Chess vs. Bridge: Which Game to Choose?

Games are of course a whole lot of fun for the whole family and for your friends, but with that being said, we aren’t talking about video games here. We prefer old-school games, and this means either card games or board games, as well as dice games to a certain degree.

Now, two of the most popular games out there are chess and bridge. Chess and bridge are two extremely different games, and today we are here to figure out what exactly the differences between them are, so you can make an informed choice between the two.

Chess and Bridge: The Basics

Before we start talking about the similarities and differences between chess and bridge, let’s first figure out what both of these games are.

What Is Chess?

Chess is an extremely popular board game and has been around for at least 1,500 years. This is a board game that is played on a grid-shaped board that features 64 squares of alternating colors that are arranged in an eight-by-eight manner. Chess is strictly a two-player game where one player faces the other.

Both players get a total of 16 different playing pieces, and these are divided into six different types. All six types of pieces on the chessboard can move in varying ways.

The game of chess is designed to mimic a battle or war-like scenario and was first designed to help generals and military strategists improve their tactics. The main point of chess is to capture your opponent’s king via checkmate. The winner of chess is the person who manages to checkmate the king of the opponent.

What Is Bridge?

Unlike chess which is a board game, bridge is actually a card game, which is of course a major difference.  Bridge is known as a trick-taking card game. Bridge is actually a four-player game that involves two teams of two people. This is divided into North, South, East, and West. North and South work together and East and West work together.

Each of the four players receives a total of 13 cards at the beginning of the game, and these go into your hands. These cards should be sorted into suits including spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs. The game is then divided into two phases, which are the bidding phase and the play phase. The first phase involves the partners using the bidding to determine which player will be the declarer, and how many tricks that they will use to win with the chosen trump suit.

The second part of the game sees both of the partnerships working to win as many of the tricks as possible (highest card or highest trump card wins the trick). The point of bridge is to win tricks, and the first team to get to 100 points is declared the winner. If you are confused, the trick is simply the name for each round of play.

Similarities of Chess and Bridge

Now that we know what both bridge and chess are, let’s figure out what makes them similar. These are two very different games, so there aren’t many similarities at all.

1. Both Involve Strategy

One of the main similarities that both the games of bridge and chess share is that they involve a good deal of strategy. Now, because bridge is a card game, it does also involve a certain element of luck, and because you are working in teams, it does also involve teamwork. With that being said, it’s still a very strategic game. Chess is of course pure strategy, but the bottom line is that both games require a good deal of strategic thought.

2. Both Can Be Quite Difficult

The other main similarity between these two games is that they can both be quite difficult. People usually say that chess is much harder to learn than bridge, but the bidding language in bridge can take a long time to master. At the end of the day, both games are fairly difficult, and they’re not overly child-friendly.

Differences Between Chess and Bridge

As you can see from above, chess and bridge really don’t share many similarities at all. Keeping that in mind, let’s figure out what the differences between them are.

1. Card vs. Board Game

OK, so the most basic difference between bridge and chess is of course the fact that chess is solely a board game whereas bridge is a card game. As you can probably assume, this is the main difference that more or less leads to all of the other differences. It’s more or less impossible for these two games to be similar.

2. Number of Players and Teamwork

Another basic difference that these games have is that chess is of course strictly a two-player game, whereas bridge is a four-player game. Therefore, bridge is the much better game to play when you are in a group of people, whereas chess is best played when you only have one other person to contend with.

On that same note, another major difference here is that in chess, you are the only one making decisions and you are the only one that you have to rely on to win. However, because bridge features teamwork, it means that you also have to communicate with your partner and you have to rely on them to win the game. Bridge is not the best game to play if you are not a team player.

3. Themes

The game of chess is based on war and strategy and was of course first designed to help military personnel increase their strategic knowledge. Bridge on the other hand is just about laying down the highest card, higher than any of the opponents, and is about making the most points. One game is about killing the king, the other is about amassing points.

4. Winning a Game

The game of bridge is won when one of the teams gets to 100 points. Chess is won when you force your opponent’s king to be in a position of checkmate.

5. Chess Is More Strategic

The bottom line here is that chess is technically a much harder game because it relies solely on your own strategy for you to win. While Bridge does of course involve some strategy, especially when it comes to choosing your trump cards and which cards to play during which turns, the fact of the matter is that it also has an element of luck because you have to draw 13 cards, and moreover it also features an element of teamwork because people play in teams of two.

Chess vs. Bridge: Which Game to Choose?

The biggest difference that you need to pay attention to is the fact that chess is a two-player game and bridge is a four-player game. However, you do also need to keep in mind that chess is a bit more difficult to play and most people would say that although it is a great game, it’s not quite as fun or exhilarating as a bridge.

Summary

When all is said and done, both bridge and chess are fantastic games to play, but they are of course extremely different from each other.