As I see it, one can get through an entire lifetime with a deck of cards. As children, we're exposed to cards through Go Fish. Soon after that, Slap Jack becomes the game of the choice (an probably still my favorite). By high school, Black Jack and Poker dominate our evenings as they're more conducive to learning to smoke and drink beer. In college, however, we fall back on Euchre because we haven't the money to gamble away on Poker (unfortunately, some still have the money for cigarettes and beer). Once in the work force, the single guys seems to retreat back to Poker and Black Jack while the women gravitate towards Spades, Hearts and such (forgiving my generalizations, of course).
Then something odd happens. After marriage, when man and wife want to play cards together, they take up Bridge. How do I know this? I don't. In fact, that whole first paragraph is pure conjecture. After all, I don't consider myself a card player. I know how to play many card games, but I rarely do. This is why when Great Games Products, Inc. asked if I'd be interested in reviewing Bridge Baron 11, I was hesitant. Well, hesitant after I realized it wasn't a bridge building sim. I'd never played Bridge before, after all. But then I realized I'm also not a specially trained agent of the Technology Crimes Task Force or a cannibalistic Yug Yug, but I still learned how to play and reviewed those games, right? And so, I accepted Great Games Products' offer.
It's now over a month later, and I'm still not sure I completely understand the strategies of Bridge. In fact, short of Falcon 4, this may the most difficult game I've learned to play. Bridge Baron 11 helps with the learning process, but not as much as it could have. Written twice on the back of the CD case are the words "Windows only," which is a never a good thing. In this case, one of the items we don't get is "Learn to Play Bridge," presented by the American Contract Bridge League. The other feature Mac gamers won't see is online multiplayer support. I know this will turn off some, but I didn't really care. I'm not big on online gaming, especially when it's in a game where I'd undoubtedly be embarrassed repeatedly.
And so, with the help of "The Biggest Little Bridge Book in the World," I learned about bidding, notrumps, and the Gerber Convention. I won't get into the intricacies of Bridge here. Neither of us has the time for that. Instead, I'll assume the reader either knows the game or intends to learn as I did.
My first thought when launching the program was that I've been spoiled by Freeverse Software. Whereas their card games are infused with color and humor, Bridge Baron is as simple and...well...barren as a game can be. Were it not for the marquee graphic and red and black card suits, I would've thought I was playing Klondike on my SE 80.
The sound seemed dated as well. Although the voice overs that provide commentary and offer hints are very useful, the quality is lacking; far too much hiss. Perhaps this was done to keep the file size down, but it's possible these days to get decent sound quality without taxing the system.
Of course, it also could be the developers felt the bells and whistles weren't as important as the nuts and bolts. This would make sense, as Bridge Baron is all about the nuts and bolts of playing Bridge. The game offers over 2 million bidding deals, along with a hint option to guide new users. I found this feature to be quite helpful after I'd learned the strategy of the bid. Rather than bid myself, I'd let the computer (the Baron) tell me what to do, then try to figure out why. Of course, one also has the option to take back cards in the event of a poor bid, and the amount of time the computer is allowed to think about its next move can be customized. In fact, gamers can even determine whether the computer is allowed to cheat! This feature will prove useful to beginners, as they can yell, "This friggin' computer's a dirty cheater!" and actually be telling the truth.
Getting back to bids, Bridge Baron 11 features nine new bidding conventions; Control-Showing Cuebids, Inverted Minor Raises, Lebensohl over Overcall of 1NT, Lebensohl after Double of Weak Two, Smolen, Minor-Suit Stayman, Grand Slam Force, Voluntary Five-Major Bid, and Responsive Doubles (what's frightening is that I now know what some of these are). Things brings the total number of bidding conventions to 25. Great Games Products has also increased the number of problem deals (for practice purposes) to 72, and they've added support for tournaments. So, although Mac users can't go online to play others, they can at least get the illusion of playing others in complete tournaments.
And speaking of tournaments, Bridge Baron allows the user to play deals from actual ACBL tournament events. You can even purchase CDs to play bids from actual ACBL tournaments of recent years. Other features I found helpful were the bidding flowcharts, allowing the user to follow unique bidding structures, and the personal play library in which one can build a personal collection of deals that can be reviewed and replayed in an effort to hone one's skills.
And in the end, that's pretty much what Bridge Baron 11 is...for the Mac, anyway. On the PC end, the "Learn to Play Bridge" feature probably makes this a great learning tool. I'm sure the online multiplayer capabilities also make it a decent social game and a chance to practice with other players of all skill levels. For the Mac, however, Bridge Baron 11 will probably prove useful only to those who already play the game but who want to be better. With seven skill levels and plenty of customizable options, it can be easily tailored to individual abilities playing styles. Consider it a tutor, however; not a teacher. And consider it to be a somewhat drab tutor...the type who always talks in a monotone and never wants to discuss anything but the material in the textbook. For those who are dedicated to getting better at Bridge, I don't see how it can bet much better than Bridge Baron.
For everyone else, however, it might wise to start out by looking elsewhere...away from the computer, I mean. Read some books or find some other players. Maybe by then, Bridge Baron for the Mac will have caught up with the PC version. When that happens, Bridge Baron will most certainly be an invaluable Bridge resource for Mac users. Until the use it only to improve your skills or to get your fix while your partner is away...playing Slap Jack.
Applelinks Rating
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Review: Bridge Baron 11
