘Play’ the hand:

Points HCP Dist. Total HCP Dist. Total

North: 7 N/A 7 East: 13 N/A 13
South: 4 N/A 4 West: 16 N/A 16
N/S: 11 N/A 11 E/W: 29 N/A 29

# of Cards Spades Hearts Diamonds Clubs

DECLARER 3 3 3 4
DUMMY 3 3 4 3
TOTAL 6 6 7 7

DUMMY TRUMPSUIT/ OPENING OPENING

DECLARER HAND CONTRACT DEFENDERS LEADER LEAD
WEST EAST NT / 3 NT N/S NORTH ♥K

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If there is time have the class play:

Deal 2: (E-Z Deal Cards: #1, Deal 1)

Dealer is North

Without Bidding: N/S ‘Play’ the hand:

Points HCP Dist. Total HCP Dist. Total

North: 13 N/A 13 East: 7 N/A 7
South: 11 N/A 11 West: 9 N/A 9
N/S: 24 N/A 24 E/W: 16 N/A 16
# of Cards Spades Hearts Diamonds Clubs
DECLARER 3 3 2 5
DUMMY 6 3 2 2
TOTAL 9 6 4 7

DUMMY TRUMPSUIT/ OPENING OPENING

DECLARER HAND CONTRACT DEFENDERS LEADER LEAD
NORTH SOUTH Spades E/W EAST Low ♥

“The partnership with the most points is going to control the hand. The player with the most
points in that partnership plays both his hand and his partner’s hand. This player is called
'declarer' and his partner will be the 'dummy.'

“Your objective is to take at least half the tricks. How many tricks would that be? (Six and a
half, which rounds up to seven.) Player to the left of the declarer, please make an opening
lead. You and your partner are called the defenders. Your objective is to foil declarer’s plan
and take seven or more tricks yourselves. (Note that this first hand is played in notrump.
Mention that if they ask if there is a trump suit.)

“Here are a few more rules. If both sides have 20 points, you redeal. Also, if both partners
have the same number of points, then the first to announce their points is declarer. In this
class, however, if one partner has declared before and the other has not, then we give the
other partner a turn.”

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 THE GAME OF MINIBRIDGE
(Three to Four People)

1. The cards are shuffled and dealt, 13 each to the four players
2. Points are counted and announced, starting with the dealer and taking turns clockwise,
using the scale: Ace = 4 King = 3 Queen = 2 Jack = 1
3. The points for each partnership are totaled. The declaring side is the partnership with
the most points, declarer is the member of his side with the most points, or the first
to announce if equal. Declarer’s partner’s hand is placed face up on the table as
dummy.
4. Declarer decides and announces the contract – the target number of tricks and choice of
trumps suit or no trumps. Target number of tricks may be:
Part score: 7+
Game in no trumps: 9+
Game in spades or hearts: 10+
Game in diamonds or clubs: 11+
5. The opening lead is made by the player on declarer’s left. Tricks are played out
clockwise, cards face up. Declarer decides the play of the cards from the dummy.
6. After each trick has been completed, cards in that trick are turned face down. The winner
of each trick leads the first card to the next trick.
7. At the end of play, the tricks won and lost are counted and agreed and the score is
calculated.
8. For the next hand, the dealer is the next player clockwise.

Scoring
Contracts Made
Points for contracts that are made are won by the declaring side. The declaring side only
scores points if they win the target number of tricks, or more.

No points are won for the first six tricks. For each additional trick, in making the contract, the
declaring side gets 1 point.

If a contract is at the game level, the declaring side gets a 5 point bonus for winning the
targeted number of tricks plus 1 point for each additional trick.

Unsuccessful contracts
If a contract is not made (i.e., the target number of tricks is not reached), the defending side
scores points instead of the declaring side. The defenders score 1 point for each trick short of
the target:

25
Summary of MiniBridge Summary of MiniBridge

1. The cards are shuffled and dealt, 13 each to the 4 players 1. The cards are shuffled and dealt, 13 each to the 4 players
(or taken from a pre-dealt board). (or taken from a pre-dealt board).

