After our successful first BBO Online trial game on Sunday, I am pleased to invite you to join one or more of another seven free trial games for members over the next two weeks (thanks to our generous Qld host, Charles Page):
- 9.30am Thu 30 Apr - Novice Pairs (<100MP) - 18 boards, 7min a board
- 9.30am Fri 1 May - Open Pairs - 24 boards, 6min a board
- 1.30pm Sun 3 May - Open Swiss Pairs - 18 boards, IMP scoring
Find a partner and put aside the time - do note that some of these trial games are targeting particular groups of our club members, and are also trialling different types of sessions - all to help us on our learning curve.
To play in these online sessions:
- Check that you have already registered your BBO username in our PBC Usernames list - and, if not or if it needs updating, register your online usernames using this form (BBO will not let you play in this trial game unless your username has been accurately registered in this way before 5pm on the night before the session)
- In the hour before the tournament starts, when you and your partner are both online on BBO, one of you needs to register you both as a pair in the "PenBC" tournament - check this 1min how-to video guide (but search in the available tournaments for "PenBC") - we expect to have plenty of places
- Make sure you and your partner are both logged onto BBO (with a cup of tea, coffee or whatever) at least five minutes before the tournament starts - when it starts you will be whisked to your table with your partner, opponents, and boards ready to play!
- Use the Chat to Table to say hello to your opponents, remember to self-alert any artificial bids and, if you need to, call the Director using the blue button with the three horizontal lines. Enjoy!
John Rogers or I will be online directors for these games and will be assisted by other volunteer club directors learning how online directing works so that they can direct some of our future online sessions.
What's comes next?
We are expecting to be able to offer regular BBO club sessions with ABF masterpointing from early May. Note these will involve table money (details to come) but will also be more under our control. The free trial games give us the opportunity to learn what works well while bridge clubhouses remain closed - please consider playing with your club friends during its online phase!
Keep safe, keep in contact with your bridge friends.
