The Bidding Architect
Most partnerships keep their bidding notes in a shared document that slowly drifts out of date. The Bidding Architect holds a partnership's methods as a tree of auctions instead, each call written down with its meaning, so both players read the same notes, print them out and drill them until they stick.
What the Bidding Architect does
The BridgeTricks Bidding Architect is an editor for bridge bidding systems, where each system is a tree of bids and every bid carries its meaning, with optional notes and color highlights. You can write a complete system or a single convention.
Agreements that change with the seat or the vulnerability go into variations, each with its own tree. A bid can be marked as the opponents' call, to record your methods after an overcall or a double, and free text chapters sit between the sequences for general notes.
Building is free and never uses credits. Guests can start without an account, but their systems stay in that browser on that device. The Library has systems to copy and build on, among them Blue Team Club, ACBL SAYC, Standard English Acol and Nightmare, plus a sample 2/1 Game Force system.
How to use it
- 1.Open the Bidding Architect and create a system or a convention in My Files, or copy one from the Library or Explore.
- 2.Click a node to open it and add the bids that follow, giving each one a meaning. Shift+Enter starts a new line inside a meaning.
- 3.Add variations where your methods differ by seat or vulnerability.
- 4.Write chapters for agreements that are not one auction, such as carding.
- 5.Share the system with your partner by email and save a version before big changes. Sharing and versions need Pro or Master.
- 6.Export a PDF from the icon in the header, or drill the system on the Practice tab.
Typing an exclamation mark followed by c, d, h or s in any field puts in the colored suit symbol.
Practice: learn your bidding system with flashcards
The Practice tab turns a system into spaced repetition flashcards. A deck can be the whole system or one opening, seat or variation. Each card shows an auction, you recall what the last call means, then reveal the answer and grade yourself.
| Your grade | Next time you see it |
|---|---|
| Knew it | In 3 days |
| Didn't know | The next day, then every day until you get it right |
| Never show again | Never, the card is suspended |
A session mixes about two review cards with every new one. Progress syncs across devices when you are signed in, and on Master a day counts toward your streak after a full session of 20 cards.
What it costs
The Bidding Architect and its practice never use credits. The plans differ in how much you can store and share, as listed on the pricing.
- A free account gives you up to 500 nodes across all your systems, copying from the community, a PDF preview of the first pages and 10 practice cards a day.
- Pro ($7 a month or $60 a year) removes the node limit and adds sharing, version history, publishing, linked copies and the complete PDF, plus 20 monthly credits for the other tools. Practice stays at 10 cards a day.
- Master ($12 a month or $99 a year) has everything in Pro, plus unlimited practice with daily streaks and 55 monthly credits.
Euro prices use the same figures, and players under 26 get 50% off. If a subscription ends, nothing is deleted, though systems over 500 nodes in total become read-only until you subscribe again.
What it will not do
- It does not bid hands. There is no bidding against robots and no live bidding with a partner.
- It does not deal cards. The deal generator deals practice hands to order.
- It does not read a file of notes by itself. The BridgeTricks team converts notes into a system on request, through the contact form.
Common questions
Short answers to what readers ask most.
- Is the Bidding Architect a free bridge bidding system builder?
- Yes, up to 500 nodes. A free account can build systems of that size and practice 10 cards a day. Pro and Master remove the node limit and add sharing, versions and the full PDF.
- How do I share my bidding system with my partner?
- Open the system and press Share. Enter your partner's email and pick View or Edit. Sharing needs Pro or Master, and so does editing a shared system.
- Can I use it without signing in?
- Yes, as a guest. Your systems are kept only on that device, with the same 500-node limit.
- How do the bridge bidding flashcards work?
- They are cards built from your own system. Each one shows an auction and asks what the last call means, and the cards you miss come back sooner.
- Can I print my bridge system notes?
- Yes, as a PDF with a cover, contents and page numbers. Free accounts get a preview, and Pro and Master export the whole system.
- Can I import my existing system?
- Yes, by request. Send your notes through the contact form and they are converted into a system that arrives private in your files.
Start in the Bidding Architect. The card you hand the opponents is made in the convention card editor, and bridge bidding practice sets the flashcards beside other ways to drill a system.
Start a system from scratch or copy one from the Library and build on it.
More tool guides
- The Convention Card EditorHow the convention card editor works: fill in a WBF, ACBL or EBU 20B card online with a live preview, print it or save a PDF, keep versions and publish it.
- The Bridge Deal GeneratorHow the Bridge Lab deal generator works: up to 1,000 deals that match your constraints on shape, points, honors and cards, exported as PBN or LIN.