Q-plus Bridge: Version 7.8
The following text contains a list of features of Q-plus Bridge 7.8, released in September 2004.
The total development time (since its start in 1990) is now approximately
12.000 hours.
User Interface in General
- The Windows user interface is easy to handle, even for users with little
experience with PCs.
The careful display of cards and hidden cards, the suit and
hand arrangements create a homely feeling for a bridge player.
- Context sensitive help texts are available with all screens.
- The product is shipped in a box with a printed manual.
Dealing & Deal Management
- A practically unlimited number of program dealt hands are available.
These deals can be identified by a unique deal number.
- Own hands can be entered; they can be managed (saved and restored)
within the program.
- Hands can be pretty-printed and exported to
an HTML format which includes the graphical
representation of the cards. Such hands in HTML format can be,
for example, loaded into
an editor, or used for web sites.
- Deals can be taken from deal files, both from self created files and
from shipped deals
from tournaments.
- It is possible to enter remarks to the hands.
- The PBN-format (public bridge notation) is supported, both for importing and
for exporting deals, making an exchange with deals from other
sources easy.
- A deal filter can be used to select only interesting hands (e.g. strong
South hands).
Bidding
- Many bidding systems are shipped, which can be defined and modified using
more
than 150 treatments and conventions, which is done via an integrated
convention editor.
- Help features during bidding:
- Explanation and evaluation of the meaning of done bids.
- Bidding list: Displays the meaning of the possible bids in
a given situation.
- Bidding warning: Warns the user if he is about to make a bid
which is probably very wrong.
- Bidding hint: Shows the bid which the program would select.
Playing
- Several playing strengths levels are available, for optimal use
of the PC
where Q-plus Bridge runs.
- Choices between several popular lead and signalling conventions are
possible
- Help features during playing:
- Display of the estimated probabilities of hidden cards.
- Play warning: Warns the user if he is about to play a probably
very weak card.
- Playing hint: Shows the card which the program would select.
- The program does normally not cheat (i.e. does not look into the cards
of the other players),
but can be instructed to do so.
Scoring and Analyzing
- After a deal has been played...
- its play can be reviewed trick by trick
- it can be repeated by the program to compare its behaviour
against that of the user.
The repetition can cover both bidding
and playing, or only playing.
- Scoring can be done either according the Rubber method, or IMPs, or
Matchpoints.
- A comparison of the own score is possible, see below.
- Scoring results can be saved and restored for a later continuation.
Comparison Funtions
-
Comparison against the Closed Room
The deals that you play are at the same time also played in the Closed Room, which consists of four computer players.
-
Comparison against Pairs Tournament Results
You are playing hands that have already been played in a Pairs Tournament. So having played a hand, your score will be compared with the results previously recorded and thus you can get an immediate matchpoint score.
-
Comparison against Team Tournament Deals
This is similar to the closed room - the difference is that the second result is taken from a selected tournament file.
These possibilities for a comparison make the game more exciting and also
provide more information as you get a better feedback about your own performance.
Version 7.8 contains about 2000 Pairs and about 2500 Team tournament deals.
Further Features
- Bids and played cards can be undone. The play can be completed by the
program, if desired.
The play may also be finished via a claim, the claim can be
checked.
- A tournament mode is available, where the program knows only one hand.
- The CD contains Q-plus Bridge in three languages (English, French,
German),
which the user can switch.
- Q-plus Bridge can be played by two persons over a TCP/IP net
(also over Internet) or directly over a modem.
System requirements
- PC with a Pentium (or equivalent) processor.
- Operating system Windows 98,Me, 2000,XP.
- A CD drive is necessary for the installation.
Improvements of version 7.8 against version 7.5
- Display functions:
- support of higher screen resolutions (1280x960),
- stop mark during the bidding.
- Further deal data:
There are 800 extra team tournament deals
(from recent top level tournaments like the European Team
championship) and 400 extra pair tournament deals;
so in total there are now 2000 pair tournament deals
and about 2500 team tournament deals.
- Improved playing strength:
Mainly the play of the cards; the improvement works
for all playing strength levels, i.e. does not come
from a deeper, more time consuming analyses.
There are also some improvements for the bidding,
e.g. the handling of a penalty double,
but no new bidding options.
In Imps, the improvement is almost 50 Imps
per 100 deals.
- Option for retrieving deals with the lead
(with versions before, deals can be used with bids
or with the whole play, but not with the lead only).
- Extra menu for handling own deals
(with the three items: Enter / Store / Retrieve;
these are no new functions, but often users
have difficulties to find them).
- Several smaller corrections and additions,
- a function "previous deal"
- more options for the "variations" dialog
- the continuation of the next session with the same major
deal number is now an option, which is as default off.