A beginner does not need the app with the most features. You need an app that teaches the game in the right order: first the cards and the tricks, then the contract and the bidding, then a lot of practice where you see what you did right and what you did wrong.
This page lists the bridge apps that teach beginners, with what each one teaches and what it costs. For apps for every level, tournament sites included, see Best Bridge Apps.
TipQuick verdict: Start with BridgeDummy. Its free MiniBridge course has you playing a real hand in about 5 minutes, with no bidding and no account. Then the free 26-lesson course takes you from the rules to bidding, declarer play and defense, and scored puzzles and the Bidding Room give you practice with feedback. If you want a lesson path inside a phone app, Tricky Bridge has 57 short modules.
Best Beginner Path: BridgeDummy
BridgeDummy takes a new player from the first trick to real practice in four steps. The lessons, MiniBridge and all the learn articles are free and cost no diamonds. It runs in any browser on a computer, tablet or phone, and in apps for Android and iOS.
Step 1: MiniBridge, your first hand in 5 minutes
MiniBridge is bridge without the bidding, the hardest part for a new player. The team with more points plays the hand, one partner puts their cards face up, and everyone plays for tricks. The card play is the same as in bridge, so all you learn carries over.
The MiniBridge lessons are nine short lessons and a guided first hand, each one or two minutes long: Meet the cards, Win a trick, Follow suit or discard, Your first hand, Partners are a team, Count your points, Declarer and dummy, Your first contract, Trumps, and Go for game. A coach, hints and unlimited undo help you at each step.
When you finish, play MiniBridge against the computer with no account, or open a table for your friends with a free account; the computer fills any empty seat. The rules page has the full rules and the scoring table. All of it is free.
Step 2: The free 26-lesson bridge course
The Bridge Lessons for Beginners course has 26 short lessons. Each one has a real deal and a practice question, and you need no account to read them.
- The rules (lessons 1 to 6): players and partners, tricks, trumps, declarer and dummy, counting points and the contract.
- Declarer play (lessons 7 to 11): counting winners, long suits, your first finesse, drawing trumps and ruffing in dummy.
- Bidding (lessons 12 to 23): opening one of a suit, opening 1NT, Stayman and transfers, raising partner, new suit replies, opener's rebid, responder's rebid, strong openings, preempts, bidding a slam, overcalls and takeout doubles.
- Defense (lessons 24 to 26): the opening lead, second hand low, third hand high and defensive signals.
If you want the whole game on one page first, read How to Play Bridge, which follows one complete hand step by step, and How to Bid in Bridge.
Step 3: Practice with feedback
Lessons teach the rules. Judgment comes from practice where you see the result of each choice. Every BridgeDummy puzzle gives you a hand and an auction and asks for one bid or one opening lead. Then you see how every option did across hundreds to thousands of deals that fit the auction, and your choice gets 1 to 5 stars. A puzzle where you get fewer than 4 stars comes back in Mistake Review five days later.
In the Bidding Room you bid a whole deal with three bots. Hover a bot's call to see what it meant. When the auction ends, your contract and the other contracts are solved on 20 layouts that fit the bidding, and you see in IMPs what your bidding gained or lost. You can also drill one convention at a time, such as Stayman or transfers, right after the lesson that teaches it.
A free account gets 50 diamonds a month. A puzzle or a Bidding Room deal costs 1.
Step 4: Play with friends
When you can bid a hand, Bridge for Fun puts you and your friends at a real-time table of four. A bot takes any empty seat, so you do not need four friends to play. The games are unrated, and each player pays 1 diamond per board.
Bridge Bidding for Beginners: Where to Start
Bidding is where most beginners get stuck, so learn it in this order:
- Count your points and learn the order of the suits (lesson 5 and lesson 6).
- Open the bidding with one of a suit or 1NT (lesson 12 and lesson 13).
- Answer partner's opening: raise, bid a new suit or bid 1NT (lessons 15 and 16).
- Learn opener's and responder's second bids (lesson 17 and lesson 18).
- Bid whole deals with the bots in the Bidding Room, then try the bidding puzzles.
Lessons 12, 13 and 16 show where SAYC, 2/1 and Acol differ, so you can follow the system your club plays. The How to Bid in Bridge guide puts the rules of the auction on one page.
A Lesson Path in a Phone App: Tricky Bridge
Tricky Bridge has a linear lesson plan of 57 short modules, with three robot characters as guides. The lessons are free with no pop-up ads. Solo practice uses random deals with a bidding hint button, and more deals cost $3.99 for 50 or $9.99 a month. iPhone, iPad and Android.
An Introduction and Paid Courses: Audrey Grant's Better Bridge
Audrey Grant's Better Bridge has a free interactive introduction to the game. After the first free lesson, the full Bridge Basics 1 set costs $34.99 and runs on iPad only. A Daily Bridge Column costs $9.99 a month. iPhone, iPad and Mac.
Play With Bid Hints: Bridge by NeuralPlay
Bridge by NeuralPlay lets you play full deals against computer players at six levels, from beginner-friendly to expert. It can show suggested bids and plays, and you can tap a bid to see what it means. It has a bidding practice mode and works offline. It is free with ads, and removing them costs $12.99 once. iPhone, iPad and Android.
An Introduction Module: Funbridge
Funbridge includes an introduction with interactive lessons and exercises, and a help system at the table explains the bids. You play against Argine, its computer player. More deals come in packs or with Premium, listed at $17.99 in the US App Store. iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac and Windows.
Mini Bridge and Robot Play: Bridge Base Online
A free BBO account has unlimited Just Play, Bridge Master and Mini Bridge, and 6 deals a day of social bridge. Its Learn Bridge link sends you to the ACBL. Premium costs $5.99 a month in the first year, then $9.99 a month. Web, iOS and Android.
A Robot Partner for Your System: Cuebids
Cuebids lets you bid with a partner online at your own pace, free with no board limit. A robot partner can take the seat and bids its convention card the same way every time, at 1 ticket per board; the free plan has 48 tickets a month. Web, iOS and Android.
Beginner Apps Side by Side
| App | What it teaches | Free part | Paid | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BridgeDummy | MiniBridge, 26 lessons from rules to defense, scored practice | Lessons, MiniBridge, articles; 50 diamonds a month | Basic $19.99/yr | Web, iOS, Android |
| Tricky Bridge | 57 lesson modules | Lessons | $9.99/mo for unlimited deals | iOS, Android |
| Audrey Grant's Better Bridge | Bridge Basics course | First lesson | $34.99 for Bridge Basics 1 | iOS, Mac |
| Bridge by NeuralPlay | Play with bid hints | Full game with ads | $12.99 once | iOS, Android |
| Funbridge | Introduction module | Download | Deal packs, Premium | iOS, Android, Mac, Windows |
| BBO | Mini Bridge, Bridge Master | Unlimited Mini Bridge, 6 deals a day | Premium $5.99/mo first year | Web, iOS, Android |
| Cuebids | Bidding with a partner or robot | Partner bidding, 48 tickets a month | Subscription | Web, iOS, Android |
Bottom Line
The best way to learn bridge is one step at a time, with practice that tells you why. BridgeDummy gives you the whole path in one free account: MiniBridge for your first hand, the 26-lesson course for the rules, bidding, play and defense, then scored puzzles and the Bidding Room to build your judgment, and Bridge for Fun for games with friends. Start with lesson 1 of MiniBridge today.