Bridge Base Online
bridge game service
Bridge Base Online (BBO) is the world's largest bridge-playing online platform, with about 11.6 million monthly visits as of September 2024.
History
In 1990, Bridge Base was founded by Fred Gitelman and Sheri Winestock and released BASE II, an analytical tool for serious bridge players that ran on MS-DOS. In 1992, teaching software titled Bridge Master, was released for MS-DOS. In 1998, Bridge Master for Windows was released. Also in 1998, an online bridge offering in Microsoft Gaming Zone, later MSN Games, was supplied by Bridge Base.
Created by professional bridge player Fred Gitelman, BBO was first available from Bridge Base in 2001 as a Windows downloadable software offering free online multiplayer bridge rooms for practice and play. Around 2008, BBO was ported to a web application to also support Linux and macOS users, as well as mobile devices.
In 2018, Bridge Base Online was inducted into the American Contract Bridge League's Hall of Fame for its long-term commitment to bridge. As of February 2022, BBO was the only organization ever inducted by the Hall of Fame.
As of August 19th 2026, Bridge Base Online has separated its membership into three tiers: Basic, Basic No Ads, and Premium. Free and No-Ads tiers are limited to playing six boards a day, while Premium members are not limited.
Main features
In addition to bridge rooms for casual play and teaching, BBO hosts many types of duplicate bridge tournaments, including events sanctioned by official bridge organizations such as the American Contract Bridge League or the English Bridge Union, which award official masterpoints to players.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Bridge Base Online” as bridge game service. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as bridge game service. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4176364. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2024, 1990, 1992 and 1998.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Bridge Base Online”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Bridge Base Online primary sources, Bridge Base Online archive and Bridge research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Bridge Base Online”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Bridge Base Online” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.