Bidding Architect

Create and manage your bidding systems and conventions

Bidding Architect

Build, organize, and share your bridge bidding systems with our interactive visual editor. Create full systems or standalone conventions, add variations for different seats and vulnerabilities, and collaborate with your partner.

Video guideHow to use the Bidding Architect and build your system30 min·Opens on YouTube

Organize your systems and conventions into folders. Rename, duplicate, move, or delete items from the context menu.
Import a file from community and create an editable copy to build on top of it.
Guest users can create and edit systems locally in the browser without signing in, but data is stored only on that device.

Each system is built as a tree of bidding nodes. Click a node to expand it and add child bids.
Add a meaning or description to each bid, plus optional annotations and color highlights.
Add free-form text chapters between bidding sequences for notes and explanations.
Type !C, !D, !H, or !S in any text field to insert suit symbols (clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades).
Undo and redo are available for all edits. The total bid count is displayed in the toolbar.

Create variations to define different bidding trees based on seat position (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th) and vulnerability.
When adding a bid, you can choose to insert an opponent bid instead - useful for documenting your agreements after interference.

Share any system with other users by email. Choose between View (read-only) or Edit permissions.
Shared systems appear in the recipient's file browser. Multiple users can edit simultaneously with real-time sync.
Manage or revoke shares from the context menu at any time.

Save snapshots of your system at any point. Each version is numbered and timestamped.
View the full version history and restore any previous version.
Useful for tracking changes over time or reverting experiments.

Export any system or convention as a print-ready PDF: use the export icon in the builder header, or "Export PDF" in the item menu in My Files, Library, and Explore.
The export includes a cover page, a table of contents with real page numbers, and every opening and chapter with its running page header. Bid notes print as footnotes, and you can choose the font size before exporting.
Free accounts export a preview (the cover, the contents and the beginning of the file); Pro and Master export the complete document.

Publish your systems to the Explore tab so other users can discover and copy them.
Browse systems shared by other users, sorted by name, author, date, or popularity. Filter by tags like "Standard American", "Precision", "Acol", and more.
Copying a shared system creates a linked copy that tracks updates - you'll see a badge when the author publishes a new version.
You can update to the latest version with one click, or make an editable copy to break the link and customize independently.

Turn any system into flashcards and practice them until the bids stick.

Pick a deck, then practice one card at a time: read the auction, recall the meaning in your head, then reveal it.
Grade each card "Knew it" or "Didn't know" - swipe on mobile, or use the buttons / arrow keys on desktop.
Use "Never show again" to suspend a card you no longer want to see.
Progress is saved automatically: leave a deck and resume exactly where you left off (synced across devices when you are signed in).

New cards are available right away. Once you grade a card, when it next appears depends on how you did.
Get it right ("Knew it") and it will not come back for 3 days.
Miss it ("Didn't know") and it returns the next day, then daily until you finally get it right.
Each session blends the cards due for review with new ones - about two reviews for every new card - so you reinforce what is slipping while still learning more.

A deck is a saved slice of a system - by opening, seat, variation, or the whole thing - so you can focus your practice.
Build decks from your own systems, a shared or imported system, or the community. Guests can try the bundled 2/1 Game Force system.

Practicing a full session each day builds a streak. A day counts once you have reviewed a session's worth of cards (20) on your local calendar day.
The streak banner shows your current week plus your current and longest streaks - keep it alive by practicing every day.

Free account practice is capped at 10 cards per day. When you reach the cap you can keep going - and complete daily streaks - with Master.
Master removes the daily limit entirely, so you can practice as much as you like.

Free account - Create and edit up to 500 nodes across all your systems. Browse and copy from the community.
Pro - Removes the 500-node limit, plus sharing, version history, community publishing, linked copies, and 20 monthly credits.
Master - Everything in Pro, plus unlimited daily Practice, practice streaks, and 55 monthly credits.

Common questions

Yes! If you have system notes, we can convert them into a fully structured Bidding Architect system for you. Get in touch.

