An online bridge game requires little more than an internet connection, and a PC or smart device. At least some knowledge about high-card points, trumps, and bidding helps.

But what do you do when your smartphone malfunctions spectacularly, or disaster strikes outright?

Without a smartphone that functions smoothly, it can be pretty hard to play a good game of online bridge.

I’m sure that many bridge players out there have stories to tell about pre-game disasters that involve bridge and a smartphone.

What if you dropped your phone in the toilet? What if you’ve accidentally locked yourself out of your smartphone’s pattern before the tournament? Gods forbid, what if you misplaced your phone?

Here are some common smartphone disasters (& how to fix them fast)

Smartphones & moisture

How It Happens?

Well, there are more than a few ways to get a smartphone wet.

You might be doing dishes with the phone too close. You might include a game of online bridge as part of your bath-time routine. You might have even dropped it I the toilet – or a friend’s hot tub.

I’m not judging how it happened, I’m just pointing out that it does.

The Solution

Humidity and moisture are circuitry disasters. Switch the device off immediately, and remove the battery as well as any SIM or memory cards. Dry everything with a cloth, and then try The Rice Trick.

It involves immersing your smartphone in rice, and leaving it there for a few hours.

The theory is that the moisture is pulled out of the components over time.

Does it work?

I’ve dropped more than one smartphone in more than one weird place, and it worked then.

Smartphone lockout

How It Happens

Smartphones have some incredible built-in security measures. One of these is the ability to lock-and-unlock with a code, a pattern, or sometimes a fingerprint.

But when you forget what you set your code or pattern to be, you’re basically locked out of your device.

That’s not great for bridge, is it?

The Solution

The first solution involves getting the code wrong several times in a row. Some smartphone then display a screen that allows you to login to Google for additional device recovery options – and here, you can unlock your phone if you have access to your main accounts.

Does this work?

If the answer is yes, that’s great. Because it doesn’t work on all smartphones.

If the first technique doesn’t get you into your smartphone, you might be looking at a factory reset. This, when done, loses all the saved information on your device – but at least gets rid of the lock.

Sorry about that. Next time, don’t forget how you locked it. It’s one of the most data-costly mistakes you can make.