George Boyle
Honeymoon Bridge is a two-player card game with several variations, all of which use a 52-card deck. The game consists of three phases: picking, bidding, and playing. In the picking phase, players take turns drawing cards from the deck, either keeping or discarding them. In the bidding phase, players bid on the hands they want, and in the playing phase, the game is played out. While the rules of Honeymoon Bridge are flexible, the key to the game is picking your hand and remembering what you discarded.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of players | 2 |
| Cards in the deck | 52 |
| Card ranking | Same as in Bridge |
| Scoring | Same as in Rubber Bridge |
| Suits | Same as in Bridge |
| Card dealing | 13 cards to each player |
| Remaining cards | 26 cards placed face down to form a pile known as the stock |
| First 13 tricks | Played at no trump |
| Leading to the first trick | Non-dealer |
| Following the suit | Not necessary |
| Drawing a card | Add it to your hand without showing it to your opponent |
| Bidding | As in Contract Bridge |
| Doubles and redoubles | Allowed |
| Playing the final contract | Opponent of the bidder leads to the first trick |
| Following the suit in the last 13 tricks | Mandatory |
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What You'll Learn
The three phases: picking, bidding, and playing
Honeymoon Bridge is a two-player variant of Contract Bridge, first published in 1970. The game consists of three phases: picking, bidding, and playing. Here is a breakdown of each phase:
Picking
The dealer shuffles the deck, and their opponent cuts it. There are no cards dealt in this phase. Instead, the 52 cards are stacked face down, and players take turns drawing cards. On your turn, you look at the top card of the stock without showing it to your opponent. You can either take this card and add it to your hand or discard it to a face-down pile. If you reject the first card, you must take the next one, and if you accept the first card, you must discard the next one. Players continue taking turns until the stock is exhausted, and each player has 13 cards in their hand.
Bidding
In the bidding phase, each player bids, either with a pass or a contract. A contract describes the trump and the number of tricks. For example, a 1-club contract means the player must make 7 tricks with clubs as the trump suit. Doubles and redoubles are allowed, and the bidding continues until one player passes.
Playing
The final contract is then played, with the opponent of the bidder leading the first trick. In the first 13 tricks, it is not necessary to follow the suit, and these tricks do not count towards the score. However, the winner of each trick draws the top card from the stock, and the loser takes the next card. In the last 13 tricks, the suit must always be followed, as in standard Bridge.
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How to bid
Honeymoon Bridge is a two-player variant of Contract Bridge, and the bidding process is similar to the latter. Each round starts with an auction where each player places bids on how many cards they think they will win. Bids also convey information to your teammate about the strength of your hand.
Before making a bid, count your high-card points (HCP). Aces are worth 4 points, kings are worth 3, queens are worth 2, and jacks are worth 1. If you have a lot of spades or hearts, it is important to let your partner know as these are considered major suits. If you have 12-21 HCP and at least 5 cards in the suit, bid 1-heart or 1-spade. If you have 3 cards in the suit and 12-21 HCP, bid 1-club or 1-diamond. If you have an even number of cards in each suit and 15-17 HCP, choose no suit. If you have below 11 HCP, pass the bid.
In Honeymoon Bridge, each player has a hand and a dummy. Neither player can look at the dummy until the bidding is over. Doubles and redoubles are allowed, and the bidding continues until one player passes. Once a player passes, the other player wins the contract and is the declarer. Now, each player can look at their own dummy, but the cards stay face down. The final contract is then played, with the opponent of the bidder leading to the first trick. Suit must be followed, as in Bridge.
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How to draw and discard
Honeymoon Bridge is a two-player adaptation of Contract Bridge that comes in several versions. The rules for drawing and discarding are generally the same across the different versions, but there are some variations.
Drawing and Discarding Rules
In the Draw and Discard version of Honeymoon Bridge, all 52 cards are placed face down in the stock, and players draw from the stock to make up their hand. Each player takes turns to draw cards, one after the other, without showing them to their opponent.
The first player draws the first card, looks at it, and either keeps it or rejects it, placing it face down on the discard pile. If the first card is kept, the player must discard the next card they draw. If the first card is rejected, the player must accept the second card they draw. This process is repeated by each player until the stock is exhausted.
At the end of this process, each player has a hand of 13 cards, has seen 13 other cards, and knows which cards are in the discard pile (26 cards in total). However, they do not know which of the remaining 26 cards are in their opponent's hand.
Variations
Some sources suggest that the players then bid as in Contract Bridge, with doubles and redoubles allowed, until one player passes. The final contract is then played, with the opponent of the bidder leading to the first trick. Suit must be followed, as in Bridge.
