NEW VERSION
The Live Game has been updated with improved styling and bug fixes.
The first time you login with this new version you will need to add your username (please use your Bridgedoctor username) and profile .
Please only play live if you plan to stay in a room for a significant period eg. several games. When you plan to leave the room, please signal to the room moderator early so they can try and fill your seat. The moderator can then invite someone from the lobby to take your seat when you leave.
Play Live Bridge With Your Friends
Premium Bridgedoctor members (paid subscription) can invite their friends to play Live Bridge with them. Those friends can join you in a Live Game room on a free Guest membership. Guest members cannot create their own rooms. See details below.
IMPORTANT: Please ensure you use the same email address for the Live Game that you use for the main Bridgedoctor website. If you use a different email address, or have not already registered as a Bridgedoctor member, then the Live Game system will treat it as registering as a new user and will ask for your name and password. When you click save then you will receive the message: "You are not authorised to play this Bridge game". Entering your main bridgedoctor email address the next time will register/login correctly.
In this new version you now login with your Bridgedoctor email (or username) and password (no need to remember two passwords).
NOTE: The new login is case sensitive so if your Bridgedoctor username includes uppercase characters you need to include those as uppercase.
PLAY LIVE BRIDGE
PLAY LIVE BRIDGE (open in a new browser tab*)
* playing in a new browser tab enables you to play on Bridgedoctor while waiting for Live Game players to join a room. See details in the 'how to avoid waiting' below.
First-time Live Game players Please Read Below
Our Live Bridge game is back.
There are more features (and styling) yet to be added but with the onset of Covid19 and so many people in lockdown we have prioritised finishing the development of the live game so you can play with your friends.
NEW UPDATE: The live game is still in beta, but we've started on the design upgrade and are working to fix a bug that sometimes occurs when players in the room changed. After a player replaces an existing player, sometimes the played cards will disappear before 4 cards have been played. The only way to resolve the issue is for the moderator to deal a new game. The bug only happens occasionally and only after a new player has entered a game - we expect to eliminate the issue completely in the next update. More design improvements and bug fixes to come along with more features.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you are a new Bridgedoctor member: before playing the live game the first time please make sure you become a Bridgedoctor member BEFORE trying to signup for the Live Game. Detailed instructions for new members and friends of members who are signup up to play live are here.
If you are an existing Bridgedoctor member then just click the 'Play Bridge live' button above to register/login and play.
Waiting for three other players to be at the table is frustrating but because the Live Game is located at a different website from Bridgedoctor you can run the Live Game and the main Bridgedoctor website at the same time.
- We have added a second 'Live Game' button to this page which will open the Live Game in a new tab.
- Use the 'Open live Game in a new tab' button. Login to the live Game and if there is no table to immediately join then leave the Live Game tab open and return to the Bridgedoctor tab.
- Now when you are in the Pactice or Competition area, you'll see a "Do you want to be alerted every time a user joins the live game?" message below the game and a yes/no option. Choose 'Yes'.
- Now whenever someone arrives or leaves from the Live Game lobby, or room you'll see an alert and can click on the live game tab to see if extra players are need for a room.
- With those two tabs open you can switch between the live Game and the Bridgedoctor website as often as you wish. If you are in a room and waiting for players, you can chat to the others while waiting but if the wait is too long you might like to pop back to Bridgedoctor website to play a few hands. As long as you have 'yes' selected you'll be alerted to any change in the live Game
On a large screen you can even place the Live Game and Bridgedoctor on each half of the screen and you can see any changes in the lobby or rooms while playing in Bridgedoctor.
Yes, if you are a Premium member (paid subscription) they can join you in a room you have created, they cannot create a new room and at least one Premium member must remain in the room for the game to continue.
- If they are not already Bridgedoctor members they need to signup for the free Bridgedoctor membership and login to Bridgedoctor. Once they have logged in they can log into the Live Game using the link below.
- Pre-arrange the time and place (room name) using your usual email/messenger etc. Since these are already your friends, you can even use Zoom, Skype or Messenger to voice chat during the Live Game.
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Only Premium members can create a room but all members can join a room. At least one Premium member must be in a room for the play to continue.
Send your friends a link to this page for detailed instructions for new members and friends of members who want to signup up to play live.
