Your Basic membership

Every BBO player is a member. For free.

BBO is a bridge club without borders, built by the players who have made it what it is for more than 25 years. Your Basic membership is active the moment you have an account - there is nothing to set up, and nothing to pay.

What your Basic membership includes

• 6 deals a day, every day - in Social Bridge, at practice tables, and in free tournaments
• Unlimited Just Play Bridge, Bridge Master, and Mini Bridge
• Kibitz any table
• Join tables opened by other members
• The full BBO community - forums and chat tables

If you'd like to play more

BBO Premium gives you unlimited deals - no daily cap, no interruptions - across every game type. It's the right plan for players who play regularly.

→ Explore BBO Premium

Yes. BBO is free to play.

Every BBO player is a member, for free. Your Basic membership includes 6 deals a day in Social Bridge, at practice tables, and in free tournaments, plus unlimited Just Play Bridge, Bridge Master and Mini Bridge, kibitzing at any table, and the full BBO community.

No one loses access to BBO. If you're already here, you're already a member.

When you want to play more, or play without ads, plans like Premium and Basic No Ads are there for you. They add to your membership - they don't replace it.

The best way to play BBO is signed in, as a member - that's where tournaments, partner tables, and the community live.

• Just Play Bridge is available to play without signing in, with 4 deals a day that reset daily
• Bridge Master, Bridge 4 Hands, Just Declare and the classic card games (Spades, Solitaire, Euchre) are also available without an account

You'll find all the free games on the bridgebase.com welcome page. To get the most from BBO - tournaments, partner tables, and the community - create a free BBO account.

As a BBO Basic member, you have 6 deals a day.

Your deals reset every day.

When does a deal count?

• Joining a Social Bridge table
• Joining a free Team Match
• Playing some of the Solitaire Bridge games, such as Just Declare and Bridge 4 Hands
• Starting a free Challenge
• Playing free Star Challenges and Robot Challenges
• Playing free Daylong games
• Playing in some of the other free tournaments

When does a deal not count?

These are always free and unlimited, for every member:

• Playing Just Play Bridge, Bridge Master and Mini Bridge
• Using any of the practice tools - bidding tables, teaching tables, Bridge Master and Mini Bridge
• Playing paid games
• Buying a paid upgrade for a free game - it removes the limit on that game (a robot in a free tournament, a free Challenge upgraded to a BXP Challenge)
• Playing at Social Bridge tables while you have an active robot rental - for the length of the rental you can start and play at casual tables without limits, even when you're not using the robots at your table
• Playing as a guest, when another player invites you to a Social Bridge table, team match or free Challenge
• Playing as a substitute, when you're invited to replace a player in a tournament or team match
• Playing the free tournaments offered as samples of a paid game - such as Free Express Pairs, a free sample of BXP Express Pairs
• Kibitzing tables and watching Vugraph

What happens when you've played your 6 deals?

You'll see a message letting you know you've played your deals for the day. If you're at a table, you finish the current deal and are then taken from the table. Your deals reset the next day.

1. Come back tomorrow - your deals reset every day
2. Play with BBO Premium - for unlimited deals, any time

Joining a table

With your Basic membership you can join tables opened by other members, whenever you have deals available. Each deal you play at a Social Bridge or practice table counts toward your 6 daily deals. (Opening your own tables is part of BBO Premium.)

As you approach your last deal

When you play your last available deal, BBO lets you - and the table - know ahead of time. You finish the current deal as normal, and are then taken from the table.

Invited by the host

When a Premium host invites you specifically to their table (seat reservation), you play as that host's guest - and your deals are not counted.

If your deals run out mid-session

• Kibitz the rest of the game (watch without playing)
• Come back tomorrow, when your deals reset
• Play with BBO Premium for unlimited deals

Always free and unlimited

Just Play Bridge, Bridge Master, and Mini Bridge are free and unlimited for every member. They never count toward your daily deals.

Counts toward your 6 daily deals

Bridge 4 Hands and Just Declare use your daily deals, just like Social Bridge and the free tournaments. Bidding tables and teaching tables do not - they stay free and unlimited.

It depends on how you practice.

Bidding and teaching tables

Bidding tables and teaching tables remain free and unlimited. You can keep using them exactly as you do today, without a paid BBO membership.

Social Bridge tables with rented robots

If you rent robots, you don't need a paid BBO membership to play at Social Bridge tables (casual tables) during the rental period. An active rental gives you unlimited access to casual tables for as long as it lasts, including the ability to start tables where you're not using the robots.

Other Social Bridge practice

Other forms of free Social Bridge may use your daily allowance. Starting a casual table is a Premium feature - but the host can invite players and reserve their seats, and invited players then play as the host's guests, with no paid membership and no limits.

Another option: one player rents robots for a day and the other three play as guests. A robot rental allows tables to be started without limits for the length of the rental, and the host can invite other free members so they play without using their daily deals.

Free tournaments

Free tournaments are open to every BBO member. As a Basic member, each tournament deal counts toward your 6 daily deals.

• To register, you'll need enough deals available
• If your deals run out between registering and the tournament starting, your registration is cancelled automatically

Paid tournaments

Paid tournaments (in BB$) do not count toward your daily deals. They're open to any member with the BB$ needed for the entry.

Robot rental lets you play with robots at a Social Bridge or practice table, including as a Basic member.

• For the length of the rental, no deals are counted at Social Bridge and practice tables
• You can open tables and invite other players
• When the rental ends, your 6 daily deals apply again as usual

Ads support the free areas of BBO. You may see them while playing there - especially on mobile.

Two ways to play without ads

• BBO Premium - unlimited deals across every game type, with no ads anywhere, plus advanced robots, video chat and more - US$5.99/month your first year (€5.99, taxes included), then US$9.99/month (€9.99, taxes included)
• BBO Basic No Ads - US$3.99/month (€3.99, taxes included) - removes every ad while keeping your Basic membership and your 6 deals a day

Ads during paid games

Ads are hidden for one week each time you spend BB$ on BBO - so if you keep paying for games, you keep an ad-free experience without a paid plan. Entry fees still apply separately, and if you'd rather keep ads hidden permanently, choose a plan that includes that benefit.

Your Basic membership and BB$ are separate.

BB$ is BBO's in-game currency. As a Basic member you use BB$ for paid tournament entries and robot rentals. Neither uses your daily deals.

Basic membership is free, so it never costs BB$. If you choose a paid plan like Premium, you pay for that separately - BB$ and your plan never mix. To add more BB$, use the BBO Store as usual.

Yes, in most cases.

Joining a friend's table

You can join a Premium friend's table any time you have deals available - your deals are counted as usual.

Invited as a guest

When a Premium friend invites you specifically to their table (seat reservation), you play as their guest - and your deals are not counted for that session.

“I have a partner, take us to a table”

This feature is part of BBO Premium. A Premium member can use it to bring you along.

BBO Premium is the plan for you.

Premium gives you unlimited deals across every game type - Social Bridge, practice tables, tournaments, Bridge 4 Hands, and Just Declare - plus no ads, advanced robots, video chat, and the ability to open your own tables.

Premium is US$5.99/month for your first year (€5.99, taxes included), then US$9.99/month (€9.99, taxes included). Join on the web and get one extra month free.

If you play within your 6 deals and simply prefer a session without ads, BBO Basic No Ads - US$3.99/month (€3.99, taxes included) - keeps everything in Basic and removes every ad.

→ See the full side-by-side comparison