Bridge Base Online
Bridge Base Online (BBO) is the world's largest bridge-playing online platform, with about 10 million monthly visits, as of November 2021.[1] Originally created by professional bridge player Fred Gitelman, BBO was first published by Bridge Base, Inc. in 2001, as a Windows downloadable software, offering free online multiplayer bridge rooms for practice and play.[2] Around 2008, BBO was ported to a web application to also support Linux and macOS users, as well as mobile devices.
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| Industry | Online games |
|---|---|
| Website | bridgebase |
In 2018, Bridge Base Online was inducted to the American Contract Bridge League's Hall of Fame, for its long-term commitment to bridge.[3] As of February 2022, BBO was the only organization ever inducted by the Hall of Fame.[4]
BBO was acquired by the 52 Entertainment group in December 2018.
Main Features
In addition to bridge rooms for casual play and teaching, BBO hosts many types of duplicate bridge tournaments, including events sanctioned by official bridge organizations such as the American Contract Bridge League or the English Bridge Union, which award official masterpoints to top players.
Bridge Base Online also features free tools that help novice players learn and improve their game skills, like 'Bridge Master' and 'Minibridge'. Users can register at no cost. Many playing activities are also free, while premium tournaments charge an entry fee. Players may also rent robots for play practice.
A significant contribution to the game are the "Vugraph" broadcasts, which present live matches from around the world and are enhanced by expert commentary. Also, because the language of bridge bidding and play uses only 15 words and because all selections are done via mouseclick, people who speak different languages can play together. BBO's interface supports several languages and it allows players and "kibitzers" to chat at tables and other virtual rooms. Records of hands played are archived, and are publicly accessible, enabling players to compare their play strategy and results with other competitors.[5]
Robots in BBO
BBO also offers playing robots, which allow users to practice or compete without human partners and/or opponents. The "NABC Robot Individual", for example, is a 3-day duplicate tournament where about 3000 players compete partnering with robots.[6] The BBO robot is also known as Ginsberg's Intelligent Bridgeplayer (GIB). GIB is an Artificial intelligence bridge player that can be rented on BBO for a small fee. It plays the 2/1 game forcing system and is used to fill in for one or more players, or simply provide advice.
American Contract Bridge League
In partnership with the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL), Bridge Base Online sponsors ACBL-sanctioned tournaments on its website. These tournaments award online masterpoints. The colorless masterpoints awarded for online play can be combined with other types of ACBL masterpoints, which helps players achieve higher ACBL ranks.
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, BBO partnered with ACBL and The Common Game to initiate an online platform named ACBL Virtual Clubs. This is scaling up rapidly and allows duplicate bridge clubs to hold their games via an online platform, with the majority of the game fees going to the clubs.
References
- bridgebase.com: Traffic and Engagement, similarweb.com, retrieved February 3, 2022
- Gitelman, Fred (April 23, 2001), Bridge Base Online, archived from the original on July 11, 2011, retrieved December 24, 2009
- Hall of Fame adds two, March 15, 2018, archived from the original on February 3, 2022, retrieved February 3, 2022
- Awards and Recognition: ACBL Hall of Fame, retrieved February 3, 2022
- Bridge Base Online Help. "How do I look-up recent hands?". Retrieved February 3, 2022.
- Samuel Ieong wins the Fall 2021 NABC Robot Individual, news.bridgebase.com, November 10, 2021, retrieved February 3, 2022