Holiday gifts for bridge players

If 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 2013:

Defensive Play at Bridge: A Quizbook   (Beginner to intermediate)
By Barbara Seagram and David Bird. Good explanations of the basics of defense, starting with the opening lead. 

The Rabbi's Rules: Tips and Tricks to Improve Your Bridge Game   (Intermediate)
By Mark Horton. Real-life deals featuring the bridge-playing rabbi, Leonard Helman, and a wealth of tips on bidding and play.

Secrets to Winning Bridge   (Intermediate)
By Marty Bergen. Booklets 29 through 32 are the latest in this popular author's growing series of instructional guides. Each 24-page booklet is packed with tips, quiz hands and clear analyses. Excerpts are here.

Gamesman Bridge   (Intermediate)
By Eddie Kantar. You'll find Kantar's classic wit, wisdom and excellent bridge lessons in this reprint of a 1972 title.

How NOT to Play Bridge   (Intermediate)
By Mike Dorn Wiss. A humorous and instructional discussion of how to avoid common errors at the bridge table. The character of Professor Gaston Gitane-Gauloise demonstrates his unique Inverted Bridge Teaching Method, showing by example what not to do when playing bridge.

Playing to Win at Bridge    (Intermediate)
By Ron Klinger. An updated and expanded version of one of this popular author's classics. Sixteen additional pages provide entertaining and instructive problems from actual play.

Further Adventures at the Bridge Table  (Advanced to expert)
By Roy Hughes. Intriguing problems in declarer play and defense with comprehensive analysis. Instructive and entertaining. 

Bridge Crosswords  (General interest)
By Jeff Chen. Bridge players who enjoy crosswords can combine their favorite pastimes with this volume of 52 bridge-themed puzzles. The puzzles, which range from easy to challenging, feature clever clues and entertaining themes.

The Headmaster, the Matron and the Scissors Coup   (General interest)
By David Bird. Entertaining characters face each other at the bridge table. Like Bird's other books, this story features humorous dialogue and clever (and instructional) bridge problems.

Bridge books on Kindle  (All levels)
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. You can download them from the link above (both setup programs fit onto one CD) 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 23 (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 just 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.

The Holiday Shopping Page on the above site offers ideas and links for a wide range of bridge-themed gifts, including clothing, jewelry, bakeware and glassware, party accessories, software packages, electronic games, magazine subscriptions and other specialty gifts.

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.