2. Points are counted and announced, starting with the 2. Points are counted and announced, starting with the
dealer and taking turns clockwise, using the scale: dealer and taking turns clockwise, using the scale:

Ace = 4 King = 3 Queen = 2 Jack = 1 Ace = 4 King = 3 Queen = 2 Jack = 1

3. The points for each partnership are totaled. The declaring 3. The points for each partnership are totaled. The declaring
side is the partnership with most points, declarer is the side is the partnership with most points, declarer is the
member of this side with most points, or the first to member of this side with most points, or the first to
announce if equal. Declarer's partner's hand is placed announce if equal. Declarer's partner's hand is placed
face up on the table as dummy. face up on the table as dummy.

4. Declarer decides and announces the contract - the target number 4. Declarer decides and announces the contract - the
of tricks and choice of trump suit or target number of tricks and choice of trump suit or
no trumps. Target numbers of tricks may be: no trumps. Target numbers of tricks may be:

Part score: 7+ Game in no trumps: 9+ Part score: 7+ Game in no trumps: 9+

Game in ♥ or ♠: 10+ Game in ♣ or ♦: 11+ Game in ♥ or ♠: 10+ Game in ♣ or ♦: 11+

5. The opening lead is made by the player on declarer's left. Tricks 5. The opening lead is made by the player on declarer's left.
are played out clockwise, cards face up. Declarer decides the Tricks are played out clockwise, cards face up. Declarer
play of the cards from the dummy. decides the play of the cards from the dummy.

6. After each trick has been completed, cards in that trick are 6. After each trick has been completed, cards in that trick
turned face down. The winner of each trick leads the first card are turned face down. The winner of each trick leads the
to the next trick. first card to the next trick.

7. At the end of play, the tricks won and lost are counted and 7. At the end of play, the tricks won and lost are counted
agreed and the score is calculated. and agreed and the score is calculated.

8. For the next hand, the dealer is the next player clockwise. 8. For the next hand, the dealer is the next player clockwise.

Summary of MiniBridge Cards

26
MiniBridge Scoring MiniBridge Scoring

Contracts made Contracts made

Points for contracts made are won by the declaring side. Points for contracts made are won by the declaring side.
The declaring side only scores points if they win the target The declaring side only scores points if they win the target
Number of tricks, or more. number of tricks, or more.

No points are won for the first 6 tricks. For each additional No points are won for the first 6 tricks. For each additional
trick, in making the contract, points are scored according trick, in making the contract, points are scored according
to the contract as follows: to the contract as follows:

♣ or ♦ 20 points ♣ or ♦ 20 points
♥ or ♠ 30 points ♥ or ♠ 30 points
No trumps 40 points for trick 7, 30 points thereafter No trumps 40 points for trick 7, 30 points thereafter

Bonuses are awarded as follows: Bonuses are awarded as follows:

For part score contract: 50 points For part score contract: 50 points
(at least 7 tricks) (at least 7 tricks)

For a game contract: 300 points For a game contract: 300 points
(at least 9 tricks in no trumps, 10 tricks (at least 9 tricks in no trumps, 10 tricks
in ♥ or ♠, 11 tricks in ♣ or ♦) in ♥ or ♠, 11 tricks in ♣ or ♦)

Unsuccessful contracts Unsuccessful contracts

If a contract is not made (ie, the target number of tricks is If a contract is not made (ie, the target number of tricks is
not reached), the defending side scores points instead of not reached), the defending side scores points instead of
the declaring side. The defenders score as follows, for the declaring side. The defenders score as follows, for
each trick short of the target: each trick short of the target:

Per undertrick: 50 points Per undertrick: 50 points

Summary of MiniBridge Advanced Scoring

27
 FUNWORK
LESSON 6

1. Practice shuffling your deck of cards.

2. Practice dealing 13 cards to each person.

3. Practice sorting your 13 cards.

4. Tell your family and friends about Honor

Cards: Aces, Kings, Queens and Jacks.

5. Tell your family and friends about Dummys.

6. Teach your family and friends how to play

MINIBRIDGE.

7. HAVE FUN!!!

28
LESSON 7
MiniBridge Part 2

Materials
• Pre-made boards.
• Name tags if you are using them.
• Score pads and pencils are needed from now on.
• Sample Scoring Diagram.
• Laminated table guide cards with NESW.
• Give out the MiniBridge summary cards this lesson or possibly next week.
• Card holders.
• Counting blocks.

