Numbridge — Rules

Blitz

Blitz is the same Bridge on a smaller field: the goal, connection by neighbours, the pie rule and the impossibility of a positional draw are all exactly the same. The general structure of the game is in the basics. There are only a few differences, but Blitz plays noticeably differently.

A 6×6 field

The side of the rhombus is six cells and the digits run from 1 to 6. A block here is not nine cells as on a 9×9 field but six: two rows by three columns. There are six blocks, and they divide the field exactly, as on the big field.

The sudoku rule does not change: in every row, every column and every block the digits 1 to 6 appear once each.

A smaller field means shorter deductions. A digit can often be worked out for certain, and guesses are needed less often than on a 9×9 field.

Fewer givens

There are usually about ten cells open from the start — in the club rooms from 7 to 12, 10 by default. They are few, so every given is in plain sight and every one of them is valuable.

Claiming costs more

The price of a claim is a room setting rather than a property of the variant, but in blitz rooms it is raised to two: claiming a given costs two tiles rather than one, and your hand is not refilled afterwards — you play the next turn with what is left, and new tiles arrive only at the end of that turn. A claim here is a real sacrifice: you give up two thirds of your hand and begin the next turn with almost nothing.

You pick only the first tile — the game takes the second one from your hand itself, so you cannot choose exactly what to pay with.

The price of two is meant literally: with a single tile in hand you cannot claim at all, there is no paying half. But if you have no tiles left whatsoever, claiming is free — a concession so that the game does not stall once the bag has run dry.

Fast

Blitz rooms use short limits: usually 30 seconds per move and 5 minutes per game. A game runs about two dozen moves, which means five to ten minutes in all.

Miss the move deadline and the turn burns, just as after a mistake. On a small field that is expensive: there are few cells, and every lost turn is a cell that goes to your opponent.

Usual room settings

• a 6×6 field, digits 1–6, blocks of 2×3;
• from 7 to 12 givens, 10 by default;
• claiming a given costs two tiles, with no refill (the price is set by the room);
• blocks regular or irregular — your choice in the seek;
• candidate highlighting allowed;
• 30 seconds per move, 5 minutes per game.