However, other sources suggest a slightly different process after the drawing and discarding phase. In this version, each player has a hand of 13 cards, and the remaining 26 cards are placed face down to form a pile (the stock) from which cards are drawn during play. The first 13 tricks are played at no trump, and it is not necessary to follow suit. These tricks do not count towards the score but are simply discarded. The winner of each trick draws the top card from the stock, and the loser takes the next card.
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Different versions of Honeymoon Bridge
Honeymoon Bridge is a term for various forms of two-player Bridge games. The game consists of three phases: picking, bidding, and playing. While the rules are flexible, the ultimate objective is to win by scoring the most points. Here are some of the different versions of Honeymoon Bridge:
Draw and Discard Honeymoon Bridge
In this version, all 52 cards are placed face down in the stock, and players draw from the stock to make up their hands. The first player draws the first card, decides to keep or reject it, and the opponent follows the same procedure. Each player ends up with 13 cards, having seen 13 other cards, but without knowing which cards are in the opponent's hand.
Single Dummy Honeymoon Bridge
In Single Dummy Honeymoon Bridge, one of the four hands is exposed before bidding begins. The player who wins the contract can choose the exposed hand as the dummy or opt for the unexposed dummy hand. A semi-exposed dummy variation involves dealing the first six cards of each dummy face down, followed by dealing the other seven cards with one card face down and one card face up in six piles.
Double Dummy Honeymoon Bridge
In Double Dummy Honeymoon Bridge, all four hands are dealt. Each player has a hand and a dummy hand. Neither player can look at their dummy hand until the bidding is over. Once a player passes, the other player wins the contract, and both players can peek at their dummies, keeping the cards face down.
Memory Bridge
Memory Bridge involves dealing half the deck, 13 cards each, to the two players. They play two-card tricks without a trump suit, and whoever makes seven or more tricks wins and scores trick points. The second half of the deck is then dealt, and the game proceeds with bidding, playing, and scoring as usual.
Draw Versions of Honeymoon Bridge
Draw versions of Honeymoon Bridge involve placing either half the cards or all 52 cards in the "stock" or a pile of cards from which players draw. In one version, each player receives a hand of 13 cards, and the remaining 26 cards are placed in the stock.
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Scoring
In the standard version of Honeymoon Bridge, the game consists of three phases: picking, bidding, and playing. During the picking phase, players take turns drawing cards from the stock, either taking the card and adding it to their hand or discarding it to a face-down pile. In the bidding phase, players bid on the number of tricks they expect to take during the play phase, with doubles and redoubles allowed. The final contract is then played, and the opponent of the bidder leads to the first trick.
In terms of scoring, the basic principle is that the declaring pair or player who fulfils their contract scores points, while the other pair or player scores points if the declaring pair or player fails to make their contract. The number of points awarded depends on the specific version of Honeymoon Bridge being played. For example, in Double Dummy Honeymoon Bridge, each player has a hand and a dummy, and the winner is determined by adding the scores from the two halves of the deck together. In Single Dummy Honeymoon Bridge, one of the four hands is exposed before bidding, and the winner of the contract can choose to use the exposed hand as the dummy or take the other dummy hand without seeing it.
In another variation, Memory Bridge, the first half of the deck is dealt, and players compete to make seven or more tricks without a trump suit. The winner scores trick points (e.g., 90 points for 1NT, 120 for 2NT) plus a 100-point bonus. The second half of the deck is then dealt, bid, played, and scored conventionally, with the two scores added together to determine the overall winner.
Additionally, in Honeymoon Bridge, there are bonuses for achieving certain feats. For example, if the points are 100 or more, you receive 300 bonus points. This means that in a NT contract, you must bid 3 tricks or more; in a major suit, 4 or more; and in a minor suit, 5 or more. Small slam (6 tricks) and grand slam (7 tricks) bonuses are also available, independent of the trump suit.
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Frequently asked questions
Honeymoon Bridge is a two-player card game and an adaptation of Contract Bridge. It uses a 52-card deck and the suits and cards in any of the suits must rank like in Bridge.
There are several versions of Honeymoon Bridge, including Single Dummy, Double Dummy, Draw and Discard, and Memory Bridge.
The objective of Honeymoon Bridge is to score points by bidding and winning tricks. The player who wins the most tricks or has the highest-ranking cards in their hand wins the game.
Honeymoon Bridge consists of three phases: picking, bidding, and playing. In the picking phase, players take turns drawing cards from the deck, either keeping or discarding them. In the bidding phase, players bid on the value of their hands, and in the playing phase, the players play their cards, following the rules of Bridge.
It is important to have a good memory and remember the cards that have been played and discarded. Additionally, players should pay attention to their opponent's bids and discards to gather information about their hand.