Objectives
• Learn to name a trump suit or notrump.
• Learn to count sure tricks.
• Learn to lead top of a sequence.
• Learn which are the minor suits and which are the major suits.
• Learn to score.
• Learn about contracts.

Try to get both deals played. Cut the teaching talk and save the scoring and contracts for next
week if the first deal takes too long. 15 minutes per deal is fairly normal. By this lesson, the
experienced players can now play three-handed if you do not have a number of students
divisible by four. The table of three can play MiniBridge by announcing their points and then
deducing the points in the unseen hand. Then the player whose hand is to become dummy
moves to play the hidden hand.

Exercise 1: Review of the Mechanics of MiniBridge

Play the following deal. North is the dealer and will be on the first hand every week. The deal
will then move to the player on the left, namely East. (Declarer can play notrump or with either
minor as trump. Nine tricks should be estimated and taken.)

“Let’s quickly review the mechanics of MiniBridge. First everyone adds up their points with the
counting blocks and then announces their high-card points clockwise around the table. The
partnership with the most points has control. The player in that partnership with the most
points is declarer. His partner puts the dummy down on the table. Then declarer decides
whether to play in notrump or with a specific trump suit and announces whether he is playing
in Part Score or Game. If he calls game, he must say what the Denomination will be –
Notrump, Spades, Hearts, Diamonds or Club.”

Exercise 2: Majors and Minors

In MiniBridge the trump suits have special meanings for scoring purposes. The Spades and
Hearts are called Major Suits and the Diamonds and Clubs are called Minor Suits.

Play Row 2, Deal 1 and then stop to discuss top of an honor opening leads.

29
Deal 3 (E-Z Deal Cards: # 2, Deal 1)
Dealer is North

Without Bidding: N/S ‘Play’ the hand:

Points HCP Dist. Total HCP Dist. Total

North: 17 N/A 17 East: 10 N/A 10

South: 10 N/A 10 West: 3 N/A 3
N/S: 27 N/A 27 E/W: 13 N/A 13

# of Cards Spades Hearts Diamonds Clubs

DECLARER 2 3 4 4
DUMMY 2 3 4 4
TOTAL 4 6 8 8

DUMMY TRUMPSUIT/ OPENING OPENING

DECLARER HAND CONTRACT DEFENDERS LEADER LEAD
NORTH SOUTH Clubs or NT E/W EAST ♠K

“When this deal is over, everyone please lay their hand out dummy-style on the table so we
can have a general discussion.

“The opening lead of an honor card promises the next lower honor and perhaps the next one
down as well. It communicates to your partner what your holding is and that you are
interested in developing tricks in that suit. When you have a long suit with an honor or two that
are not touching, you would lead a low card.”

30
Exercise 2: Keeping Score
“You are finally going to begin learning how to score. The declaring side must take more than
half of the tricks to score. Thus only the tricks won after the first six count for their score.
These first six tricks are known as the book in bridge terminology. The declaring side gets 1
point for each trick they take after the first 6 tricks. On the other hand, the defending side gets
1 point for every trick that the declaring side is short of its declared goal.”

Hand out the special scorecards found at the end of this lesson and explain what the three
columns mean.

Exercise 3: Contracts
A contract is the commitment to take a specific number of tricks in the declared
denomination. To the left of the score in the first column, you are going to write whether you
are in game or partscore and whether you are playing in notrump or a trump suit. Next write
the single capital letter that stands for the direction of the player who was declarer. If the
contract made extra tricks, you would write plus and the number of tricks above the contract
that declarer made. If the contract went down, you would next write minus and the number of
tricks it was short.

Contract NS plus EW plus

(We) (They)
Part Score ♦ +1 N 2
Part Score ♠ = E 1
Game ♥ - 1 S 1

Play Row 2, Deal 2. (If age appropriate, stop to discuss top of an honor opening leads.)