If you see a message saying 'You are not authorised to play this Bridge game' then check you are using the same email address for the Live Game that you are for your Bridgedoctor membership. You can check your Bridgedoctor email address on the main Bridgedoctor website under 'Settings'.
If you are a new member, make sure you have logged into the main Bridgedoctor website at least once before trying to access the Live Game. Logging into the main Bridgedoctor website will add your email address to the Live Game list of permitted users.
If you are the person who created the room then you will automatically become the room moderator.
As a moderator you can:
- Invite users from the lobby to play or watch
- Boot (eject) users from the room if necessary (eg. if they are being rude or offensive)
- Warn - if user is being offensive you should use the warn button, first and you can eject them if their behavious doesn't change.
In most cases you can register into the Live Game with your existing Bridgedoctor username and password. But there are stricter security requirements required by the Live Game, so some existing Bridgedoctor usernames and passwords cannot be used (if your username is too short or your password is only a-z characters).
You must use the same email address that you use in Bridgedoctor or you a 'access not allowed' message will display when you try to login.
If you encounter a problem that you cannot resolve eg. the game stops playing. This is usually caused by one or more players having an intermittent Internet connection. This doesn't happen often and we are working to resolve this but meanwhile if you cannot move forward with the game, if all players leave the room and one creates a new room for the others to join then play can continue. We are working to improve the reliablility of the game under those curcumstances.
Bringing your own friends to a room (your friends can play free) is currently the only way to guarantee getting a full room to play. If you want to join existing rooms, the busiest times are between 12pm and 7pm PDT (3pm and 10pm EDT). While playing Practice Hands or Competition Hands you can see the numbers of players in the lobby and waiting for a game.
This is an issue we are aware of and will have it fixed asap. Meanwhile, logout of Bridgedoctor and the Live Game and then log back in again to Bridgedoctor then the Live Game. That should fix the issue, if it doesn't plaease contact us and we will fix it for you.
There is no 'bot' (computer player) to fill in for missing players so if there are less than 4 people at the table, you will need to wait until there are 4 players before continuing. For this reason we recommend:
- Unless you have pre-arranged to play with a group of friends, try logging into lobby on the quarter hour at your local time eg. 10am, 10.15am or 10.30am etc. In this way we hope to group enough users in the lobby to fill rooms.
IMPORTANT: Bridgedoctor is a learning environment. While competition is an important part of learning, the best learning occurs when players feel safe and secure without criticism and negative comments from other players. If you agree to these principles please click the link below (at one of the suggested times) and try out the Live Game using the link below .
PLAY LIVE BRIDGE
Chat in the Live Game should NOT be considered private. While it is unlikely that anyone other than those in the room will see chat, it is possible that occasionally Bridgedoctor staff may see part or all of a chat sequence during the course of routine maitenance and development, or if a member (or our AI) complains about about the behaviour of another member. So, while it is rare that others outside the room would see the chat, please consider chat as a public conversation and don't share any personal information in the chat.
If you have any difficulties accessing the Live Game please contact us with the details.
LIVE GAME GUIDE
- When you first login you will be asked for your email address, password, and system.
- After logging in you are taken to a 'lobby' where you can see a list of existing game (rooms).
- If you see a room with less than 4 players, please try and join that room (rooms with less than 4 players cannot play).
- If all the rooms are full then create your own room - enter the room name and click 'Create Room'.
- On entering the room you choose a seat.
- If you created the room then you are 'moderator'. As a moderator you can see who is in the lobby and can invite users into the room to play.
- Once 4 players are in the room, the game can begin.
- If it is your turn, your cards or bidding pad will be highlighted.
- As a moderator you can:
- Invite users from the lobby to play or watch
- Eject (boot) users if necessary
- Warn - if user is being offensive you should use the warn button, first and you can eject them if their behavious doesn't change.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Is it complete yet? Not quite but members can create and join rooms, chat, and play Bridge against other members. Here's the main features still to complete:
- Sometimes a 'room' is not removed after all players leave, so if you see a room with no players or just one player in it and they're not responding to requests to join then it's likely the player has already left. We will be clearing these 'orphan' rooms on a regular basis while we work on a solution.
- The Live Game is currently at a separate web address and members need to login to the Live Game separately from the main Bridgedoctor website. Once the above issues have been resolved, the Live Game will be integrated into the main Bridgedoctor menu.
