Joining Bridgebase (BBO)
This is free and relatively straightforward.
1) In the address panel at the top of your web browser, enter www.bridgebase.com OR
if you are one of those people who insist on doing everything through Google, just
enter bridgebase in the Google search window and click on “Bridge Base Online –
Play Bridge Online”
2) In either case, you will end up looking at a window containing a picture of three
rather unlikely looking bridge players! At the top right of that window is a red button
labelled Login/Register. Click it. If you get a privacy notice, accept it.
3) You will now be looking at a screen headed “Bridge Base Online”. Below the heading
is a place to enter a username and password, below that is a big red button labelled
Login and below that again, a big blue button labelled “Become a Member (Free!)”.
Click the blue button.
4) You are now brought to the application form window. At the top are four fields
which you MUST fill in. These are User Name, Password, Confirm Password and Email
address. Notice that there is a label to the right of each that says “Required” in
red letters.
5) Enter whatever Username you have decided upon. It can be a maximum of 10
characters long. This is the name by which you will be known on BBO, so pick
something you won’t subsequently be ashamed of! Type it in. If the username you
have chosen is available, the required label changes colour from red to blue and the
label itself changes to read “Available”. If the name is unavailable, the label still
changes colour to blue but reads “Unavailable”. Note that the Username is not case sensitive.
6) Now enter whatever password you have dreamed up and enter it again in the
confirm password field. This again can contain a maximum of 10 letters but unlike
the username, this one is case-sensitive.
7) Next, enter your email address.
8) You have now entered all the mandatory fields. There are a few more that you may
wish to attend to. If you choose not to, that’s OK and you can always change them
from within your account at a later date if you wish:
a. You might want to enter your real name, but you don’t have to.
b. ACBL number is irrelevant in CBAI land; leave it blank.
c. If you wish, you can enter free text under “other”. You might want to enter a
brief description of your system here, but that’s entirely up to you.
d. Skill level defaults to Private. You can change it if you wish.
e. Country defaults to Other. Change this to Ireland if you wish.
9) The last thing you have to do is tick the box agreeing to the terms of service. Then
click the “Register” button.
10) If all has gone well, you will get a message on your screen telling you that BBO has
sent you a confirmatory e-mail. Open your mail and click the script in the body of the
message you got from BBO to activate your account. You will then get a “Welcome
to BBO” e-mail. Note that you don’t have to open the e-mail on the same device you
are using to access BBO but you can, of course, do so if you wish.
PTO
That’s it – you’re good to go! Note that the above instructions are designed to be used if
you are running the web-based version of BBO i.e. you are logging into BBO using a web
browser running on a computer or on a tablet. There is a BBO app for iPhones, iPads,
Android phones and Android Tablets. The procedure is essentially the same except you
obviously have to download the app from Apple or Google first. Note however, that the app
lacks some of the features of the full-blown web version so, other things being equal, you’re
better off using the Web version, even if you are running it on a tablet. The app is a lot
handier though, if you are running BBO on a smart phone.
One final thing, none of this will work for you if you are not connected to the BBO website.
You obviously need a stable internet connection at your end. However, in the last few
weeks, BBO has being experiencing a dramatic increase in traffic because of the lock downs
in various countries. It is currently common to see in excess of 50,000 people on the site at
peak times. Their site frequently becomes overloaded in the evenings and it can be
extremely difficult to get on then, even to register. If it’s full when you try to get in, you will
get a message telling you that either you have a problem with your internet connection or
that the site is full. If you are experiencing difficulties, try logging on in the early afternoon.
Aidan Synnott.
30/4/2020.
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