Like so many other things having to do with cards, the game of bridge has an ancient history. It belongs to the “whist family” of games.

In the whist type of game there are always four players; two against two as partners. A full 52-card pack is dealt out evenly so that each player holds 13 cards. The object of play is to win tricks, each trick consisting of one card played by each player.

It is generally believed that whist originated in England. There has been a whole line of “whist-family” games, starting with Triumph, Trump, Ruff and Honors (or Slam), Whisk (or Whist) and Swabbers, Whist, Bridge, Auction Bridge—and finally, Contract Bridge. The earliest of these games were mentioned in English books more than 400 years ago!

Whist itself was originally a game of the lower classes. In the early eighteenth century it was taken up by the gentlemen in London’s coffeehouses. In 1742 Edmond Hoyle published his “Short Treatise on Whist,” and after this it became very popular, spreading throughout Europe and America.

How whist became the game of bridge is not very certain. According to some people, bridge originated in Russia. They say the very name “bridge” comes from the Russian word biritch, meaning Russian Whist. Some people claim bridge originated in Denmark.

Another theory is that it originated in Turkey, and is connected with a pastime called khedive, which was enjoyed in Turkey and Egypt. It seems that Turkey was one of the first countries in which the game of bridge became very popular. The name “bridge” may come from the Turkish word “Bir-uch,” meaning “one-three.”

From about 1907 until 1930, Auction Bridge was so popular that at least 15,000,000 people played it all over the world. Today, Contract Bridge, which took its place, is even more popular!