In order to play Bridge Baron online one person needs to
Host the game. Once it is decided
who will Host the game, then
up to 3 other people can join the game. If less than 3 people
join the game then Bridge Baron will bid and play for the
open seat(s).
The Host must establish all
of the desired settings for the Bridge Baron game session.
The Host must also check for
his or her IP address in order to give it to players who
wish to join. Players who want to Join
the game need the IP Address of the Host in order to participate
in the game session.
Online players must have the same
version of Bridge Baron in order to play together.
Question: When I select Host
Session or Join Session, I get the error "Could not
initialize DirectPlay connection."
Answer: You need to install
DirectX version 8, a Microsoft library which is a separate
program 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.
Once it has been decided that you will Host the game
session, then you need to check your IP address which
can be found at the top of the "Online Baron Connect"
window that comes up when setting up Bridge Baron for
online play.
Alternative ways of finding your IP address are:
Windows 95/98/ME
From the main screen of your computer: Click Start; Click
on Run; type "winipcfg" in the Run window; Click
OK
Windows 2000/XP
From the main screen of your computer: Click Start; Go into
Programs; Click on Command Prompt; Type "ipconfig"
in the box; Press "Enter" on your keyboard
The Command Prompt might also be found in Accessories which
is within Programs.
If you do not see Command Prompt in Programs, then check
for it in Accessories.
Give players who wish to join the game your IP address
without disconnecting from the Internet
Do not disconnect from the Internet or you will lose your
IP address and will have to start over
Start Bridge Baron
Click the "Play" button.
Click the "Play Online" button.
Click the "Host Session" button
Read the instructions about being the host. Click Yes.
Note that the IP address is at the top of this window.
For the player's name enter a name so the other players
know what your name is.
For the Service Provider select TCP/IP Connection For
DirectPlay
Enter the session name and then Click OK. ** You do not need to enter a port
number.
Wait for the other players to join the game
You will then be asked to select your seat
HOST RESPONSIBILITIES AND
ESTABLISHING THE SETTINGS<back
The Host has control over the settings of the Bridge Baron
game session, and will have to establish the game settings
for all of the players before the game begins. The Host
must do the following:
--> Set the Bidding System and all conventions for both
NS and EW.
--> Set the thinking time for the computer (difficulty
level).
--> Select the type of game: Duplicate or Rubber.
--> Select Random deals (Randomly played hands) or Numbered
Random deals (Manually entered deal numbers used for deal).
1. Set the Bidding System and
all conventions for both NS and EW<back
From the Bridge Baron main screen, click on Options
and then click on Bidding Conventions.
A new screen called Bidding will come up. There are two
tabs at the top of the Bidding screen which, when clicked,
will bring up the Bidding screen for either NS (North and
South) or for EW (East and West). NS Conventions will already
be up on the Bidding screen. You can switch to EW by clicking
on the tab labeled as EW Conventions.
First, choose which Bidding System NS will play by clicking
on the pull-down menu labeled System on the upper left hand
side of the Bidding screen. The default system for each
partnership is Standard American Five-Card Majors, abbreviated
as Std. Amer. To change the system, click on the system
you want; Two-over-One Game Force, Acol, or La Majeure Cinquièm,
or you may keep the Standard American Five-Card Majors system.
The default range for an opening 1NT bid for each partnership
is 16-18 High-Card Points, shown on the screen as 16-18.
To change the range for an opening 1NT bid, click on the
pull-down menu labeled as 1NT Range
and then click on the range you want.
The conventions being used by each partnership are shown
on the left side of the screen; the conventions not being
used by each partnership are shown on the right side of
the screen. To select a bidding convention for a partnership
to play, click on the convention, and then click on the
arrow in the middle of the screen that points to the left.
The convention will move from the right side of the screen
to the left side of the screen. Continue this process for
each convention that you want the partnership to play.
If a convention is being used by a partnership, but you
don’t want the partnership to use the convention, click
on the convention, and then click on the arrow in the middle
of the screen that points to the right. The convention will
move from the left side of the screen to the right side
of the screen. Continue this process for each convention
that you don’t want the partnership to play.
When you are done selecting the bidding conventions for
each partnership (remember to click on the NS Conventions
and EW Conventions tabs to switch partnerships), click OK.
2. Set the thinking time for
the computer: Difficulty Level <back
Setting the thinking time establishes the difficulty level
you want Bridge Baron to play when there will be open seats
(less than 4 human players) in a game session.
From the Bridge Baron main screen, click on Options
and then click on Gameplay Settings.
A new screen called Gameplay will appear. Click on the tab
labeled Game, which is on the
top left area of the Gameplay screen. Underneath where it
says Thinking Time there several times you can choose from.
Choosing Immediate thinking time will make Bridge Baron
play faster, while choosing longer time will make Bridge
Baron play better, we recommend the 30 sec settings. Click
Ok when you are done, or keep
the Gameplay screen open so you can go on to the next step,
which is selecting which Game Type you want to play.
3. Select the type of game:
Duplicate or Rubber <back
If you do not already have the Gameplay screen open, then
click on Options and then click
on Gameplay Settings. Click
on the tab labeled Game, which
is on the top left area of the Gameplay screen. Click on
which Game Type you want the bridge session to be (Duplicate
or Rubber). Click OK when you
are done, or keep the Gameplay screen open so you can go
on to the next step, which is selecting which type of deals
you want to play.
4. Select
Random deals (Randomly played hands) or Numbered Random
deals (Manually entered deal numbers).<back
If you do not already have the Gameplay screen open, then
click on Options and then click
on Gameplay Settings. Click
on the tab labeled Deal, which is next to the tab labeled
Game. On the left-hand side of the Gameplay screen there
is an area called Deal Source
with a list of deals options underneath. If you want to
play deals that are randomly dealt out, then click on Random
Deal. If you have the number of a specific deal you
want to play then click on Numbered
Random Deal. Click Ok
when you are done. If you click on Numbered Random Deal
then a box in which you can enter a deal number into will
appear before the start of a game.
This option allows the Host to enter in the deal number
of a specific deal. Bridge Baron is set by default to allow
players to enter in a deal number before playing a deal.
A screen labeled Deal Number will automatically come up
before the game starts. If this has been changed and you
want to be able to enter in a deal number, then set the
Bridge Baron to Numbered Random Deal by following these
steps:
From the main screen, click on Options
and then click on Gameplay Settings.
On the Gameplay screen that comes up, click on the tab labeled
Deal. On the left-hand side of the Gameplay screen there
is an area called Deal Source
with a list of deals options underneath. Click on Numbered
Random Deal and then click Ok.
The Deal Number screen will come up the next time you play
a deal. Enter a deal number and then click OK.
--> Practice Mode
Practice Mode allows all of the participants in a Bridge
Baron game session to see each other’s hands. To use
Practice Mode, click on Options
from the main Bridge Baron screen. Click on Gameplay
Settings and then click on the tab labeled Advanced
on the top right-hand side of the Gameplay screen. Check
the box where it says Practice Mode
on the upper right-hand side of the Gameplay screen.
Click on Ok.
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