BridgeDummy is a training app. Each puzzle takes one decision out of a hand, your bid or your opening lead, and scores every option with double-dummy analysis across hundreds to thousands of simulated deals that fit the auction. You see which choice was best and what each of the others cost, in matchpoints or IMPs. Around the puzzles you get daily challenges, a weekly league, an ELO rating, partnership bidding and live tables with friends.
Bridge by NeuralPlay is an app where you play full deals against computer players, also offline, with bid hints and a double-dummy review of the deal you just played.
TipQuick verdict: To get better at bidding and opening leads, choose BridgeDummy. Its lead puzzles and bidding puzzles score every option over many deals, not only the one you played, and a free account gets 50 diamonds a month. If you want to play whole hands against a computer with no internet connection, NeuralPlay does that.
At a glance
| BridgeDummy | Bridge by NeuralPlay | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Decision training: scored puzzles, simulations, partner bidding, live tables | Full-deal play against computer players |
| Feedback | Every option scored 1-5 stars over hundreds to thousands of deals, MP and IMP | Bid hints, a bid checker against the computer's call, double-dummy review of the deal |
| Bidding practice | Scored bidding puzzles, Bidding Room vs bots, Bidding Challenges with a partner | Bidding Practice mode |
| Opening lead practice | Scored lead puzzles (MP + IMP), Lead Gym | No dedicated lead mode |
| Declarer play | Suit combination puzzles, Daily Suit Combos, custom solver | Play Practice mode, full deals |
| Your own deals | Simulations with constraints on all four hands, MP and IMP results | Deal setup by points and shape, PBN files |
| Play with people | Live tables with friends, partner bidding, 1v1 challenges | Computer partners and opponents |
| Progress | ELO, stats per category, Mistake Review, leaderboards | Player statistics |
| Free tier | 50 diamonds a month (1 per puzzle), free Analyzer and calculators | Full game with ads |
| Paid | Basic $19.99/yr, Pro $7.99/mo, Premium $13.99/mo | $12.99 once to remove ads |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android | iPhone, iPad, Android |
How BridgeDummy trains you
Every puzzle puts you in the South seat with a hand and an auction, and asks for one decision. Behind it is a simulation of at least 250 deals, usually hundreds to thousands, that match the auction. Each deal is solved double-dummy, so every option gets a score.
After you answer, you see:
- your choice, its score and 1 to 5 stars
- every other option, ranked by the same score
- the share of players who chose each option
- on newer puzzles, sample deals from the simulation
A matchpoint lead puzzle shows how many tricks declarer takes on average after each card. An IMP lead puzzle shows how often each card beats the contract. A bidding puzzle scores each call in matchpoint percent or average IMPs. Your results feed an ELO rating and your stats per category on your progress page, and a puzzle where you earn fewer than 4 stars comes back in Mistake Review five days later.
How NeuralPlay works
NeuralPlay seats you with three computer players at one of six levels. You pick a bidding system (SAYC, 2/1, Acol, Precision or a custom one) and a format: rubber, Chicago, duplicate teams, matchpoint practice, bidding practice or play practice. During the auction you can ask for a hint, and after the hand a double-dummy solver shows what each play on that deal would have made.
Bidding practice
BridgeDummy's bidding puzzles give you a hand and an auction, then score your call against every alternative across the deals that fit the auction. You learn which call works on the layouts the auction allows, and by how much.
In the Bidding Room you bid a whole deal with three bots. When the auction ends, your contract and every alternative are solved double dummy on 20 layouts that fit the bidding, and you see in IMPs what your judgment gained or lost. You can deal random hands, drill a convention such as Stayman, Michaels or Drury, or build your own situation. With a partner, Bidding Challenges let you bid 8 boards together and compare your contracts with the contracts other pairs reached.
NeuralPlay has a bidding practice mode and a bid checker that compares your call with the call its computer would make. That tells you where you differ from the computer, on the one deal in front of you.
Opening leads
The opening lead is the decision you make with the least information. BridgeDummy's lead puzzles train it on its own: you see the auction and your 13 cards, pick a lead, and every card in your hand is scored by double-dummy analysis across the layouts that match the auction. The Lead Gym adds fresh deals that bots bid in front of you, and every card gets a defeat rate and an average trick count.
NeuralPlay has no dedicated opening lead mode. You lead on the deals where you defend, and the review shows the result of each lead on that one deal.
Declarer play and your own deals
BridgeDummy trains declarer technique one suit at a time. Suit combination puzzles give you a holding and a target, you play the suit out against best defense, and the review shows the success chance at each decision. Daily Suit Combos serves five a day with a leaderboard, and the custom solver handles any combination you enter. The free Analyzer solves any deal you paste or enter, card by card.
When a hand from your club game bothers you, simulations let you keep your 13 cards, set constraints for the other three hands (or take them from the auction), and compare up to 4 contracts or every opening lead across up to 1,000 deals, in matchpoints and IMPs.
NeuralPlay lets you play full deals in a play practice mode, set up deals by points and shape, and load deals from PBN files.
Playing with people
BridgeDummy has three ways to play with people. Bridge for Fun runs real-time four-player tables with your friends, and a bot can take any empty seat. Bidding Challenges let you bid with your own partner at your own pace. 1v1 challenges put you on the same 10 puzzles as a friend or a random opponent.
On NeuralPlay, your partner and your opponents are computer players.
Pricing and free tier
A free BridgeDummy account gets 50 diamonds a month. A puzzle costs 1 diamond, a Daily Challenge of 10 puzzles costs 5, and a simulation costs 15. The Analyzer, the eight calculators, the MiniBridge lessons and games, and all guides and learn articles are free.
- Basic: $19.99 a year, 150 diamonds a month
- Pro: $7.99 a month or $63.99 a year, 500 diamonds a month
- Premium: $13.99 a month or $111.99 a year, unlimited diamonds plus Hand Insights
NeuralPlay is free with ads, and removing the ads costs $12.99 once in the App Store.
Platforms
BridgeDummy runs in any browser on a computer, tablet or phone, and in apps for Android and iOS, with the same account and progress everywhere. NeuralPlay is an app for iPhone, iPad and Android, and it works offline.
Where BridgeDummy is better
- Scores over many deals. Every option is measured across the layouts that fit the auction, so one lucky deal cannot decide the grade.
- Dedicated lead training. Lead puzzles and the Lead Gym score every card in your hand, in matchpoints and IMPs.
- A routine that keeps you practicing. Daily challenges, a weekly league with promotion and relegation, Puzzle Rush, 1v1 challenges and one ELO rating.
- Your own hands. Simulations with constraints on all four hands, results in MP and IMP, and a share link.
- Real people. Live tables with friends and partnership bidding.
- Any screen. Web, Android and iOS with one account.
Bottom line
NeuralPlay gives you deals to play against a computer. BridgeDummy tells you which bid and which lead were right, and what every other choice cost, across the deals that fit the auction. If your goal is to make better decisions at the table, start with the lead puzzles on a free account.