4 ms·

I think the problem here is that rubber bridge is just very low intensity compared to most modern games. Of course there’s a frisson when you correctly bid a s

I think the problem here is that rubber bridge is just very low intensity compared to most modern games. Of course there’s a frisson when you correctly bid a slam or sacrifice to prevent your opponents from finding theirs. But most bridge players don’t even know how to recognize a borderline slam, and they just bid a game and don’t contest, leaving things pretty low stakes. It’s so unfortunate that it takes 8 to play duplicate, as duplicate is my favorite of all games. But I understand why people don’t get excited about bridge for 4.

aidenn0 4y ago
Duplicate is fun, but also rather mentally intense. I've only played it for maybe a dozen sessions, but matchpoint especially is brutal because you get punished for missing some very thin possibilities for extra tricks. I did caddy a lot of tournaments in my youth though, with a high point being the women's national team trials. Any time they set up the partitions, you knew it was going to be serious.
mongol 4y ago
So, I have not heard of frisson in my entire life, until 20 minutes ago, when there was a post on HN about it. And now I read it again!
pmyteh 4y ago
Ah, yes - Rubber is quite a different game. It's possible to play duplicate with only four players these days by using Bridge Base Online: they have a database of old competitions, their deals and scores, so you can play against a virtual room. Less fun playing online than round a kitchen table, though. I also play a version of Chicago bridge where you play IMPed against a par score calculated from your partnership's number of high card points[0]. That introduces some of the need for aggressive bidding that can be missing from (non-gambling) Rubber and is a fabulous game: nearly as much fun as a decent club duplicate. I've never seen this variant played or taught outside my own social circle, though we didn't invent it. [0]: http://maproom.co.uk/useful/bridge.html http://maproom.co.uk/useful/bridge.html
- aidenn0 4y ago
  That Chicago variation looks great. If I had a group of 4, I would try it immediately.

aidenn0 4y ago

Duplicate is fun, but also rather mentally intense. I've only played it for maybe a dozen sessions, but matchpoint especially is brutal because you get punished for missing some very thin possibilities for extra tricks. I did caddy a lot of tournaments in my youth though, with a high point being the women's national team trials. Any time they set up the partitions, you knew it was going to be serious.

mongol 4y ago

So, I have not heard of frisson in my entire life, until 20 minutes ago, when there was a post on HN about it. And now I read it again!

pmyteh 4y ago

Ah, yes - Rubber is quite a different game. It's possible to play duplicate with only four players these days by using Bridge Base Online: they have a database of old competitions, their deals and scores, so you can play against a virtual room. Less fun playing online than round a kitchen table, though. I also play a version of Chicago bridge where you play IMPed against a par score calculated from your partnership's number of high card points[0]. That introduces some of the need for aggressive bidding that can be missing from (non-gambling) Rubber and is a fabulous game: nearly as much fun as a decent club duplicate. I've never seen this variant played or taught outside my own social circle, though we didn't invent it. [0]: http://maproom.co.uk/useful/bridge.html http://maproom.co.uk/useful/bridge.html

aidenn0 4y ago
That Chicago variation looks great. If I had a group of 4, I would try it immediately.