The latest statistical data available to me on bridge playing in the U.S. comes from Larry King’s research for BPT Prize Money Bridge from the year 2000. Here it is:

 BRIDGE EVENTS AND PLAYER PROFILES

• There are an estimated 16 million active bridge players in North America;
• The majority of participants have HH Incomes of $50,000+ per year;
• 97% have college degrees;
• 42% have graduate degrees;
• Participants spend an estimated $4,000/yr + on tournament travel;
• There are 165,000+ registered members in the American Contract Bridge League;
• National Regional Tournament venues exist in over 50 cities;
• National Tournament traffic averages 20-25,000 persons per event (3 per year);
• Regional Tournament traffic averages 4,000-5000 persons per event (9 per year).

Ten years later, not much has changed in the world of bridge. And most important, no business has been able to successfully address some of the most troublesome needs of the 16 million Americans who love to play bridge, as well as the untold millions who might love to learn the game.
   
     While ACBL serves the needs of 165,000 players and BBO helps some of those 165,000 players to play online; and Bridge Baron, one of the leading U.S. bridge software developers, sells about 20,000 copies of his bridge playing programs annually; still, about 16 million potential customers are wondering how they can:

1. Have fun playing competitive bridge without the complexity of modern bridge bidding;
2. Learn at their own speed while playing or experimenting with the game and NOT having any unpleasant discussions with their partners;
3. Play for some meaningful prize money without ANY chance of being accused of cheating;
4. Play a few hands against a computer program or in a tournament where their moves are recorded and they instantly receive their bridge ratings (so that, before they play for prize money, they might play for rating improvements);
5. Play 1 hand (or 100s of hands) of competitive bridge, 24/7, with a computer or a smart phone interface, without the need to have a partner (not even a computer as a partner, which in many cases might be even more annoying than a human);
6. Play bridge with only 2 players (with an optional, easy to implement time control);
7. Learn to play bridge on a level necessary to participate in a club or other local bridge tournaments against an open field without any director calls made with the sole purpose to teach them “proper” bridge behavior;
8. Find a bridge world FREE of any unauthorized information, where the “bridge police” take a back seat and people just play bridge (like it is done in the worlds of chess, poker, and backgammon), where all appeal committees are dismissed, where there is NO governing body looking at their hands (or convention cards) to determine if they have their bids or not, and where all bidding methods are equally “unusual.”

     Some of the top 165,000 players may be thinking, “I have dealt with a lot of BS to get where I am right now. So, let the newcomers deal with it too!”  However, the 16 million U.S. players (plus hundreds of millions outside of the U.S.) might also be thinking, “We already have enough of this (BS) in real life. We want to play bridge to relax and to be intellectually challenged, not harassed, or we might be better off playing poker.”
     Hold on; now there are SoloBRIDGE™  and the Bridge Instant Rating Calculator (BRIC™), products designed to give the bridge playing public what they have been waiting for.
     YES it is true; however, our biggest challenge is that most of our potential customers have been waiting so long, they just have not believed it could be done.
     Of course, now it has been done; but more marketing efforts are needed to penetrate this market as a result of the prolonged neglect of our customers’ needs.

     1. Chess76™ overview

Chess76™ (or BONDAR Chess, named after its inventor Serge BONDAR) is an extremely dynamic game which is designed to be played in a much shorter time frame than is customary for a regular chess game. It uses the tactical skills of a chess player but doesn't require any knowledge of the modern opening theory. It combines all other elements of a regular chess game with a concept of the initial set-up used in Asian mind sport games like GO and Five-In-a-Row.

There are two stages in the game which seem to be equally important:

1. Initial position set-up;
2. Regular chess-playing until checkmate or draw is achieved.

     2. Chess76™ playing set

In addition to the regular Chess set, the players would need 2 extra Queens.

     3. Initial position set-up

A game starts with an empty 8x8 chess board with the dark a1 square to the left of the player who plays with white pieces.

The two players take turns at putting their pieces on unoccupied squares of the chess board.

White is first to start.

White must place 7 white chess pieces (King + 6 others) and Black must place 6 black pieces (King + 5 others) - BEFORE they can start moving them around the board!

There are four limitations:

1. Pawns can only be placed on ranks 2 thru 7;
2. When the 2nd Bishop of the same color is placed on the board, it must be placed on a square of the different color from the one occupied by the 1st Bishop;
3. A piece canNOT be placed on the board where it gives a check to the opponent's King;
4. The King canNOT be placed on the board under the check.

Illegally placed chessmen should be repositioned before next move of his opponent. (Player who had noticed that opponent made illegal move, should restart opponent clock and ask for correction. Time adjustment could be rewarded by tournament director, if deemed necessary to restore the fairness). If that opportunity is missed, then the game is deemed to be a draw.

At this stage, both players can use only the pieces included in a regular chess set. Therefore, only one Queen, two Rooks, one light square Bishop, one dark square Bishop, and etc. can initially be placed on the board.

