Deborah Chan
Honeymoon Bridge is a two-player card game and a variation of the standard four-player game of Bridge. It is played in two phases, with as many rounds as it takes for someone to earn 100 points. The game uses a 52-card deck, with cards in each suit ranking as in Bridge. The dealer deals 13 cards to each player, one at a time, and the remaining 26 cards are placed face down to form a pile from which cards are drawn during play. The players then bid as in Contract Bridge, and the final contract is played, with the opponent of the bidder leading to the first trick. Suit must be followed, as in Bridge.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of players | 2 |
| Cards in deck | 52 |
| Cards in hand | 13 |
| Scoring | Same as in Rubber Bridge |
| Bidding | Doubles and redoubles allowed |
| Tricks | 13 |
| Rounds | 3 |
| Points to win | 100 |
| Suits | Clubs, Diamonds, Spades, Hearts, No Trump |
| Winning points | 20-40 points |
| Draw pile | 26 |
| Discard pile | 13 |
| Dummy cards | 7 |
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What You'll Learn
Deal and draw
Honeymoon Bridge is a two-player variation of the standard four-player Bridge game. The game is played with a 52-card deck, with cards in each suit ranking as in Bridge. The dealer shuffles the deck and their opponent cuts it. The dealer then deals 13 cards to each player, one at a time. The remaining 26 cards are placed face down to form a pile from which cards are drawn during gameplay. This is known as the stock.
In Draw and Discard Honeymoon Bridge, all 52 cards are placed face down in the stock, and players draw from the stock to make up their hand. The first player draws the first card, looks at it, and can either keep it or reject it, placing it face down on the discard pile. If the player keeps the first card, they must discard the next card. If they reject the first card, they must accept the second card they draw. The opponent follows the same procedure until the stock is exhausted. Now, each player has 13 cards, has seen 13 other cards, but doesn't know which of the other 26 cards are in the opponent's hand.
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 take the other dummy hand without seeing it. In another version, the fourth hand is turned up, and the dummy's card is turned up one per trick played. In yet another version, the first six cards of each dummy are dealt face down, and then the other seven cards are dealt face up, in six piles of two (one face down and one face up) and a seventh face-up card.
In Double Dummy Honeymoon Bridge, four 13-card hands are dealt, just like in Contract Bridge. Each player plays with the hand opposite them as their dummy.
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Bidding
Honeymoon Bridge is a two-player adaptation of Contract Bridge. It is played with a single deck of cards, and unlike other bridge games, it does not involve partnerships, instead opting for a one-on-one showdown.
There are several versions of Honeymoon Bridge, including Single Dummy Honeymoon Bridge, Double Dummy Honeymoon Bridge, and Draw versions. In Single Dummy Honeymoon Bridge, one of the four hands is exposed before bidding begins. The winner of the contract can then choose to use the exposed hand as their dummy or take the other dummy hand without seeing it. In Double Dummy Honeymoon Bridge, each player has a hand and a dummy. Neither player can look at their dummy until the bidding is over. In Draw versions, players put either half the cards or all 52 cards in the "stock", a pile of cards from which players will draw. In the first version, each player gets a hand of 13 cards and 26 go into the stock.
In the bidding phase, each player starts by bidding either with a pass or a contract. A contract describes the trump and tricks over 6. For example, the contract 1-clubs says that the player that bid the contract must make 7 tricks with clubs as trump. The opponent can then bid a higher contract, pass, or double. A double or redouble will raise the stakes but does not count as a contract. You must double right after a contract, and it will only affect that contract. A higher contract must have a higher trick number or a higher trump with the same trick number. Trump is arranged in increasing order: clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades, and NT (no trump). So, if the opponent has bid 1-NT, the lowest legal bid is 2-clubs. Bidding continues until a player passes. If both players pass right away, the game will be tied and no points are dealt. The player who bid the last contract becomes the declarer, and the other player becomes the opponent.
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Doubles and redoubles
Honeymoon Bridge is a two-player card game with multiple versions, including Single Dummy, Double Dummy, and Semi-Exposed Dummies. In the game, players bid as in Contract Bridge, and doubles and redoubles are allowed until one player passes.
In the Single Dummy version, 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 take the other dummy hand without seeing it. In the Double Dummy version, one dummy is exposed before bidding, and the second dummy is exposed after the bidding. In the Semi-Exposed Dummies version, the first six cards of each dummy are dealt face down, and the other seven cards are dealt face up, with six piles of two (one face down and one face up) and a seventh face-up card. In all versions, each player has a hand and a dummy.
