Minibridge is a trick taking game for 4 players in fixed partnerships where you try win the number of tricks you have "contracted" to win or attempt to prevent your opponents from making their contract. It is a simplified version of Bridge where there is no auction for the contract (explained below).
There are four players in two fixed partnerships - North/South and West/East. Partners sit facing each other. You are always South and your partner is North.
A standard 52 card pack is used. The cards in each suit rank from highest to lowest: A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2.
The object of the game is to score as many points as possible. First partnership to 1000 points wins the game. Points are scored by winning at least as many tricks as you contracted to make.
The dealer deals out all the cards one at a time so that each player has 13.
Once all cards are dealt, the points (called High Card Points or HCP) are displayed for each player. HCP points are calculated as follows: Each Ace = 4 pts, King = 3 pts, Queen = 2 pts and Jack = 1 pt. (There will always be a total of 40 points for each deal.) The partnership with the most points becomes the declaring side who decide the contract. The other pair are the defending side, who try to prevent the contract being made by making tricks themselves. (If the point distribution between the partnerships turns out to be 20:20, North/South are made declarers.)
The player with the higher number of points in the declaring side becomes declarer, and his/her partner becomes dummy. The dummy's hand is then displayed for all players to see. The declarer then needs to choose the contract to play. This involves choosing the trump suit (or no-trumps) and either a "part-score" or "game". In part-score contracts, the declaring side need to win at least 7 tricks and in game contracts, need to win at least 9 tricks (for no-trumps), 10 if Spades or Hearts trumps (called Major suits) and 11 if Diamonds or Clubs trumps (called Minor suits). Game contracts score big bonuses if made but lose points if defeated (see Scoring).
In the Minibridge Plus version you can also choose to play a Small Slam contract (12 tricks) or a Grand Slam contract (all 13 tricks).
The player to the declarer's left leads to the first trick. The other players, in clockwise order, each play a card to the trick. The dummy does not take part in the play - the declarer plays a card for the dummy. If the declarer is North, you will play for North with your own hand being dummy. Players must follow suit by playing a card of the same suit as the card led if they can; a player with no card of the suit led may play any card. The trick is won by the highest card of the suit led or by the highest trump card (if one is played). The winner of a trick leads to the next.
Note: Cards that may not be played in the trick will be shown in darker color making it easy to see valid cards to play. If there is only one valid card, it will automatically be played. This option (Auto Play One) can be switched off in Preferences.
Whatever the contract, the first six tricks won do not count towards the score. The seventh trick is the first scoring trick,
and for each scoring trick points are won depending on the contract chosen, as follows:
No-trump contracts: 40 for the first scoring trick and 30 for each subsequent trick.
Spade or Heart contracts: 30 for each scoring trick.
Diamond or Club contracts: 20 for each scoring trick.
So for each game contract you will need to score at least 100 points. If you make your game contract, you score a bonus of 300 points. If it is a part-score contract and you make at least 7 tricks, you score for each trick over six and a bonus of 50 points.
If you fail to make your contract, you score zero points and your opponents score 50 points for each trick you are short of the target.
In the Minibridge Plus version, a Small Slam will earn 500 points bonus and a Grand Slam 1000 points bonus.
The partnership that reaches 1000 points first wins the game. If both partnerships reach 1000 points in a single deal, the partnership with the higher score wins.