Play Bridge While Sheltering-in-Place

How to Host Book Group or Play Bridge Online using Zoom

Now that we’ve figured out how to enjoy bridge with friends while sheltered-in-place, I’m passing along detailed instructions.

Zoom is currently the most popular application for holding online videoconference meetings, whether for work or pleasure.  Go to zoom.us and sign up for the free app, which includes a quick download of the program.  Unless you upgrade (about $15 per month), these free meetings can be cut off after 40 minutes; however, they seem to forgive that time limit for the first few meetings you host.  And you certainly want to see if it’s going to work for you and your group before buying a subscription.

Zoom meeting hosts and guests can participate using a computer or iPad or iPhone.  You have more screen to work with on a desktop computer, but it must have a camera and microphone (most modern computers do, as do iPads and iPhones); if those are not imbedded in your computer, you can always buy an external one that clips onto the top of your computer.

There is a tab at the top of the zoom.us homepage called Host a Meeting.  Specify that the meeting should be conducted “with video on.”  A meeting can either be spur-of-the-moment or can have a time and date scheduled ahead of time.  When your own video image appears on the screen (indicating you have successfully started a live meeting), various options are available to you at the bottom of your image. (If you don’t see the bar under your image, let your curser hover over the bottom of the picture to activate the bar.)  Make sure the icon of a video camera is not turned off; click it to turn it back on (remind your guests of the same thing).  Then click on “Invite Guests,” which will take you to a page where you select “Email” rather than “Contacts,” then select “Default Email,” which puts you into your normal email program; from that screen you can send the pre-written invitation email prepared by Zoom to anybody on your contact list.  If you like, you can add a personal note to that email and instruct your invitees to click the link near the top of the email message to get into the meeting.  When your guests get that email from you, clicking onto the link should pop them right into your meeting if they are already signed up at Zoom; if they have not yet signed up, they’ll get a message to download the program on their way into your meeting.  Keep in mind that the link in the invitation email is specific to that particular meeting.  With every new meeting, you’ll need to generate a new email with a new link.

There are lots of features in Zoom which you will discover as you get used to it.  You can always mute your own microphone (and click your space bar to turn it back on when you want to talk).  The host also has the ability to mute everybody under “Manage Participants,”  (Sometimes there’s too much ambient noise with a big group.)  Everybody generally sees the video of the person speaking at any given time, but that can be adjusted individually in your settings.

When you host a Zoom meeting that includes people who haven’t used Zoom much or at all, it’s a good idea for you as host to have a one-on-one “practice session” with each beginner ahead of time, to make sure they are up and running.  (Zoom requires access through Firefox, Safari or Chrome browsers and it sometimes takes a few tries before someone can get it easily, so it’s good to work with this ahead of time without keeping the whole group waiting.)  It’s good to have a phone and a list of numbers nearby in case there are any glitches getting into Zoom or the bridge program.

If you’re using Zoom as a background connection to be able to chat while you play a game of cards, you’ll want to push the “minimize” bar in the upper right hand corner, to turn the video images into small images so you can see the card table.  But the audio will still enable you to visit and comment as you play a game.

There are a number of programs for playing bridge online.  They generally permit individual play against the computer, participation in tournaments, etc.  But they also let you play with selected friends, which is what I’m going to describe here.  Some of them claim to have an audio-visual capability, but our group found that aspect of the bridge program was not robust enough and kept crashing.  So it works well for us to combine a Zoom meeting with a bridge game.  My bridge group has been using BridgeBase, so I’m going to describe that program and how it works with Zoom.  Others prefer Trickster or Bridge Baron and each program has its own strengths and weaknesses.  Generally there is no cost to sign up at any of these bridge sites.

Each of the four people (including yourself) who will participate in your bridge game must go to BridgeBase.com ahead of time and set up their own account (basically just picking a Username and Password).  After that is done, they must send the host their Username, since that’s how the four participants in the game you are hosting will be identified and brought to your table.  When you get their Usernames, log into your own BridgeBase account and add them as friends (click on “People” on far right, then at bottom “Add People”).

To host a game, go into “Find your own game” than press “Casual.”  Under the Privacy options (to keep strangers from entering your game), turn off “Allow Kibitzers” and “Allow kibitzers to chat with players.”  Turn on “Permission required to allow kibitzer” and “Permission required to play.”  Now you reserve the four seats at your table by typing in the Usernames.  Push “Start Table,” then "Relaxed game."  All this must be done before your other three players go into Bridgebase on the day of the game.  If it is all set up, when they go into BridgeBase, they will automatically get invited into your game.

So here’s the sequence of events.  Let’s assume you have agreed to play at 2 pm and have previously given the other three players the info they need.  They have signed up for Bridgebase and you have entered all their Usernames into your Bridgebase account as friends.

1:50 pm:  Go to Bridgebase and follow the directions above to start a game, entering the Usernames of the four players.  [Keep that window open while you go to Zoom.]

1:55 pm:  Go to Zoom and start a meeting, sending an Invitation to Join a Meeting in Progress to your three friends.

2:00 pm:  Your three friends get the Zoom email, click on the link and join you in your Zoom meeting.  You should all be able to see and hear each other.

2:05 pm:  Your three friends now go into BridgeBase (you’re already there), mimimizing Zoom if need be, where an invitation to your game should be waiting for them.  You’ll be able to see each friend’s name pop up at their seat as they enter the game.  Once everybody is at the table, the first deal will be made automatically.

Features of BridgeBase:  Each player sees her own hand and then sees the dummy when it is laid out.  (The dummy can see partner’s hand as she plays it.)  On your left, you’ll see who is dealer, who is vulnerable, current trick count for EW and NS, etc.  The blue box in upper left lets you choose to Undo bids and various other things.  They keep a running score of IMPs on the left, grading teams by how their play compared to others not currently in this game.  At the four seats, the host has a crown.  When it’s your turn to bid, you see a rectangular box and click on a number before the suit choices open to you.  At the end of each hand, you get a quick look at the outcomes and all four hands; if you want to take more time and discuss, click on “History” on the right and you can talk about the hand.