Contract bridge, usually known simply as bridge, is a trick-taking card game
using a standard deck of 52 playing cards played by four players in two
competing partnerships with partners sitting opposite each other around a
small table. For purposes of scoring and reference, each player is
identified by one of the points of the compass and thus North and South play
against East and West. The game consists of several deals each progressing
through four phases: dealing the cards, the auction (also referred to as
bidding), playing the hand, and scoring the results. Dealing the cards and
scoring the results are procedural activities while the auction and playing
the hand are the two actively competitive phases of the game.