The Dunedin institution is marking nine decades of play with a three-day festival of tournaments and socialising.
Otago Bridge Club vice-president Eunan Cleary said the game remained as popular and challenging as ever.
Bridge is a strategic trick-taking card game played by four people in competing pairs who bid on how many rounds they believe they can win and then work together to reach that target.
It was a bit like playing the card game 500 "on steroids", Mr Cleary said.
"There is the bidding to get in the right place and then there is the playing to actually get the contract that you have gone for."
The activity was very good for maintaining cognitive thinking.
"Bridge players tend to be quite sharp normally."
The club caters to all skill levels and has 350 to 400 members.
It offers a clear pathway for newcomers including introductory classes to help people develop their skills.
There was a range of grades, from juniors to intermediate and senior as well as open competitors, Mr Cleary said.
Longtime club member Rona Chave has been playing for about 45 years and said the game’s endless variety kept members engaged.
"Because you never get the same hand twice."
There was something like a one in a billion chance to receive an identical hand.
The club is preparing for several days of fun for its 90th anniversary celebrations. Festivities will begin on Friday, April 10 with games and a barbecue.
On Saturday, April 11 there will be a teams competition and buffet dinner, then on Sunday, April 12 the events conclude with a pairs contest. — For details visit otagobridgeclub.org.nz
Ninety years of elegant socialising
Card evenings were a regular feature of early settler society in Dunedin.
Games were played both in private homes and at venues such as the Empire Club and the St Clair Women’s Club.
Local figures such as Ada Manhire and Lady Anna Hutchison would host gatherings in their residences where the cultivated classes could meet for socialising and gracious games.
Men would also congregate for card nights but generally in smaller numbers than the women’s groups.
In March 1936, Ron Mathieson began to contact people about forming an official Otago Bridge Club.
He established a room above Calder Mackay’s in Rattray St, setting up decks and tables ready for people to play.
About 30 to 40 gathered for the first meeting, with women outnumbering the men.
In April 1936, the Evening Star reported on the inaugural meeting at the Rattray St premises, noting the players were "loud in their praise of the rooms, which have been very artistically furnished and are centrally situated".
