Q-plus Bridge: Version 9.1

User Interface in General

• The Windows user interface is easy to handle, even for users with little experience with PCs. The careful display of cards and hidden cards, the suit and hand arrangements create a homely feeling for a bridge player.
• Context sensitive help texts are available with all screens.
The product is shipped in a box with a printed manual.

Dealing & Deal Management

• A practically unlimited number of program dealt hands are available.
  These deals can be identified by a unique deal number.
• Own hands can be entered; they can be managed (saved and restored) within the program. It is possible to enter remarks to the hands. Remarks can be linked to the stages of the game, e.g. at the beginning of the deal, after the lead, after the end of the play.
  When retrieving a deal, it can be specified if only the cards of the deal are retrieved, or also the bids or also the bids and the lead, or the complete deal with the play.
• The program includes more than 3000 team tournament deals and more than 3000 pair tournament deals. When playing these deals, the own result is compared against the results of the players.
Hands can be pretty-printed and exported to an HTML format which includes the graphical representation of the cards. Such hands in HTML format can be,for example, loaded into an editor, or used for web sites.
• The PBN-format (public bridge notation) is supported, both for importing and for exporting deals, making an exchange with deals from other sources easy.
• A deal filter can be used to select only interesting hands (e.g. strong South hands).
• Variations of deals can be created, e.g. by exchanging the suits in all four hands or by exchanging two hands.

Bidding

• Many bidding systems are shipped, which can be defined and modified using more than 150 treatments and conventions, which is done via an integrated convention editor.
• Help features during bidding:
  • Explanation and evaluation of the meaning of done bids.
  • Bidding list: Displays the meaning of the possible bids in a given situation.
  • Bidding warning: Warns the user if he is about to make a bid which is probably very wrong.
  • Bidding hint: Shows the bid which the program would select.
• Simulation of user bids: At any time when it is the turn to enter a bid the user can start a simulation of several bids. The program then calculates the results of these bids over a number of deals - up to 1000 deals.

Playing

• Several playing strengths levels are available, for optimal use of the PC where Q-plus Bridge runs.
• Choices between several popular lead and signalling conventions are possible
• Help features during playing:
  • Display of the estimated probabilities of hidden cards.
  • Display of the meaning of signals and conventional treatments in defense.
  • Play warning: Warns the user
    • if he is about to play a probably very weak card or
    • if he is about to violate an agreement in defense.
  • Playing hint: Shows the card which the program would select.
• The program does normally not cheat (i.e. does not look into the cards of the other players), but can be instructed to do so.

Scoring and Analyzing

• its play can be reviewed trick by trick
• it can be repeated by the program to compare its behaviour against that of the user.
  The repetition can cover both bidding and playing, or only playing.
• Scoring can be done either according the Rubber method, or IMPs, or Matchpoints.
• A comparison of the own score is possible, see below.
• Scoring results can be saved and restored for a later continuation.

Comparison Functions

• Comparison against the Closed Room
  The deals that you play are at the same time also played in the Closed Room, which consists of four computer players.

 

• Comparison against Pairs Tournament Results
  You are playing hands that have already been played in a Pairs Tournament. So having played a hand, your score will be compared with the results previously recorded and thus you can get an immediate matchpoint score.

 

• Comparison against Team Tournament Deals
  This is similar to the closed room - the difference is that the second result is taken from a selected tournament file.

Further Features

• Bids and played cards can be undone. The play can be completed by the program, if desired.
• The play may also be finished via a claim, the claim can be checked.
• A tournament mode is available, where the program knows only one hand.
• The CD contains Q-plus Bridge in three languages (English, French, German), which the user can switch.
• Q-plus Bridge can be played by two persons over a TCP/IP net (also over Internet) and also on unconnected PCs, provided that the two users tell their bridge actions to each other.

System requirements

• Operating system Windows Me, XP, Vista.
• A CD drive is necessary for the installation.