BRIDGE
BARON 10/BRIDGE BARON 9
1) What is an "upgrade"?
2) How do I save my Bridge Baron options?
3) How do I set Bridge Baron to a higher level of play?
4) What is bidding aggressiveness, and how do I set it?
5) How do I get Bridge Baron to use the Blackwood and Gerber conventions?
6) I have Windows NT. Can I use Bridge Baron to play online?
BRIDGE
BARON 8
1) At the beginning of each trick, one card in declarer's hand is highlighted. What does this highlight signify?
2) When I end a session with the Bridge Baron, why are the options I have selected not saved so that I don't have to reset them the next time I play?
3) If I wish to abandon a deal I am bidding or playing, how can I do so without playing the deal to the end?
4) Suppose I am playing a deal and wish to return to an earlier deal in the same session? Can I do this?
5) When I have generated a set of deals and saved them, how can I get them back at a later time?
6) When I invoke the Modem mode, CONNECT and ANSWER on the Communications Menu are grayed out and thus not activated. How do I remedy this?
7) The Baron plays too fast for me to follow that is happening from trick to trick. How can I slow it down?
ANSWERS
TO BRIDGE BARON 12 FAQ
1) When I select Host Session or Join Session for Online Play, I get the error "Could not initialize DirectPlay connection.
You need to install DirectX version 8, a Microsoft library that is included on your Bridge Baron 12 CD-Rom.
Insert the Bridge Baron 12 CD-Rom, click Start from the desktop, select Run, and run “directx8\dxsetup.exe” on your
CD-ROM drive. (For example, if D is your CD-ROM drive letter, type “D:\directx8\dxsetup.exe” in the Run window.)
Then, on the next screen, choose Reinstall DirectX. When finished, reboot your computer.
You may also acquire DirectX version 8 at Microsoft’s web site:
http://www.microsoft.com/ (At press time, the web page is:
http://www.microsoft.com/directx/homeuser/downloads/default.asp )
1) How do I learn how to use the different features in Bridge Baron?
The Bridge Baron CD comes with a booklet that will help get you started in using the program. Once Bridge Baron is installed, you can find more detailed information on how to use the different features, get suggestions for play, and read descriptions of different aspects of bridge. You can find this information in the Help file by clicking on Help located at the top of the Bridge Baron main screen.
3) Which systems of Bridge Play does Bridge Baron support?
Standard American, ACOL, 2/1, La Majeure Cinquieme
4) What game types do you offer in Bridge Baron 12?
Rubber, Duplicate, Chicago Duplicate, Chicago Rubber, and Single Deal.
5) Does Bridge Baron 12 incorporate defensive signals?
Signals used by the Baron:
Lead an honor from a sequence.
Lead low from strength.
Lead middle from weakness.
Lead highest from a doubleton.
When following, high-low at suit from a doubleton.
When following, high-low when holding strength.
When discarding for the first time, discard high to show a guarded suit, low to show an unguarded suit.
6) How do I change the game type?
Click on Options, located at the top of the main screen of Bridge Baron.
Scroll to Gameplay Settings in the drop down menu and click on it.
When the Gameplay window pops up you will be able to change the Game Type.
7) How do I change the dealer rotation?
To change the Dealer rotation click on Options from the main Bridge Baron screen and scroll to and click on Gameplay Settings.
When the Gameplay window pops up click on the Deal tab. After you have clicked on the Deal tab on the far right of the Gameplay window you will see Dealer. Click on Rotate and the Dealer for each hand will advance in a clockwise fashion.
8) How can I get a description of the Bidding Conventions?
Click on the Help menu located at the top of the main Bridge Baron screen.
Scroll to and click on Bidding Conventions.
This will display a printable synopsis of all the Conventions that Bridge Baron is capable of playing.
9) Is it possible to go back and replay a hand?
Note what deal number you are playing, which is found at the bottom of the screen in the status bar, and then enter that number into the Deal Number box that appears right before playing a hand. You can also print the Deal Information which will include the card distribution. With this information you can replay the hand by inputting the distribution as a User Entered Deal.
