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| Ridge | |
 Ridge Layout after 2 tricks have been played | |
| Origin | United States |
|---|---|
| Alternative names | Ridge |
| Type | Trick-taking |
| Players | 2 |
| Skills | tactics |
| Age range | All |
| Cards | 52 |
| Deck | French |
| Rank (high→low) | A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 |
| Play | Clockwise |
| Chance | None |
| Related games | |
| Auction bridge, whist, Spades | |
Ridge is a trick-taking card game played with 4 hands of 13 cards each, all of which are visible. It is played by 2 players, each playing two opposite hands. The object is to take at least the number of tricks that were bid before play of the hand began.
History
editRidge was devised in the United States in 2023 as a viable alternative to auction bridge: Removing the bidding makes ridge accessible to players who wish to keep their mind active without having to remember complex bidding systems. Having all the cards be visible simplifies the logistics by requiring only two players instead of 4, and eliminates all elements of chance, thus making ridge interesting to chess players. Ridge is also a cost-efficient way to introduce aspiring bridge players to bridge: Starting with ridge they can enjoy the thrill of trick-taking early, with all the cards visible, and learn the play techniques first. Once the student has mastered the play techniques, they can then expand to the other concepts: Partnership, bidding, complex scoring, and probabilities.
Overview
edit- Number of players
- Two.
- The deck
- Standard 52-card deck.
- Rank of suit
- The player who outbids the other player gets to name which suit is to be the trump suit, or for the hand to be played without a trump suit.
- Rank of cards
- Highest to lowest: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.
- Object of the game
- To score points. Points are accrued by winning at least the number of tricks bid between the two hands (if the bid has been won), or preventing the other player from winning as many tricks as they have bid (if the other player has won the bid). The players can agree in advance to play a given number of hands or to a maximum number of points (say 150) or a given amount of time.
Rules
editSeating
editThe two players to sit caddy-corner from each other. Visualization can be greatly improved if one of the players is called the North-South player, and the other is called the East-West player.
Each player controls two sets of cards: the hand in front of them and the hand across from them.
Dealing
editThe first Dealer is chosen by a draw for the highest card regardless of suit, and thereafter the role of the Dealer alternates between the two players. The player who is not the Dealer is now called the "Responder".
The Dealer shuffles, and the Responder is given the opportunity to "cut" the cards to prevent the Dealer from stacking the deck.
The Dealer then deals out the entire deck face up, one card at a time to each hand in clockwise order, starting with the Responder's hand at Dealer's left, and eventually giving 13 cards to each of the 4 hands. The players verify the correct count of each of their two hands, and arrange the cards by suit, then rank.
A misdeal is a deal in which all hands have not received the same number of cards or a player has dealt out of turn. A misdeal may be discovered immediately by counting the cards after they are dealt, or it may be discovered during play of a hand.
Bidding
editEach player gets the opportunity to bid the number of tricks they expect to win by coordinating the play of their two hands.
Bidding a number of tricks is optional: A player may always pass, making no promises to take any tricks. If bidding a number of tricks, the number of tricks bid may not exceed the number of tricks available, i.e. 13.
First the Dealer gets the opportunity to bid: They may bid a number of tricks, promising to take at least that many (example: "9 tricks").
Then the Responder gets the opportunity to bid. If the Dealer has passed, the Responder may also pass (ending the game with a score of zero for both players) or promise to take a number of tricks (e.g. "8 tricks"). If the Dealer has already bid a number of tricks, the Responder can pass, or contest the Dealer's bid, or bid more tricks than the Dealer.
For as long as a player bids a number of tricks below 13, the other player has the opportunity to bid even more tricks.
The bidding ends when a player declines to bid more tricks than the opponent, or if the Responder explicitly contests the Dealer's bid, or a player bids all 13 tricks.
If both players have passed, the score is a zero for both sides, and the next hand is dealt.
If a player has undertaken the commitment to take a number of tricks, that player is now called the "Declarer", and the other player is called the "Defender".
The Declarer will score a positive result if they win as many tricks as they bid or more. If they win fewer, then the Defender will score a positive result as a penalty to Declarer.
