How to Create a Team Match

Transcription

1 How to Create a Team Match The excitement of team play! There s nothing like combining the love of bridge with the fun of jousting with friends. In a two-table Team Match, you have three partners, not one a four-member team. While you are playing N/S, your teammates are playing E/W. The same boards are being played at both tables. Double the fun! Team matches involve two teams and two tables. Please note: There is no concept of a three or four-team match on BBO. A Team Match is illustrated below. Both teams are shown. The blue-highlighted players are one team and the turquoise-highlighted players are the other team. The blue-highlighted team is playing N/S at one table and E/W at the other table. The host is odda1. The scoring is IMPs. Undos are allowed. The tables will play 10 boards. And they are playing just for fun! On a more formal basis, the BIL hosts BIL Ladder matches. Teams are allowed 4 to 12 members; however, only 4 members of the team can play at any one match. Lower-ranking teams challenge higher-ranking teams. All the teammates on the BIL Ladder teams may kibitz during a match to watch the excitement of the play! See BIL Ladder under the Tournaments diamond symbol in the BIL Library. Grab your bridge friends and form a BIL Ladder Team! Page 1 of 7

2 On the other hand, should you find yourself and some friends on BBO and can pull together eight players, it is great fun to create an informal team match. Here s how to do it. Identify eight players for the match and find out with whom they wish to partner (or you may assign partnerships). From the BBO Main Lobby, Click to Play or Watch Bridge! BBO Main Lobby Click to Play or Watch Bridge! When the Play Bridge! window comes up, click Team Matches. Play Bridge! Click Team Matches. Page 2 of 7

3 You will see the team matches that are being played as well as matches listed that have been completed. Click Create Team Match at the bottom of the window. Team Matches Window To create a Team Match, click Create Team Match at the bottom of the window. Now we are on our way! The following window will come up, requesting the necessary information to create a new team match. Information Window to create a new team match. Page 3 of 7

4 Please complete the following information to create your team match. How to Create a Team Match 1. Type the name of match in the box provided, such as Tina s Friends or A Hard Day s Night. Use your imagination! 2. Describe the match, such as Just for Fun or We Love to Play Bridge. surely you can come up with something more original! 3. Type in the BBO user name of the match director. Usually it will be you! 4. The standard number of boards to play in an informal match is 8 but you may select more boards or fewer boards figure about 10 to 12 minutes per board and consider the amount of time your players have available to play in the match. Create Team Match Information Window Scoring Box Number of Boards Kibitzers Box Barometer 5. In the Scoring box, you may select IMPs (see Tournament Scoring), Board-A- Match (BAM), or Total Points. Most matches are based on IMPs but, when you want to focus on the scores of individual players, you may want to select Total Points. BAM is another means to score team matches, similar to MPs. BBO software automatically scores the match and posts the scores at the end of the match. 6. When you check barometer, you will be able to see how the points are racking up as you play in the match a good feature to keep you on your bidding and playing toes that also adds another exciting element to the game. Page 4 of 7

5 7. In the Kibitzers box, you may check 1) Allow kibitzers, 2) allow them but do not allow them to chat to the players (Allow silent), or you may check 3) Do not allow. 8. Below the Kibitzers box, you may check Allow Undos and Kibitz partner when dummy. Kibitz partner when dummy means a player may see his or her partner s hand when partner is declarer. Example of a Create Team Match Window Team 1 Box Allow Undos Team 2 Box Kibitz partner when dummy Click Create Match as the final step. 9. On the right side of the Create Team Match window are boxes for Team 1 and Team 2. Please type the name of each team in the Team name boxes. In this example above, the Stooges will play against the Dream Team. 10. Enter the four BBO user names of Team 1 in the Team 1 box, with partners facing partners. Please do the same with Team 2. Team 1 (Stooges): Curly + Moe = partners; Larry + Sandy = partners. Team 2 (Dream Team): Jacoby + Goren = partners; Garozzo + Forquet = partners. When the match starts, BBO software will automatically switch the E/W partners and color-code their names the same color as their teammates. Refer to the illustration on page 1 of these directions to view how BBO software will position the players. Page 5 of 7

6 The important thing to remember is to enter the BBO user names of one fourmember team in one Team box. Do not place the players who are competing against one another in the same Team box. BBO will do the positioning for you. 11. Now you may click Create Match. When you click Create Match, BBO software will identify the match; give it a number; and send out the invitations. It s always wise to confirm before you start setting up a match that each player will participate. DO NOT CLOSE the Create Team Match window at any point - leaving it open makes it quick and simple to replace players who decline. 12. You will be notified as each player accepts. Again, DO NOT CLOSE THE WINDOW OR LEAVE THE AREA. If you do and there happens to be a problem, rather than just fixing the problem, you will have to start all over again. When all the players have accepted, everyone including you, if you are playing will be taken to the tables and the window will close itself. If you are not playing, just go to the tables identified by your match number and description. When the match is complete, the final score will be posted. Ah the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat! Congratulate your opponents and your partners on a game well played. A frequent problem encountered is a notice that one or more of the players is not online. This usually happens when you have misspelled a BBO user name, have a space missing, etc. Very troublesome is typing an I (capital i) instead of a 1 (the number one) and vice versa. Just double-click on the incorrect name in the Create Team Match window, delete it, and then type it correctly. Now, click again on Create Match. If one of the players in your match is invisible, the BBO software will tell you they are not online BBO knows they are online but won't blow their cover. The player will have to log off and log on again as visible. Please remember, every time you click Create Match, BBO software only gives you two minutes to get it right; then, you have to start over. If a player has gone for coffee and the invitation gets timed out but you KNOW the player will be back immediately mutter under your breath, rewrite the name, and click create match again. Invitations to the players are sent again whenever you click create match. Page 6 of 7

7 See Tournament Movie Reviews and Travelers on how to review the bidding and board play. How to bid the correct contract, what was the best opening lead, how declarer could have set up a suit are all questions important to improving your game. One-on-one help with Creating a Team Match is available from our BIL Friends who generously volunteer their time. Please contact PeterB at BILFRIEND1@yahoo.com. Good Bridging! Page 7 of 7