Yes. The converted system arrives in your file browser as a private system: only you can open it, along with anyone you choose to share it with. It stays private unless you decide to publish it to the Community, and that is always your choice. We use the notes you send only to build your system.

In Resources: SAYC, two over one and the list of bridge conventions, each convention with its own guide. Many convention guides open the convention in the Bidding Architect, ready to copy into your own system. The Bidding Architect guide covers the editor itself.

Yes. When adding a bid, you can choose to insert an opponent bid instead of your own. This lets you document your agreements after overcalls, doubles, and other interference.

Copy from... works only between the same content type: opening -> opening, sequence -> sequence, chapter -> chapter, variation -> variation.

With Pro or Master, you can share any system with other users by email. Choose View (read-only) or Edit permissions. Shared systems appear in the recipient's file browser. Recipients need Pro or Master to edit shared systems; otherwise they can view them in read-only mode. Multiple subscribed users can edit simultaneously with real-time sync.

System discussion is visible to everyone with access. The owner can always send messages. Recipients on shared systems need Pro or Master to send.

When you copy a system from the Community, you get a linked copy that tracks the original. When the author publishes a new version, you'll see an "Update available" badge and can update with one click. You can also break the link to customize independently.

Yes. Open a system and use the export icon in the header, or pick "Export PDF" from the item menu in My Files, Library, or Explore. You can include bid notes as footnotes and choose the font size. Free accounts export a preview (the cover, the contents and the beginning of the file); Pro and Master export the complete system or convention with real page numbers.

Yes. Guest users can create and edit systems locally in the browser. However, data is stored only on that device and limited to 500 nodes across all local systems. Sign in for persistent cloud storage and additional features.

A free account includes up to 500 nodes across all your systems. Pro and Master remove this limit so you can build systems of any size. Your existing data is preserved if your subscription ends - if your total goes over 500 nodes, editing becomes read-only until you resubscribe.

No. The Bidding Architect does not use credits. A free account has a 500-node limit across all your systems. Advanced features - unlimited nodes, sharing, version history, and community publishing - are available with Pro or Master.

Your systems and all your data are preserved - nothing is deleted. You keep full read access to everything. If your total exceeds 500 nodes, editing becomes read-only until you resubscribe. Shared systems remain accessible to collaborators in read-only mode. You can resubscribe at any time to restore full editing.

With Pro or Master, open any system and click the Share button. Enter your partner's email and choose View or Edit access. They'll see the system in their file browser. If both of you have Pro or Master, you can edit simultaneously with real-time sync.

Type !C for ♣, !D for ♦, !H for ♥, and !S for ♠. The shortcut works in any text field - bids, meanings, notes, sequence names, and changelogs. The symbol is inserted automatically as you type.

Yes. Press Shift+Enter to add a new line in a meaning field. Press Enter alone to save. This is useful for listing multiple hand types, e.g. a) weak with major on the first line and b) 23+ bal on the second.

When you grade a card it gets a due date. "Knew it" schedules it 3 days out; "Didn't know" brings it back the next day, then daily until you get it right. Each session shows the cards that are due first, mixing in new ones.

"Knew it" pushes the card 3 days out. "Didn't know" sets it to return the next day, then daily until you answer it correctly. "Never show again" suspends a card so it stops appearing.

Each session blends the cards due for review with new ones at about a 2-to-1 ratio - two reviews for every new card - spread through the session rather than all reviews first. Reviews lead because they are the bids you are about to forget; if either group runs out, the rest of the session continues with the other.

Up to 10 cards per day. After that you hit a gate - upgrade to Master for unlimited practice.

A day counts toward your streak once you have reviewed a full session (20 cards) that day, on your local calendar day. Practice every day to keep it going. Because free account practice is capped at 10 cards a day, completing streaks requires Master.

Yes. A deck remembers where you left off and resumes when you return - across devices when you are signed in.

Yes. Anyone can practice up to 10 cards a day, including guests on the bundled 2/1 Game Force system. Master unlocks unlimited practice and daily streaks.