If a bid is contested, the score is higher for Declarer if they win as many tricks as they bid, and the penalty the Defender earns is higher if otherwise.
Declarer's bid can be contested in one of two ways: Either explicitly by the Responder, if the Dealer starts the bidding by bidding a number of tricks and Responder contests that bid, or implicitly by either player bidding a number of tricks before the opponent bids more tricks. Specifically, if the Dealer feels that they cannot take more tricks than the Responder, it is in their best interest to pass, because any bid they make would be contesting in advance the Responder's bid, which bid the Responder is likely to bid and win, and by having it be contested earn a higher score than otherwise.
Game play
editOnce the Bidding has been completed, the Declarer designates (a) what suit will be the trump suit, if any, and (b) which of the Defender's two hands must lead to the first trick.
The Defender, then, starts the first trick by leading from the designated hand a card of Defender's choice.
The owner of each hand, in turn, plays a card clockwise to the trick until the trick has 4 cards. In so doing, each hand must try follow suit to the card led to the trick. Having no cards in that suit, the player may play any card from that hand to that trick.
The player who played the highest-ranked card to a trick wins the trick. Within a suit, the ace is ranked highest followed by the king, queen, jack, and then the ten through to the two.
In a deal where the auction has determined that there is no trump suit, the trick is won by the highest card in the suit led.
In a deal with a trump suit, cards of that suit are superior in rank to any of the cards of any other suit. If one or more players plays a trump to a trick when void in the suit led, the highest trump wins.
For example, if the trump suit is spades and a player is void in the suit led and plays a spade card, they win the trick if no other player plays a higher spade. If a trump suit is led, the usual rule for trick-taking applies.
The player who wins the trick gathers the cards up into a face down arrangement that allows players to count the number of tricks taken. Alternatively, each card can be placed face down with the long side pointing to the player who won the trick.
The hand that wins any given trick leads the next trick. Play continues until both players have exhausted their hands, which should occur on the same (last) trick. Otherwise, the game is declared a misdeal.
Scoring
editOnce the final trick is played, the score is calculated as follows:
| Number of tricks Declarer won | Uncontested Bidding | Contested Bidding |
|---|---|---|
| As many as bid or more | Bonus for making uncontested bids: (5 for taking the risk) + (2 for each trick bid and won) + (1 for each overtrick). Example: For bidding 8 tricks and making 8, Declarer gets: 5+2x8=21. For making a 9th, Declarer gets: 5+2x8+1=22. | Bonus for making contested bids: (10 for taking the risk) + (3 for each trick bid and won) + (3 for each overtrick). Example: for bidding 8 tricks and making 8, Declarer gets: 10+3x8=34. For making a 9th, Declarer gets: 10+3x9=37. |
| Fewer than bid | Penalty 5 for each undertrick. Example: Declarer bids 8 tricks and makes only 7: Defender gets 5 points. | Penalty 10 for each undertrick. Example: Declarer bids 9 tricks and makes only 7: Defender gets 20 points. |
Terminology
edit- Bid – An announcement that a player does not promise to take any tricks or promises to take a given number of tricks or contents th number of tricks promised by his opponent.
- Contract – The highest number of tricks bid by a player, along with the designation if the bid has be contested by the other player.
- Hand – A set of 13 cards in one of the 4 places at the table.
- (To) follow suit – To play a card of the same suit as the first card played to a trick. Players are required to follow suit if they are able.
- Trick – Also known as a book. A unit of play in which each player lays one card from each of their two hands, and is won by the player who laid down the highest value card.
- Trump – A suit or other subset of cards in the deck that is of higher value than all others. Declarer designates which suis is the trump suit or that no suit is the trump suit.
- Undertrick – A trick that a player needed to win in order to make contract, but didn't win. The term is used more in scoring than in play; a pair who bid 6 but only took five has one undertrick.
- Void – To not have any card in a particular suit or suits, or to intentionally exhaust them from one's hand. A player must be void in at least one suit in order to play Spades as trump, and therefore will try to void their hand of a suit in which they hold few cards.
