5-Table Movements

🃏 5-Table Movements — 9 or 10 Pairs

Table Movement Cards for 5-table duplicate bridge sessions. A proper club-standard tournament for 10 pairs, or 9 with a sit-out rotation.

Ten pairs (20 players) — you have a real tournament on your hands! Five tables is where cruise bridge transforms from an informal game into a genuine competitive event. You’ll find groups this size on longer voyages and cruises with hosted bridge programmes — and with the right movement cards and a tournament director, you can run a slick professional session that rivals anything at your local club.

At this size it really pays to have someone acting as tournament director — handing out boards, collecting traveler sheets and keeping an eye on pace. The Bridge Modes Calculator app handles all the scoring automatically, so the director can focus on running the session smoothly rather than doing arithmetic.

18 Boards — Standard Session (~2.5 hours)

9 rounds of 2 boards • 10 pairs, full Howell movement

The standard 5-table session — nine rounds of two boards each. Every pair plays every other pair exactly once, making for a completely fair competition. At about two and a half hours this fits neatly into a sea day afternoon.

📄 5-Table Howell • 18 boards • ~2.5 hours 129 KB Download PDF
💡 Tip: At 10 pairs you’ll want a dedicated tournament director. Use the Bridge Modes Calculator to handle all the scoring — just enter each traveler sheet result and it calculates matchpoints and rankings automatically.

27 Boards — Full Session (~3.5 hours)

9 rounds of 3 boards • 10 pairs, full Howell movement

The full 5-table experience — 27 boards over nine rounds. This is a serious afternoon of bridge, comparable to a full club session. Ideal for a long Atlantic crossing where the bridge group meets daily and wants a proper game.

📄 5-Table Howell • 27 boards • ~3.5 hours • Full session 129 KB Download PDF
Only 9 pairs? The 4.5-table sit-out movement is your answer. One pair sits out each round on a fair rotation — they can watch, keep score, or just take a break. Everyone still competes in the final rankings based on the boards they played.

18 Boards — 9 Pairs with Sit-Out (~2.5 hours)

9 rounds • One pair sits out each round • Fair rotation

Nine pairs across five tables with one sit-out per round. The sit-out pair rotates fairly so everyone plays the same number of boards. A well-organised session at this size feels very professional.

📄 4.5-Table Howell • 18 boards • ~2.5 hours • 1 sit-out 116 KB Download PDF

27 Boards — 9 Pairs with Sit-Out (~3.5 hours)

9 rounds • One pair sits out each round • Full session

The full-length version for nine pairs. Each pair plays 24 boards — a rich, competitive result with plenty of bridge played.

📄 4.5-Table Howell • 27 boards • ~3.5 hours • 1 sit-out 116 KB Download PDF
⏳ 6+ Tables (Mitchell Movements) — Movement cards for 6, 7 and 8 tables coming soon
📂 Other Movement Pages 2-Table (4 pairs) 3-Table (6 pairs) 4-Table (8 pairs) DIY Bridge Boards Guide
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