There’s a lot of things players can do in online bridge to gain an advantage from studying conventions through to trying bridge puzzles – but the only thing you can really do to get better at anything is more practice.

I was recently reminded of a great little PC game called Saints & Sinners Bowling. 

It’s a bowling simulator, but one where players have an unfair advantage called Charms to deploy in the game.

These “charms” can either improve your play – or make your opponent’s play worse.

It’s not a serious bowling simulator, but it was also never meant to be. That’s what made it kind of fun. At the very least, I’ve always enjoyed this game for its ingenuity.

In-game charms included a jet-propelled bowling ball as well as an enlarger that means you can’t miss a perfect shot. With these, you could also throw an opponent’s aim horribly off with the use of a few other charms.

Don’t you think this would have been a terrible feature for online bridge? 

The feature is charming in a bowling simulation, but “render your opponent temporarily blind” or “whirlwind in the bridge room” would have been terrible features that turned bridge into a game of Jumanji.