10) How do I play a bridge tournament?
To play a Tournament click on the Compete button on the main Bridge Baron screen.
Click on which tournament you would like to play in the window in the middle of your screen, then press OK.
Select a session by clicking on it, then press OK. Enter a name for yourself in the box that appears, and then press OK.
11) Tournament scoring.
The ACBL only records the IMPs for each table. The Bidding and Scoring
of the hands are not recorded.
12) Tournament Conventions and Bidding.
The Conventions in play during the Tournaments will be the same as those you have selected for regular Bridge Baron play. These can be changed by clicking on the Options menu on the main Bridge Baron screen then scrolling to and clicking on Bidding Conventions. Unfortunately the Bidding at ACBL Tournaments is not recorded. There is no way of knowing what the Auction was for any board. The Tournaments available on the expansion cd-roms are unique and not included in any version of Bridge Baron.
13) How do I practice Bidding Conventions?
You will need to select a convention which you would like to practice and move it from the column on the right to the "Conventions To Practice" column on the left.
To do this, click once and highlight the Convention you wish to practice then click the button between the columns with the arrow pointing to the left.
This will move the Convention to the "Conventions to Practice" column.
Once you have done this click the Generate button and a series of applicable hands will be compiled for you to practice through.
14) I have no statistics or names, and the only scoring I ever see is the last game.
To keep track of your statistics and to set Names click on the Options menu in the upper left-hand corner of the main Bridge Baron screen.
From the drop down menu that appears scroll to and click on Players.
When the Players window pops up you can assign a Name to each seat.
To track your statistics simply click in the box on the far right under the heading Keep Statistics.
As for the scoring, that would depend greatly on what type of game you are playing.
In the Tournaments and Match play scoring differs from a simple hand of Rubber or Duplicate.
For future reference the Help file available from the main Bridge Baron screen has information on all aspects of the Bridge Baron's features including how to customize the game to your preference.
15) I am unable to see the amount of tricks, vulnerability, deal number, and auction. How do I display this information?
The Status bar, located at the bottom of the Bridge Baron playing screen, displays information about the current hand. Do the following to enable the status bar:
From the main Bridge Baron screen click on Display in the upper left corner and see if there is a check mark next to Status Bar.
If no check exists simply scroll to and click on the words Status Bar.
If the Status Bar has been enabled and you still do not see this information click on the middle box of the three located in the far upper right corner of the Bridge Baron window in order to fully maximize the window. If the information is still not displayed maually re-size the Bridge Baron window and maximize its volume on your display. Changing the resolution to 1024X768 or above in the Display Properties of your machine should reveal any partial listings on the Status Bar.
Alternately you may have to change the default Font size used by Windows as the Baron will utilize this Font and its size to display the text within the Status Bar.
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ANSWERS
TO BRIDGE BARON 11 FAQ
1) How do I install "Learn to Play Bridge" from the BB11 CD in Windows?
To install the "Learn to Play Bridge" program follow these steps:
1) Place the Bridge Baron 11 CD in your computer. If the computer starts to install Bridge
Baron quit and cancel out of the install process.
2) Go to the Windows desktop and double-click on the "My Computer" icon.
3) When the "My Computer" window pops up look for the icon of your CD-ROM drive.
4) RIGHT-click on top your CD-ROM drive icon and choose "Explore" from the menu.
5) Another window will pop up showing all the things on the Bridge Baron 11 CD. Look
for "LTPB.exe" and double-click on it.
This will start the installation program for Learn to Play Bridge.
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ANSWERS
TO BRIDGE BARON 10/BRIDGE BARON 9 FAQ'S
1) What is an "upgrade"?
An upgrade is a completely new, full version of Bridge Baron available
to previous Bridge Baron owners at half price: $29.95 plus shipping
and handling. An upgrade is a freestanding program; it is completely
separate from any previous versions of Bridge Baron that you own. For
example, if you have owned a Macintosh version, but you would like to
buy the latest version for Windows 95/98/NT for yourself, that is
considered an upgrade.
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2) How do I save my Bridge Baron options?
