page_title: Contract bridge
section_title: Gameplay
hierarchical_section_title: Contract bridge / Gameplay
caption_attribution_description: English: Four overlapping cards as played in sequence to a trick common to most trick-taking card games
context_page_description: Contract bridge, or simply bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard 52-card deck. In its basic format, it is played by four players in two competing partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each other around a table. Millions of people play bridge worldwide in clubs, tournaments, online and with friends at home, making it one of the world's most popular card games, particularly among seniors. The World Bridge Federation is the governing body for international competitive bridge, with numerous other bodies governing bridge at the regional level.
  The game consists of a number of deals, each progressing through four phases. The cards are dealt to the players, and then the players ‘’call’’ in an auction seeking to take the contract, specifying how many tricks the partnership receiving the contract needs to take to receive points for the deal. During the auction, partners endeavor to exchange information about their hands, including overall strength and distribution of the suits. The cards are then played, the declaring side trying to fulfill the contract, and the defenders trying to stop the declaring side from achieving its goal.
caption: A trick
  North led ♠10 so all players must play a spade unless they have none.[15] East "follows suit" with ♠K, South with ♦J and West with ♥7. In a no-trump game, East wins the trick, having played the highest spade card. However, if diamonds or hearts are trumps, South or West respectively win.
exif: {"Image Make": "Apple", "Image Model": "iPhone 6s", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop Elements 7.0 Windows", "Image DateTime": "2016:09:18 13:30:47", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "236", "GPS GPSLatitudeRef": "N", "GPS GPSLatitude": "[45, 19, 593/100]", "GPS GPSLongitudeRef": "W", "GPS GPSLongitude": "[75, 43, 83/100]", "GPS GPSAltitudeRef": "0", "GPS GPSAltitude": "27190/309", "GPS GPSTimeStamp": "[16, 47, 36]", "GPS GPSSpeedRef": "K", "GPS GPSSpeed": "0", "GPS GPSImgDirectionRef": "T", "GPS GPSImgDirection": "37293/110", "GPS GPSDestBearingRef": "T", "GPS GPSDestBearing": "37293/110", "GPS GPSDate": "2016:09:18", "GPS Tag 0x001F": "10", "Image GPSInfo": "792", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1198", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "10793", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/60", "EXIF FNumber": "11/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "25", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2016:09:18 12:47:36", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2016:09:18 12:47:36", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "2351/398", "EXIF ApertureValue": "7983/3509", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "3153/628", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "83/20", "EXIF SubjectArea": "[2015, 1511, 2217, 1330]", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "890", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "890", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3024", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2651", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "29", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[83/20, 83/20, 11/5, 11/5]", "EXIF LensMake": "Apple", "EXIF LensModel": "iPhone 6s back camera 4.15mm f/2.2"}