BRIDGE PLAYER 3
Spectrum 48K & Spectrum Plus
MANUAL
(CP Software)


Loading Instructions

1. Set up your Spectrum as normal.
2. Type LOAD "", and press the enter key.
3. Start the cassette player at a volume you have found
   effective.
   In case of difficulty refer to your Sinclair computer
   manual.
4. The program options are explained on-screen after loading.
5. You will find a full summary of the commands explained
   in this manual on the last page.


Author: Richard Wheen	(c) R. Wheen 1985


BRIDGE PLAYER 3

General Description

This program allows you to play rubber bridge without
having to get in three friends for the purpose. By using
randomly dealt hands it simulates bridge as realistically as is
possible, allowing you first to bid your hand and then to play
the cards, as declarer or defender according to the result of
the bidding. The program will provide useful practice,
particularly for beginners and intermediate players, and
endless enjoyment for everyone.

Bidding is in accordance with the Acol system, with a limited
number of additional conventions (see below).

The program contains a number of other features, including:-

- a post-mortem facility, enabling you to rebid and/or
  replay any hand.
- full scoring both of the result of the last hand and on a
  cumulative basis.
- the ability to input a hand of your own choosing and then
  bid and play it as usual (this makes the program especially
  useful as a teaching aid).
- any player who has a printer can get a hard copy of the
  hand.
- during the play of the cards you can, if you wish:-
  review the bidding;
  see the play to the earlier tricks;
  peep at the opponents' hands;
  restart the play of the cards; and
  claim the rest of the tricks.
- you can dispense with the bidding and simply decide on
  the appropriate contract and declarer (particularly useful for
  those whose bidding tends to land them in the wrong contract!).
- full information during the play of the cards as to the
  contract, how many tricks each side has won, the score, the
  cards played to the last trick, etc.
- the ability at any time to go on to the next hand or to
  review the list of options.
- the ability to SAVE the program on Microdrive.


DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS

Options
After successfully loading the program you will be asked to
choose between various options given. These are self-explanatory
and your choices will continue to apply until you enter
"O" at any later stage.

One of the options available allows you to SAVE the
program on cartridge. For further instructions on this, see
"Microdrive SAVEing facility" below.

Another of the options available relates to the distribution of
high card points. As you will see you can decide (perhaps
because you prefer to be declarer than to defend) that you
and your partner should always (option 1) or usually (option
2) have the majority of the points or you can simply let the
points be distributed at random (option 3). In fact the hands
are dealt at random anyway, but when option 1 or 2 is
selected the computer will, having dealt the hands, in
appropriate circumstances rotate them (East thereby getting
the hand North would otherwise have held, etc.) so as to
achieve the desired result.

The bidding
You are always South and your hand will be shown on the
top half of the screen, with the bidding beneath it. All legal
bids are allowed, including doubling and redoubling.

The Acol system is used, with a weak, strong or variable no-
trump as selected by you initially. (Note that your opponents
(East/West) always play the same no trump range as you are
using at the time). Opening bids at the two level are strong, 2
clubs being conventional and showing, normally, 23 or more
high card points. Opening bids at the three level are pre-
emptive and weak. A bid at the two level over partner's 1 no-
trump is considered as a weak takeout.

The program understands and accepts Stayman (over 1NT
and 2NT) and Blackwood, although it will not initiate them.
Thus if the computer bids 2 clubs over its partner's 1 no-
trump this is a weak takeout, not Stayman.

To make your bid when it is your (South's) turn to do so,
enter first the level (1, 2 etc.) then the suit, i.e. S, H, D, C
or N (for no-trumps). Thus to bid 2 no-trumps enter 2N; to bid 6
Spades enter 6S.

The remaining possible bids are entered as follows:-

	Pass (no bid)   - P (or simply press the "ENTER" key)
	Double          - D
	Redouble        - R

Once you have entered your bid, press the "ENTER" key.

If you wish at any stage to restart the bidding, enter "B"
when it is your turn to bid.

The play of the cards
You are always South but, in order to avoid your being
dummy and merely watching the play of the cards when your
partner has become declarer, you will be able to play both the
North and South hands whenever you (South) or your
partner (North) are declarer.

Once the bidding is complete your hand (or North's hand if
he is declarer) will be shown in a new display. The opening
lead will then be made, dummy's hand will go down and play
will proceed.

When it is your turn to play, you can play any legally
permissible card: revoking is of course not allowed. Note that
if there is only one card which you can legally play (i.e. you
hold a singleton in the suit led, or you have only one card left
in your hand) the computer will, to speed up the game, auto-
matically play this card for you.

