This web site demonstrates the features of BridgePal wireless scoring system.

For more details on BridgePal  go to www.bridgepal.co.uk

• Originally BridgePal was developed to work with BridgeScore scoring program, but it can now be used with many other scoring programs as well, e.g. EBUScore, ClubScore, Scorebridge, JS Pairscorer, ACBLScore, Compass, Bridge Gem, Bridge Scorer.


• In contrast to other smartphone or tablet based solutions, there are no software purchasing, licensing, or usage charges of any kind.


• Scoring units are automatically configured with the network address of the scoring PC


• At the start of the session, the table number and NBO numbers or club-assigned player numbers are input into the scoring unit


• Validation checks can be applied to contract entry on the scoring unit if hand records are available for the session


• After each board has been played the scoring unit displays a traveller showing the results so far for this board


• At the end of the round the scoring unit directs NS and EW pairs to the appropriate table, and shows the board numbers to be played at the current table


• Hand entry on the scoring unit is supported if boards are shuffled at the table rather than predealt, with automatic calculation of makeable contracts on the scoring unit. The consolidated set of hands from all scoring units is saved in a PBN file which is updated as each hand is recorded and is therefore available to support all the hand record related features when the boards are played at other tables.
   
• It provides a method of recording the bidding of a hand and storing it in the wireless database for subsequent publishing on BridgeWebs - see here for more details


• If BridgeDealer app is installed it allows manual dealing of preset hands created by a random deal generator or downloaded from a website. It also allows reading of hand shuffled hands for later display. It uses the phone or tablet's front camera to recognise the suit and value of each playing card in a deck. It directs the user whether to place the card in the N,S,W,or E hand. see Youtube video


• Hands and makeable contracts can be viewed on the scoring unit after the boards have been played at the table


• Optimum score and contracts can be calculated on units if Bridge Solver app is installed on the scoring unit


• After a board is played at the table it may be played again in double dummy mode, with card by card guidance, on the scoring unit. Again, this needs Bridge Solver app installed on the scoring unit


• BridgePal has excellent recovery facilities. If a scoring unit battery runs down during a session it is straightforward to replace it with another unit. The session continues from the point at which the original scoring unit failed. Similarly, if the scoring PC or wireless router is rebooted the BridgePal app on each scoring unit will continue from the correct point in the session when the network connection to the PC is restored.


• At the end of the session, a ranking table is displayed on the scoring unit and scorecards can be shown. If some tables are still playing a Refresh button allows the ranking table to be updated on the scoring unit to reflect new scores


• The latest feature Event Tracker in the Player Functions menu enables any player at a table to use their own phone or tablet to track their progress in the current Pairs or Swiss Pairs event if they install the BridgePal app. The function is accessed via the Event Tracker button in the Player Functions menu on the BridgePal app. The Event Tracker display has 3 tabs - Guide Card, Scorecard, and Ranking. The display associated with the current active tab is automatically updated periodically.

Copied from BridgePal Forum:-

"Player IDs and Names entered on BridgePal tablets are now recorded in the file C:/BridgePal/xlogs/names.txt and contracts/results are recorded in C:/BridgePal/xlogs/scores.txt. These files would not normally be required but would assist in manually re-scoring an event in the case of a failure or misoperation that causes the loss of the event data."

So - if something catastrophic happens - like an operator accidentally deletes the event from the scoring program (it did happen to somebody!!), you can continue scoring manually - enter scores on paper travellers or even scorecards and later score the whole event manually using the scoring program, combining the scores from the file scores.txt (before the failure) and your paper travellers / scorecards (after the failure).