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Part Game
Part Game refers to the bonus score you and your partner receive when the bidding stops short of ‘game’. Play the practice game in the bottom panel and watch how the score is allocated. More lessons on ‘ruffing’ to make the contract can be found in our ‘Declarer & Dummy Play Lessons’
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How do I know when to stop bidding?
Bridge has large differences in scoring bonuses which means that bids at different levels carry special significance. Usually the higher the level of bidding, the higher the bonus. For example, if the declarer takes all thirteen tricks in a NoTrump contract there is a huge score difference between contracts at the level of 1 NoTrump (1NT) and contracts in 7 NT.
The purpose of these bonuses makes it advantageous for a partnership to bid as high as they can given the strengths and weaknesses of the cards in their hands, without bidding to a level where it is not possible to make the contract you have bid. This means that your opponents now get bonus points instead of you and your partner.
The most important level is game and game level varies by suit, since different suits are worth different amounts in scoring. The game level for notrump is three, the game level for hearts or spades (the major suits) is four, and the game level for clubs or diamonds (the minor suits) is five.
The Levels with different levels of bonuses for Each Level Bid and Made
| Name | Points awarded |
|---|---|
| Part game in the Minor suits | 50 points; plus 20 points for every trick won (after the 6th trick won) |
| Part game in the Major suits | 50 points; plus 30 points for every trick won (after the 6th trick won) |
| Part Game in No Trumps | 60 points; plus 30 points for every trick won (after the 6th trick won) |
| Game in a Minor suit | 400 points; plus 20 points for every trick won (after the 11th trick won) |
| Game in a Major suit | 420 points; plus 30 points for every trick won (after the 10th trick won) |
| Game in No Trumps | 400 points plus 30 points for every trick won (after the 9th trick won) |
| Small Slam in a Minor suit | 920 points; plus 20 points for extra trick won (after the 12th trick) |
| Small Slam in a Major suit | 980 points; plus 30 points for extra trick won (after the 12th trick) |
| Small Slam in No Trumps | 990 points; plus 30 points for extra trick won (after the 12th trick ) |
| Grand Slam in a Minor suit | 1440 points |
| Grand Slam in a Minor suit | 1510 points; |
| Grand Slam in No Trumps | 1520 points; |
Because of the value of the game bonus, much of the bidding revolves around investigating the possibility of making game. Additional bonuses are awarded for bidding and making small slam (Level 6, i.e. 12 tricks) and grand slam (Level 7, i.e. all 13 tricks) contracts.