Bridge at Sea · Bonus Bridge
Bridge where skill matters more than the luck of the deal
Bonus Bridge is an innovative scoring system created by Mike Smith that transforms your home games, cruise ship sessions and friendly gatherings — rewarding skilful play on both sides of the table, not just the cards you were dealt.
A new dimension to bridge
Everything you love about bridge — made fairer
In traditional bridge, being dealt good cards gives an automatic scoring advantage regardless of how well you play them. Make a contract with 28 HCP? You score the same as if you’d made it with 21. Defend brilliantly against a strong hand and defeat the contract? You collect the penalty — but nothing recognises the skill of your defence.
Bonus Bridge preserves every rule of standard contract bridge while introducing a sophisticated scoring algorithm that balances the playing field.
Rewards skilful play with weaker hands
Make a contract with fewer HCP than expected for that level? You earn bonus points. The system recognises that bidding and making 4♥ with 21 HCP is more impressive than making it with 28.
Balances distribution advantage
A shapely hand with voids and singletons helps you make contracts. Bonus Bridge factors in distribution points so that a hand packed with shape is scored fairly alongside a balanced hand.
Acknowledges defensive prowess
When the hand expected more tricks than declarer made, defenders earn a reward. Holding strong cards against the contract and performing well finally gets the recognition it deserves.
Highlights individual performance
Running totals across a session produce a true ranking of who played best — not just which partnerships happened to hold the stronger cards.
How it works
Four simple steps — the app does the rest
Play bridge as normal
Bidding, play and all standard rules remain completely unchanged. No new conventions, no altered gameplay.
Enter the result
After each deal, enter the contract, declarer, tricks made and the combined HCP held by declarer and dummy.
The app calculates
The Bonus Bridge algorithm applies HCP adjustments, performance assessment, distribution factors and defender rewards automatically.
Both sides score
Declarers score for making their contract. Defenders score when they perform well against strong hands. Running totals accumulate across the session.
The scoring system
Five core principles
Example hand
4♥ by South — made exactly
South declares 4♥ and makes exactly 10 tricks. NS hold 28 combined HCP — well above the expected 24 for a major suit game. EW hold 12 HCP and defended accurately throughout.
Perfect for
Ideal for social bridge in any setting
What players say
Transforming bridge nights everywhere
“This is exactly what our bridge group needed. Now I don’t feel disadvantaged when I get poor cards — I’m actually rewarded for playing them well!”
— Margaret, 68“The player performance tracking has created friendly competition in our group. We all want to be the ‘best player’ at the end of the night!”
— Robert, 72“We used Bonus Bridge on our last cruise and it transformed our games. The detailed analytics gave us something to discuss over dinner.”
— Linda, 65Try Bonus Bridge today — it’s free
Bonus Bridge is built into the Bridge Modes Calculator app. Select Bonus Bridge mode, play a hand, enter the contract result and HCP — the app handles all the scoring instantly. Works offline on any device.