The standard way of entering the card you want to play is to
enter first the suit to be played (S, H, D or C) and then the
card (A, K, Q, J, T (for 10), 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 or 2). Once you
have entered the card press the "ENTER" key.

To speed up the play, however, you can, if you wish, take
advantage of the following facilities:

(a) to play the lowest card held in any suit you need only
    enter the suit (followed by the "ENTER" key): indeed if
    you are following suit and want to play the lowest card
    which you hold you need only press the "ENTER" key
    and there is not need even to enter the suit;

(b) if you are following suit, you need not enter the suit
    itself but can simply enter the card.

To take an example, the player on your right has led the
Queen of Hearts. You hold the K, 10, 7, 4 of Hearts. If you
want to play the 4 of Hearts you can (because it is your lowest
card of the suit led) simply press the "ENTER" key to play
this card. If on the other hand you want to play the King of
Hearts you can, if you wish, simply enter K and then press the
"ENTER" key. It is worth experimenting with these abbreviated
entering procedure since they are quicker, thereby
speeding the game up.

The time taken by the computer to play a card will vary. It
will range from perhaps 1 second when the computer is
following suit to, perhaps, 10 seconds (sometimes more)
when it is considering what to lead (especially when the
computer is declarer) or to discard.

When you are on lead during the play of the hand you can
review bidding before playing your card (by entering
"B"), see the play to the earlier tricks (by entering "E") or
peep at the other players' hands (by entering "P"). This
information will be deleted from the screen once you have
played your card.

In addition you can at any time claim the rest of the tricks by
entering "Z". The computer will accept your claim (even if
unjustified!) and will score the hand accordingly.

You can also at any time recommence the play of the cards by
entering "R".

If, while playing the hand as declarer, you hear a single
"beep", this will be to alert you that a defender has ruffed.

Scoring, review of the hand, etc.
At the end of each hand the score on that hand will be shown
in the customary format, together with the score brought
forward from previous hands during that rubber. The
scoring is the same as in normal rubber bridge and includes
penalty points, honours, slam and rubber points. A replayed
hand will not be scored, nor will a hand which has been
abandoned,

At the end of a hand you can see North's and South's (and if
you wish, East's and West's) original hands and can then
rebid and/or replay the hand or print it out, together with the
bidding, on your printer. Alternatively you can, if you prefer,
go straight on to the next hand or back to the list of options.

Other main options

A. By pressing the appropriate key when the various
options are described, you can dispense with the bidding and
go straight on to the play of the cards. In this case you will
have to nominate both the contract and the declarer. Having
selected this option the computer would in the ordinary way
play the East/West cards, but if you have elected to see all
four hands you can, if you wish, decide to play from all four
hands yourself.

B. You can input a deal of your own choosing and then bid
and play it as usual. If you decide to do this, please note that
(i) you will first be asked to enter North's Spades, then his
Hearts etc., but the cards in any suit can be entered in any
order; (ii) after entering all the cards in the suit press the
"ENTER" key; (iii) where the holding is a void, press the
"ENTER" key without first entering any cards; and (iv) for
presentational reasons no player may hold more than eight
cards in any one suit.

General
Please note that:-

(a) the computer only accepts CAPITAL LETTERS as
    input; and

(b) you can, at any time when it is your turn to bid or play,
    abandon the current hand (enter "N") and, if you wish,
    revert to the list of options (enter "O").

Microdrive saving facility
The first option on successfully LOADING the program
includes the ability to SAVE the program on Microdrive. To
do this you should insert a blank, formatted cartridge in
Microdrive 1 and then press "M". The program will then
SAVE itself on cartridge. This process will have been
completed once the original message listing the options is on
the screen again.

Loading from Microdrive
Having successfully SAVEd the program on cartridge, the
way thereafter to LOAD the Spectrum from the cartridge is
to insert the cartridge in Microdrive 1, enter on the computer
"NEW", followed by "RUN". When the list of options
appears, the program will have successfully LOADed.

KEYS TO USE IN ENTERING YOUR BID OR CARD, ETC.

Bidding	S Spades        N No trumps
	H Hearts        P Pass (no bid)
	D Diamonds      D Double
	C Clubs         R Redouble
	B To restart the Bidding

Play of the cards*
	S Spades        A Ace
	H Hearts        K King
	D Diamonds      Q Queen
	C Clubs         J Jack (Knave)
	                T Ten

	B to review the Bidding
	E to see the play to Earlier tricks
	P to Peep at the other hands
	R to Recommence the play of the cards
	Z to claim the rest of the tricks

At any time

N Abandon current hand and proceed to Next hand
O Abandon current hand and return to list of Options.

CAPITAL LETTERS must be used for all the above.

* See also the abbreviated system of entering cards described
in the text under "The play of the cards".