In Bridge Baron 9 for Windows 95/98/NT, click on the "Options" menu at
the top of the screen. If there is a checkmark next to "Save Options
on Exit", your options will automatically be saved when you exit the
program. If there is no checkmark, click on "Save Options to Exit" to
put the checkmark there.
In Bridge Baron for iMac/Macintosh, your options are always
automatically saved when you exit the program.
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3) How do I set Bridge Baron to a higher level of play?
To play at a higher level, Bridge Baron needs more thinking time. The
default thinking time is "Immediate", which is the lowest level of
play.
In Bridge Baron 9 for Windows 95/98/NT, to increase the thinking time,
click on the "Options" menu at the top of the screen, and then click
on "Gameplay". In the window that comes up, click on the "Game" tab.
Now click the thinking time that you want.
In Bridge Baron for iMac/Macintosh, click on the "Options" menu at the
top of the screen, and then click on "Game Options...". Now click the
thinking time that you want.
Remember, the longer Bridge Baron thinks, the better its play!
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4) What is bidding aggressiveness, and how do I set it?
When bidding aggressiveness is set to "Aggressive" or "Very
Aggressive" for a partnership, Bridge Baron will open the bidding with
lighter hands, invite to games more frequently, bid games more
frequently, double opponents' contracts more frequently, and so forth.
When bidding aggressiveness is set to "Conservative" or "Very
Conservative" for a partnership, Bridge Baron will pass borderline
hands, stay out of borderline games, double opponents' contracts less
frequently, and so forth.
In Bridge Baron 9 for Windows 95/98/NT, to set the bidding
aggressiveness, click on the "Options" menu at the top of the screen,
and then click on "Bidding". In the window that comes up, click on
the "Aggressiveness" tab. Now click on the aggressiveness that you
want for each partnership.
In Bridge Baron for iMac/Macintosh, to set the bidding aggressiveness,
click on the "Options" menu at the top of the screen, and then click
on "Bidding Aggressiveness...". Now click on the aggressiveness that
you want for each partnership.
Bridge Baron actually bids best when the bidding aggressiveness is set
to "Average"!
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5) How do I get Bridge Baron to use the Blackwood and Gerber conventions?
Bridge Baron always uses the Blackwood and Gerber conventions. For
example, to see Bridge Baron bid Blackwood, play deal 1058; to see
Bridge Baron bid Gerber, play deal 5752.
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6) I have Windows NT. Can I use Bridge Baron to play online?
Yes. You must acquire NT4.0 service pack 5 at Microsoft's web site.
Click here for Microsoft's NT4.0 service pack 5.
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It is simply a starting point for making your card selection. It is not a recommended play. If you find it distracting, you
can turn it off by choosing HIGHLIGHT COLOR from the Options Menu and setting it to NONE. All cards will then
look the same.
This happens because you have not saved your options properly.
To save your options, you must click on SAVE OPTIONS on the Options Menu. You will then be asked to provide a
name for this options file. If you do not provide a name, this set of options will be saved as BARON.OPT and become
the default options. If you provide a name, such as "CHRIS.OPT," you can reload this set of options by clicking on
LOAD OPTIONS and selecting CHRIS.OPT. Different players can have different options saved to disk as long as they
give them distinctive file names.
Note the number of the deal you are playing and subtract one or more numbers from it. The next lower number
will be the number of the immediately preceding deal, two numbers lower will be the number of the second previous
deal, etc. Then return to the Main Menu, select BRIDGE BARON and enter the number of the deal you wish to recall.
First, choose DEAL TYPE from the Options Menu and set the Deal Source to GENERATED
DEALS. Then select BRIDGE BARON from the Main Menu. You will be shown a list of your generated-deals files, and
you make your selection from this list. Then the deals will be brought up in the sequence created.
You must set the player at the remote computer to be an "External" player on the Game Options screen, and the other player must do the same for you.
Choose GAME OPTIONS from the Options Menu and set DELAY TIME to 1, 2, or 3 seconds. Or, you can
choose INPUT OPTIONS and set PAUSE AFTER TRICK to YES.