Bridging the gap Quality Bridge simulations are now beginining to appear after years in the doldrums, and this, an English version of a French title, definitely should be filed under Quality. The usual format applies; the computer plays the other three hands for you in bidding and play and keeps score. Available for Amstrad and MSX now and Commodore shortly, Bridge assumes the player knows the game, and doesn't need any basic Bridge tuition. It is therefore not as suitable for beginners as, say, Colossus Bridge. However, it plays one of the strongest games I have seen on a computer Bridge simulation. Unusually for games of this genre, it uses a graphical screen representation with pictures of the cards rather than listing 2H, 3C, etc, and you select your cards by moving the cursor over them. Bidding is also done by selecting options with the cursor. There are a wealth of conventions available, which, and this is one of the product's strong points, can be toggled on and off at will. This is excellent, because it means you are not forced to adopt any bidding conventions you are not familiar with.
round the lack of screen information. When playing out the contract, it will not remind you what the contract is, or which side is declaring. You can switch to the 'cheat' screen for this information, but this will also show you the full holding of each player's cards (which is why it's called a cheat screen).  
That's only a minor niggle. Generally, Infogrames' Bridge is an excellent program. Christina Erskine, PCW |
