Holiday
gifts for bridge playersHoliday
gifts for bridge playersIf you're looking for gifts for your friends and relatives who play bridge (or who would like to learn), here are some recently published -- and recommended -- books.
Bridge books published in late 2015 and 2016:
25 Bridge Conventions: Practice Makes Perfect
(Advanced beginner to intermediate)
By Barbara Seagram and David Bird. A
sequel to the popular 25 Bridge Conventions You Should Know. Readers are
given a brief summary of those 25 important conventions, followed by many
example hands that demonstrate how to apply your knowledge.
Should I or Shouldn't I? (Advanced beginner to intermediate)
By Marc Smith. Valuable instruction on trump management, with an emphasis on the
types of deals where you need to delay drawing trumps or take special care when
leading the suit. The author gives a step-by-step instructions for how to spot
these situations at the table and learn the proper techniques for handling them.
Six Steps to Winning Declarer Play
By Jay Apfelbaum. A discussion of six key questions to ask
yourself as declarer and how to answer them and plan the play. It includes 52
example hands that range from relatively simple to complex.
Bridge Smarts: Path to Bridge Success
(Intermediate)
By August Boehm. An interesting and original approach to teaching the nuances of
hand evaluation. The book includes numerous exercises and quizzes that explain
how to make inferences and think through a problem. Named 2016 Book of the Year
by the American Bridge Teachers Association.
Mike
Lawrence Bridge Tips:
Cardplay (Intermediate)
By Mike Lawrence. A revised, updated compilation of the author's previously
published pamphlets on card play. Other volumes in Lawrence's Bridge Tips series
are
Bidding and
Competitive Bidding .
Defending Doubled Contracts and
Playing Doubled Contracts (Intermediate to advanced)
By
Ron Klinger. The latest from this popular author are two quiz books of bridge
problems from major national and international championships. The stakes are
high and in almost every case, you have the chance to do better than the
declarers and defenders did at the table.
The Right Bid at the Right Time
By Neil Kimelman. A quiz book that explores the process of making good
decisions during the auction, especially in competitive situations. All the
examples are taken from high-level bridge events. This is a companion to the
author's other books, Improve Your Bidding Judgment and The Thin Fine
Line.
Never a Dull Deal: Faith, Hope and Probability in Bridge
By Robert MacKinnon. Practical mathematics for
bridge players. This sequel to the best-selling
Bridge Probability and Information explores the concept of conditional probability and how to apply
it to opening leads, declarer play, bidding theory and even the correct
strategy at different forms of scoring.
Arrow Through the Heart
(General interest)
By David Bird. This illustrated volume is the third in the
author's series featuring characters from the legend of Robin Hood. The 27
stories contain 113 deals that are humorous and instructional.
The Abbot, the Parrot and the Bermuda Bowl and
The Abbot's Return to Earth
(General interest)
By David Bird. Humor and entertaining bridge hands in two
volumes featuring the character of the pompous abbot. The story revolves around
his trip to the Bermuda Bowl world championships in Chennai, India.
Bridge books on Kindle (All levels)
Many new titles and old classics formatted for the Kindle, Amazon's e-reader.
Games and software:
Learn to Play Bridge I & II (Beginner) are two self-teaching software programs that make great stocking stuffers for anyone who wants an easy introduction to the basics. Best of all, both are totally free from ACBL. Use the link to request a download link, burn the files to a CD (both programs fit on one disk) and give copies to everyone on your list. Print out copies of ACBL's quick-start How to Play Bridge page to go with your gifts.
aBRIDGEd game (Beginner) is a box game that's as close as you can get to "real" bridge, without the complexities of bidding. The set includes color-coded cards and simple rules that can be learned in 20 minutes. It's a great introduction to bridge-style card play and bidding principles for children and adults.
Bridge
Baron 27 (All levels) is the newest update of one of the most skilled
bid-and-play software programs on the market. It features seven sophisticated
levels of play, plus a deal generator, double-dummy solver, ACBL tournament
deals, challenge hands, flow-chart bidding tutorials and a wide range of
conventions. Available for
Windows and Mac.
Need more ideas? You'll find other books and gift suggestions on these shopping pages for bridge players:
Karen's Bridge Library Bookstore features short reviews of recommended bridge books, along with an updated listing of the newest books and software. Books are grouped by skill level and can be purchased at discounted prices from Amazon.com by following the links.
Great Bridge Links offers a full directory of specialty products and online shopping sites for bridge players. You'll find links to unusual and hard-to-find gifts here, along with some special discounts.
Sevennotrump.com -- Cards, jewelry, greeting cards, trophies, apparel and bridge novelty items.
Game Preserve -- Cards, "coaching" placemats, scorepads and themed gift items for other card games.
Playing Cards & More -- Cards, tables, bridge jewelry and game accessories.
Prospero Art -- Double-deck playing cards in Alice in Wonderland, Rat Pack and Shakespeare themes.
Baron-Barclay Bridge Supplies -- Cards, bridge jewelry, party supplies, pens, clothing and the popular bridge table covers.
