If there’s one thing everyone loves about as much as the next person, it’s getting free stuff. Whether it’s a keychain that you’re never going to use – or a mug that you use for the next twenty years, free stuff is fun to get.
Speaking of free stuff, there are plenty of downloadable, out-of-copyright or simply free e-books about bridge available on the internet.
Here are 7 great – and completely free – bridge e-books.
#1: Contract Bridge Course with Michael Furstner (PDF)
This Contract Bridge Course with Michael Furstner was one of the first books about bridge I ever added to my humble collection of e-books. It’s also still a course that I keep recommending to new bridge players who want to know both the basics and a few more advanced bridge tricks.
#2: The Rubaiyat of Bridge (Carolyn Wells)
The Rubaiyat of Bridge is a charming text that mashes together poetry and bridge in the most beautiful of ways – and the illustrations fit like a glove. Sure, this doesn’t say all that much about bridge strategy, but you’re sure to have a laugh.
#3: Wikibooks Bridge (Crowdsourced)
Wikibooks is a crowdsourced initiative that creates e-books based around a particular subject – whether you’re into learning French phrases or cards. Here’s their collected text on bridge, which expands and changes every now and then. Read it online, or download the collected text with all its chapters in PDF format. Check the sidebar to do so.
#4: Minibridge Booklet (PDF)
Minibridge was made to teach the game to others in a shorter, quicker format. (And so was Just Declare!) At this link you can find the official booklet for how to play (and how to teach) Minibridge to others – thanks to Eurobridge.org.
#5: Bidding in the 21st Century: Teacher’s Manual
Bidding in the 21st Century is a great bridge book – and one that a great deal of players started out with. If you’re using it to teach bridge to others (as opposed to using it to teach yourself!), then you might also enjoy the accompanying Teacher’s Manual that’s available for free right here.
#6: Bridge: Its Principles & Rules of Play (JB Elwell)
If you want to go really far back down memory lane when bridge and whist were still figuring out how they were different, try Bridge: Its Principles & Rules of Play by JB Elwell. Thanks to expired copyright, you can find this book and thousands of others from Project Gutenberg – online and free.