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Deal 4: (E-Z Deal Cards: #2, Deal 2)
Dealer is East

Without Bidding: E/W ‘Play’ the hand:

Points HCP Dist. Total HCP Dist. Total

North: 8 N/A 8 East: 14 N/A 14

South: 9 N/A 9 West: 9 N/A 9
N/S: 17 N/A 17 E/W: 23 N/A 23

# of Cards Spades Hearts Diamonds Clubs

DECLARER 4 3 4 2
DUMMY 3 3 3 4
TOTAL 7 6 7 6

DUMMY TRUMPSUIT/ OPENING OPENING

DECLARER HAND CONTRACT DEFENDERS LEADER LEAD
EAST WEST Notrump N/S SOUTH Low ♣ or ♦

East will be declarer. Ideally East and West will pick notrump and estimate seven tricks. This
is a good time to introduce the idea of having eight trumps, since there is no eight-card fit. If
South leads a diamond you can introduce the notion of third hand high, if you wish. Either a
club or diamond is a fine lead, fourth best from the longest and strongest can be mentioned
here. Tell them that a good way to set up tricks for their side is to lead a long suit. Maybe
partner can help them get that suit set up. The opening leader is South.

Note that this is the hand where the adage “high card from the short side early” comes in.
Declarer’s spades will get blocked if the queen is not played early on. Remind them to score.
Walk around and help them.

32
 Contract Our Plus Their plus

Contract Our Plus Their plus

Scorecards to Use

33
 FUNWORK
Lesson 7

1. Practice shuffling your deck of cards.

2. Practice dealing 13 cards to each person.

3. Practice sorting your 13 cards.

4. Teach your family and friends how to

SCORE at MINIBRIDGE.

5. Teach your family and friends about Trump

Suits, Notrump and Contracts.

6. Teach your family and friends about Major

Suits and Minor Suits

7. HAVE FUN!!!

34
Lesson 8
Putting it all together

Materials
• Pre-made boards
• Name tags if you are using them.
• Score sheets and pencils.
• Laminated table guidecards with NESW.
• Give out more MiniBridge laminated summary cards in this lesson, if needed.
• Card holders.
• Counting blocks

Objectives
• Learn which are the minor suits and which are the majors if that was not covered
the week before.
• Review first seven lessons briefly.
• Play Row # 2, Deals 3 and 4, complete with scoring.

The review should include the following:

• Suits
• Card Rank
• Taking tricks in notrump
• Taking tricks with trumps
• The Game of MiniBridge
• Picking trump suits
• Majors & Minors
• MiniBridge Scoring
• Leading top of an honor
• Playing high card from the short side first (if covered)

35
Deal 5 (E-Z Deal Cards: # 2, Deal 3)
Dealer is South

Without Bidding: N/S ‘Play’ the hand:

Points HCP Dist. Total HCP Dist. Total

North: 14 N/A 14 East: 9 N/A 9

South: 9 N/A 9 West: 8 N/A 8
N/S: 23 N/A 23 E/W: 17 N/A 17

# of Cards Spades Hearts Diamonds Clubs

DECLARER 4 3 3 3
DUMMY 5 3 2 3
TOTAL 9 6 5 6

DUMMY TRUMPSUIT/ OPENING OPENING

DECLARER HAND CONTRACT DEFENDERS LEADER LEAD
NORTH SOUTH Spades E/W EAST ♦K

If the declarer on this deal has already been declarer, let his partner have a turn, since this is
a class not a competition. “Have North let South be declarer since North played the first deal.”
(Or if you are making the boards, rotate the hands 180 degrees.)

36
Deal 6 (E-Z Deal Cards: #2, Deal 4)
Dealer is West

Without Bidding: E/W ‘Play’ the hand:

Points HCP Dist. Total HCP Dist. Total

North: 9 N/A 9 East: 9 N/A 9

South: 5 N/A 5 West: 17 N/A 17
N/S: 14 N/A 14 E/W: 26 N/A 26

# of Cards Spades Hearts Diamonds Clubs

DECLARER 4 3 3 3
DUMMY 2 6 3 2
TOTAL 6 9 6 5

DUMMY TRUMPSUIT/ OPENING OPENING

DECLARER HAND CONTRACT DEFENDERS LEADER LEAD
WEST EAST Hearts N/S NORTH ♠K

If there is extra time, allow the students to shuffle, deal and play!

37