Playing with the chess clock, a move is final after a player starts the opponent's clock. When playing without the clock, a move is final when the player's hand is detached from the piece.

     4. Playing for checkmate in Chess76™

When the initial set-up is over, White has their 7 chessmen and Black 6 chessmen placed on the board. The game is continued as if it were a regular end-game chess position, with Black's turn to move.

The chess-playing stage is governed by regular chess rules with two exceptions:

1. There is NO castling;
2. There is NO En Passant rule.

Download brochure

     1. Road to BRIDGE ™  description.

Road to BRIDGE™  is a card game for families and parties, as well as tournament competition.
Skills: math, logic, probabilities, and strategic thinking.
Ages: 6 years to adults.
Players: 2-7.
Playtime: 30 minutes to 2 hours. Time can be controlled by reducing the number of levels. There are 13 levels in a full-scale game.

     2. Short  overview.

Road to BRIDGE™ uses the elements of Contract Bridge. However, prior knowledge of bridge is not required.
A deck of 52-cards (no jokers) is used. The game starts at the first level with just ONE card dealt to each of four sides of a rectangular table (bridge players like to name them West, North, East, and South). After every player has had his or her chance to be a dealer, the game moves to the next level until all 52 cards are in play (13th level). On this last level, the game most resembles the playing set-up of Contract Bridge.  On the “Road to Bridge,” players of all ages will have their share of success and disappointment, since the game provides some chances to win for every player. Players with different sets of skills playing against each other will have many opportunities to use their wits, logic, and strategic thinking while trying to score more points than other players at the table.
TIPs:  The higher the level, the more opportunity for a skillful player to win. With this in mind, the Road to BRIDGE™, by agreement, could be set-up to be played only on specific levels (like from 1 to 5, or 5 to 10, etc.), providing the most fun and challenging environment for all players in a group. Between just two players, we recommend the “Slam pursue” variation, which is described in paragraph 4.

     3. Short Internet rules for 2 players.

When you are the Dealer, you must choose your Contract: the number of tricks you can take in your direction (both open hands), plus any suit of your choice to be a master suit (trump) or NO master suit (no-trump). The opening lead will always come from the opponent to your left. Your primary goal for the duration of the hand is to make your contract. You will receive 100 points for each trick of the successfully made contract plus 20 points for any extra trick. Example: you called for a contract of 5 tricks and made 7 tricks. Your score is 5x100 + 2x20 = plus 540; therefore, the Defender’s score is minus 540. If you fail to make your contract, you will receive the minus score and the defender the plus (see example below).
When you are the Defender, your primary goal for the duration of the hand is to defeat the contact called by the Dealer by scoring more tricks in your direction than the Dealer predicted. You must select any one card from your hand as the opening lead. After the dealer selects the card to play from the hand on your left, you will see all 4 hands at the table. You will receive 100 points for each trick the dealer is short of in making his or her contract. Example: the Dealer called for a 5-trick contract, but made only 3 tricks. Your score is (5-3)x100 plus 200, and the Dealer’s is minus 200. If the Dealer makes the contract, you will have a minus score and the Dealer the plus score (see example above).  
Road to BRIDGE™ uses exactly the same terminology as a full-scale bridge game or SoloBRIDGE™ for 3 or 4 players (which could be the next logical step in the mastering of the bridge game).

     4. The “SLAM pursue” variation of Road to BRIDGE™.This variation is recommended for 2 players.

The game starts by having each player draw one card from the deck. The player who holds the higher card will start as the Dealer.
As the name suggested, this variation has the small and grand SLAM bonuses. Grand SLAM is a contract to take all available tricks and small SLAM is a contract to take one trick less than all tricks available in this deal. Example: on the 9th level, when 9 cards have been dealt between North-South and East-West, then a contract to take 8 tricks is a small SLAM and a contract to take all 9 tricks is a grand SLAM.
For a bid and made small SLAM, the Dealer gets a bonus: the right to repeat the same level as a Dealer one more time. For a bid and made grand SLAM, the bonus is the right to repeat the same level 2 more times. Obviously, the slam bonuses are no longer available during the bonus round(s).
With the SLAM bonuses in mind and, based on his standing against his opponent, the Dealer will call the number of cards to be dealt in each of 4 directions (any number from 1 to 13). The lower the level, the more chances for the Dealer to get a slam bonus; however, the higher level rounds have more points-earning potentials than the lower level rounds. (TIPs: to maximize your points-making ability, do not go below the 7th level.)  Next, the Dealer will deal the number of cards equal to the chosen level to the 4 sides of the table. Assuming that Dealer always occupies the South direction, he turns cards dealt to the North-South face up and chooses his contract (see the rules in bold face type above). Only after that, his defense partner, sitting in the West direction of the table, will make the opening lead.
Players will take turns at being the Dealer. The suggested length of one unit of play is 4 deals (or 2 times at being the Dealer for each player).

Download brochure