In Honeymoon Bridge, doubles and redoubles are not considered a contract in themselves. A double must be bid right after a contract, and it only affects that specific contract. A redouble must be bid right after a double and only affects the same contract as the double. The player who wins the contract receives bonus points, with higher bonuses for doubled and redoubled contracts.
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Scoring
In the picking phase, each player takes turns drawing cards from the deck. They look at the top card without showing their opponent and can choose to take it or discard it. This continues until each player has 13 cards. In the bidding phase, players bid on contracts, which describe the trump and the number of tricks required (e.g., 1-clubs means the player must make 7 tricks with clubs as trump). Doubles and redoubles are allowed, and the final contract is played after one player passes.
During the playing phase, the opponent of the bidder leads to the first trick. In the first 13 tricks, players may turn the top card of the stock face up to know the card they will pick up if they win the trick. Following the suit is optional in the first 13 tricks but mandatory in the last 13 tricks. The winner of each trick draws the top card from the stock, and the loser takes the next card.
In some versions of Honeymoon Bridge, such as Memory Bridge, players deal half the deck (13 cards each) and play two-card tricks without a trump suit. The player who makes seven or more tricks wins and scores trick points (e.g., 90 points for 1NT, 120 for 2NT). The second half of the deck is then dealt, bid, and played conventionally, with the two scores added together to determine the winner.
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Variations
Honeymoon Bridge is a two-player adaptation of Contract Bridge and has several versions. The standard deck of 52 cards is used, and the ranking of suits and cards is the same as in Bridge. The game consists of three phases: picking, bidding, and playing.
Draw and Discard Honeymoon Bridge
In this variation, all 52 cards are placed face down in the stock. Each player draws a 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 next card is also drawn, but it must be discarded. If the first card is rejected, the second card drawn must be kept. This continues until the stock is exhausted, after which each player has 13 cards and has seen 13 other cards.
Double Dummy Honeymoon Bridge
In this version, four hands are dealt, with each player having a hand and a dummy. Neither player can look at the dummy until the bidding is over. The two active players sit side by side, and the dummy hands are placed opposite each player.
Draw Bridge
This variation involves a dealer and their opponent, who cuts the deck after the dealer shuffles. Each player is dealt 13 cards, and the remaining two cards are placed face down in a pile, from which cards are drawn during the game.
Some players may choose to turn the top card of the stock face up before each trick, so players know which card they will pick up if they win the trick. However, this is not always the case, as some prefer to keep the next card hidden and discarded by the player who draws it.
Another variation involves using a special 55-card pack, including three extra cards known as Colons: the Grand Colon, which matches aces; the Royal Colon, which matches face cards; and the Little Colon, which matches numeral cards 2-10. A Colon can be discarded on a matching lead, losing the trick but preventing the opponent from leading a card of the same suit in the next trick.
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Frequently asked questions
Honeymoon Bridge is a two-player version of Contract Bridge, with several variations.
Honeymoon Bridge is played in two phases, with as many rounds as it takes for someone to earn 100 points. Each player gets 13 cards, and the remaining cards are set to the side and used as the draw pile. The player opposite the dealer leads a card, and you must follow suit. If you can't follow suit, you must throw off (there is currently no trump). If you win the trick, swipe the card from the table and draw another card from the draw pile. Continue playing like this until 13 tricks have been played.
If you've called a trump, you must take at least the number of tricks bid in excess of 6. So, if you bid 1, you must take 7 tricks, if you bid 2, you must take 8 tricks, and so on. Earn 20 points for each trick in excess of 6 if the trump was Clubs or Diamonds, and 30 points if the trump was Spades or Hearts. Earn 40 points for the first trick and 30 for each additional trick in excess of 6 if there was "no trump".
Some variations include Single Dummy Honeymoon Bridge, where one of the four hands is exposed before bidding. There's also Draw and Discard Honeymoon Bridge, where players draw cards from the stock to make up their hand, either keeping the card or discarding it face down. Another variation is Memory Bridge, where half the deck is dealt, and players play two-card tricks with no trump suit. The player who makes seven or more tricks wins.
Honeymoon Bridge typically uses a standard 52-card deck, with suits and cards in each suit ranking as in Bridge. However, some variations use a 55-card pack with three extra cards known as Colons.
