[jillybean]

1st round 'we got 50%'
2nd round 'why did we get a zero'?
14th round 'Director! we made 4S but it shows as 60% for EW, can you check to see whats wrong?"

and so on.

At many tables, North or Wast like to hang on to the BM and read out the scores from the previous rounds.
Some North's won't actually pass the BM to Wast to verify the score, but prefer to keep possession and simply present the BM to West.

I'm sure we could fit in another round if the previous scores were not displayed, but I fear turning the feature off would incite a revolt.
I'd love to hear other's experiences, "fixes" ?

[DavidKok]

A week ago I played with a new partner at a weak club. I was shocked by how much value my tablemates placed on the MP result during the play, and the running scores between rounds. Is it some instant gratification thing, like an addiction?

[paulg]

jillybean, on 2025-July-15, 07:36, said:

I'm sure we could fit in another round if the previous scores were not displayed, but I fear turning the feature off would incite a revolt.
I'd love to hear other's experiences, "fixes" ?

The summer bridge at our local club is a less competitive environment than September-May (when every night counts towards multiple competitions) and we encourage the stronger players to help the less experienced.

So it was an ideal time to remove the traveller from the BridgeMate. No-one noticed when we introduced it. No-one noticed in September when the competitions started. We've never put it back. People play faster and the evenings finish on time.

It was a good decision.

[jillybean]

Just Do Done It

thanks

[pescetom]

DavidKok, on 2025-July-15, 09:45, said:

A week ago I played with a new partner at a weak club. I was shocked by how much value my tablemates placed on the MP result during the play, and the running scores between rounds. Is it some instant gratification thing, like an addiction?

It's a real problem with any electronic scoring system, not specifically linked to BM. Although at least more modern alternatives do not have the petty additional issue of NS making it difficult for EW to see the same information - everyone has it on their phone/laptop at the same time. Our players even have the full board layout, the full traveller including leads and the double dummy PAR analysis too.
As you say it is certainly an instant gratification thing, and easily misused or abused too (few partnerships are sufficiently mature to evaluate this information objectively and philosophically, and even those that are may resent the opponents forcing it upon them and wasting time).

This is a major problem that an RA should not ignore. Mycroft once claimed proudly that he kept this snake in the box, but once it is out no wise TD would dare try to put it back.
My strong suggestion to FIGB was that the traveller, diagram and PAR information should remain available to players during the tournament, but ONLY AT THE END OF THE ROUND (or at least that I should be able to configure things this way). If any board has not yet been played then they should only receive acknowledgement that the current contract, lead and score have been verified and registered. This way they are at least incentivated to get on with the next board and not disturb concentration of opponents and nearly tables.

[barmar]

pescetom, on 2025-July-15, 13:42, said:

It's a real problem with any electronic scoring system, not specifically linked to BM.

It's not specifically linked to electronic scoring. The problem exists with paper travellers, too.

Back in the manual entry days, this is one of the reasons why real tournaments used pickup slips rather than travellers. Another reason was that the final results came out quicker.

[paulg]

barmar, on 2025-July-18, 09:35, said:

Back in the manual entry days, this is one of the reasons why real tournaments used pickup slips rather than travellers. Another reason was that the final results came out quicker.

Pickup slips were never a thing in the UK, perhaps because our tournaments were smaller and perhaps because caddies were rarely used.

What sped scoring up here was the introduction of multi-sheet travellers (a traveller with carbon copies) - so that the travellers could be torn off and collected every eight boards.

[jillybean]

paulg, on 2025-July-18, 10:00, said:

Pickup slips were never a thing in the UK, perhaps because our tournaments were smaller and perhaps because caddies were rarely used.

What sped scoring up here was the introduction of multi-sheet travellers (a traveller with carbon copies) - so that the travellers could be torn off and collected every eight boards.

How long ago were you using carbon copies? With the carbon on players fingers, what were the cards like by the end of the game?

[pescetom]

barmar, on 2025-July-18, 09:35, said:

It's not specifically linked to electronic scoring. The problem exists with paper travellers, too.

Back in the manual entry days, this is one of the reasons why real tournaments used pickup slips rather than travellers. Another reason was that the final results came out quicker.

Yes you're right of course, I just tend to think about the present and future.

Over here pickup slips were (I think) unknown. But paper travellers did have many of the same issues of electronic ones plus some even worse.

[StevenG]

When I started playing bridge in England we always used travellers. The only feedback I later got about how we'd played was the printed results sheet that said something like 47.2%. What could I learn from that? The way to learn was to scrutinise the traveller to get a better idea of what contract we "should" have been in and how many tricks we might have taken. Of course I knew it wasn't necessarily accurate, but it was something. (I certainly didn't hold the game up by doing so.) Quite honestly, without travellers I doubt I'd have continued playing.

Of course we later got printed hand records, DD analysis programs, scoring software and scores posted on the Internet. And by that time I was no longer a novice and could understand a lot of what had gone wrong while at the table. But even so, I still hated playing without travellers on the rare occasions I had to. The session seemed empty and boring without them.

[jillybean]

I assume you no longer use travellers, I hope it's not empty and boring without them.

[StevenG]

jillybean, on 2025-July-19, 07:42, said:

I assume you no longer use travellers, I hope it's not empty and boring without them.

I no longer play at all. But the clubs I could play at always show a traveller on the scoring tablet.

[paulg]

paulg, on 2025-July-18, 10:00, said:

Pickup slips were never a thing in the UK, perhaps because our tournaments were smaller and perhaps because caddies were rarely used.

What sped scoring up here was the introduction of multi-sheet travellers (a traveller with carbon copies) - so that the travellers could be torn off and collected every eight boards.

jillybean, on 2025-July-18, 10:29, said:

How long ago were you using carbon copies? With the carbon on players fingers, what were the cards like by the end of the game?

Originally there was one traveller per board and scores took a long time to come out. Then we had multi-sheet travellers using carbonless copies. Then BridgeMates.