RULES OF MINI BRIDGE
- Each player counts their points - high card only.
- Bidding starts with the dealer and the players announce their points. If these do not add up to 40, they check again. Players can use these points to make deductions during the play.
- If the points are 20/20 there is a redeal. The side with the most points becomes the declaring side; the player with most points in the declaring side becomes declarer. If both members of the partnership have the same points it is the one who announced first.
- Dummy goes down. Declarer picks the contract, the trump suit and whether to play in a part score or game. The opening lead is then made. Scoring for successful or failed contracts is as for duplicate, non-vulnerable.
Before the players learn scoring you can say the contract in tricks is the total number of points divided by three, i.e. with 33 points, they must make 11 tricks. As playing ability improves they can learn Losing Trick Count to more accurately decide the contract.