Petit Bridge
A simple, playful and powerful introduction to bridge
👶 Ages 6-9
Petit Bridge is an educational game created and owned by the French Bridge Federation. The FFB allows its broad international use to support the worldwide development of Bridge, under the usage conditions described on the Materials page.
Petit Bridge uses a reduced 40-card deck to introduce children aged 6 to 9 to the essential foundations of bridge. At the same time, it provides mathematics teachers with a highly effective pedagogical tool, already widely used in several countries.
The cards were designed specifically for young learners, with fun illustrations that make suit recognition immediate:
Clothing
Means
of
transport
Fruits
and
vegetables
Animals
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How Petit Bridge Works
The rules are extremely simple:
Each player receives 10 cards, numbered 1 to 10 in each of the four colours.
The player to the dealer’s left makes the opening lead.
Players must follow the colour led if they can.
The trick is won by the highest card of that colour.
As in bridge, the declarer’s partner becomes the dummy, placing their cards face up so that children can reason using two visible hands.
With just a few rules, children encounter classification, comparison, constraint hierarchy, anticipation and teamwork.
2
Petit Bridge in schools
Petit Bridge is widely used in schools as a structured learning tool.
Research on strategic games highlights their positive impact on attention, autonomy, error management, motivation and metacognitive development.
Cognitive benefits
improved concentration,
sequential and conditional reasoning (“if… then…”),
deduction and anticipation,
spatial awareness and comparison,
multi-criteria decision-making.
Mathematical benefits
Based on the didactic analysis of Petit Bridge:
comparing and ordering numbers,
identifying numerical sequences,
reasoning under constraints,
modelling problem situations,
developing simple strategies (master cards, establishing a long suit, sequences).
Language and Social development
Based on the didactic analysis of Petit Bridge:
explaining and justifying choices,
discussing strategies in pairs or small groups,
respecting rules and turn-taking,
managing emotions, frustration and cooperation.
Petit Bridge naturally guides children from playing to analysing, then to formalising rules – a progression that aligns perfectly with active learning and contemporary approaches to neuroeducation.
3
Petit Bridge at home
Petit Bridge is also ideal for family play. Games are short, simple and dynamic, making it easy to play at any time.
Adults can gradually introduce the notions that will later lead to bridge, without ever forcing the learning process.
Children develop observation, reasoning, cooperation and anticipation, all within a playful and supportive environment.
It is a gentle and enjoyable way to transmit the values of mind sports: patience, reflection, teamwork and the pleasure of playing together.
4
Petit Bridge online
To help teachers, facilitators and families practise easily, the WBF provides a dedicated page with:
- a video tutorial explaining how to create your own deal, playable against three artificial intelligences on our partner site www.bridge-training.com,
- a list of ready-to-play deals, designed for children and suitable for use at school or at home.
5
The educational effectiveness of Petit Bridge
Petit Bridge is supported by more than ten years of classroom experimentation and by numerous studies in cognition, mathematics education and game-based pedagogy.
The “Effectiveness” page aims to progressively gather all scientific results related to Petit Bridge. It will notably include the conclusions of the Erasmus+ project, whose full results are expected in 2026.
6
Materials, usage conditions and collaboration
All information about the usage conditions of Petit Bridge, the available materials (to download or order), and the ways in which NBOs can actively contribute to the project is gathered on the “Materials” page.
Since the FFB created Petit Bridge and authorizes its international dissemination, the development of the programme relies on a collaborative dynamic, particularly regarding the translation and adaptation of the materials.
7
Institutional partnerships and educational projects
Petit Bridge is already present in hundreds of schools and continues to expand across many countries. It can become a genuine lever for a national federation wishing to establish a partnership with its Ministry of Education or with other public institutions.
The Institutional page gathers concrete examples of successful initiatives, agreements established in different countries, and ready-to-use arguments for engaging in a partnership with educational authorities.
It also provides practical advice for structuring a dialogue with public institutions and presenting Petit Bridge as a simple, effective and accessible educational tool.