Written by the team behind Puzzlify. Puzzlify is our product, so weigh what follows with that in mind. We've tried to make this useful even if you never use it. We're not affiliated with the English Bridge Union (EBU), the Scottish Bridge Union, the Welsh Bridge Union, the Contract Bridge Association of Ireland, the Northern Ireland Bridge Union, the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL), the Australian Bridge Federation, New Zealand Bridge, the World Bridge Federation, Bridge Base Online, RealBridge, Bridgewebs or any bridge club, county association, unit, district, school, charity or council. Nothing here is legal, safeguarding or privacy advice, and it certainly isn't bidding advice. Check your club's own rules on gifts, photos, publicity, phones in the playing room and contact between members.
It's ten to seven on a Wednesday evening in late October, and the church hall smells of instant coffee and radiator dust. A retired maths teacher called Pauline has been here since six. She has set out fourteen tables with green cloths, four bidding boxes on each, a pile of pre-dealt boards in the middle of the room and a laminated sheet with the movement on it. Her husband Ron is in the kitchen, lining up cups and opening a tin of shortbread. In the corner, Malcolm is plugging the scoring laptop into an extension lead and muttering at the Wi-Fi. At five to seven, a woman called Ayesha walks in looking slightly lost. She finished the beginners' course in the spring, her partner has flu, and she nearly didn't come. Pauline spots her before she's taken her coat off. "You'll play with Dennis tonight," she says. "He's our host. He's very kind and he never shouts." At seven o'clock exactly, Pauline calls "Start please, round one," and the room goes quiet except for the soft clack of bidding cards.
At a quarter to ten, Ayesha leaves with a score of 47 percent, a new friend, and a plan to come back next week. Pauline, Ron and Malcolm stay behind for another forty minutes, putting tables away and uploading the results so that everyone can see them by the time they get home.
That's a bridge club. In the UK, Ireland, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and a great many other countries, most local bridge clubs are run almost entirely by volunteers: people who teach the beginners' course, direct the sessions, score the results, deal the boards, make the tea, find partners for people who turn up alone, keep the website going, chase the subscriptions and, now and then, drive a member home who no longer feels safe driving in the dark. Some clubs have their own building; many rent a church hall, a community centre, a golf club lounge or a room above a pub. Since the pandemic, many also run online sessions, and the volunteers who taught their members to log in kept a lot of people sane.
If you're a member who wants to thank one of those people, a new player who was made to feel welcome, a committee member thinking about the annual general meeting, or the son or daughter of a volunteer who disappears to the bridge club three evenings a week, this is a guide to saying thank you well. It covers the words, the people worth thanking, timing, good manners, photos that work, and one small idea from us: a photo of the card table, a fanned hand or the club room set up for an evening as a private digital jigsaw, with your note appearing when the last piece clicks in.
Who we mean
Bridge clubs vary enormously, from a dozen friends round a kitchen table to large clubs with several sessions a day. But the same jobs come up again and again, and most of them are done for nothing:
- teachers, who run the beginners' course, improvers' classes and supervised play, often for months at a time, and who explain, for the tenth time that evening, why you don't lead away from a king;
- directors (tournament directors or club directors), who set up the movement, keep things running to time, and are called to the table to sort out revokes, leads out of turn and the occasional bad temper, calmly and fairly;
- scorers, who enter the results, deal with mistakes, and post them online, often late at night;
- dealers, who sort and deal the boards, by hand or with a dealing machine, so everyone plays the same hands;
- hosts, who make sure nobody who turns up alone has to go home without a game;
- partnership secretaries, who match people up and quietly find a partner for someone whose partner has died or moved away;
- the tea rota, who keep the urn hot, wash up and know exactly who takes sugar;
- the committee: chair, secretary, treasurer, membership secretary, competition secretary, the person who books the hall and the person who looks after the trophies;
- webmasters and online organisers, who keep the club's website, results pages and online sessions running;
- youth and schools bridge volunteers, who teach children and students and run junior events;
- drivers and befrienders, who give lifts to members who no longer drive, or ring round when someone hasn't been seen for a while.
Many of these people do several jobs at once. In a small club, the teacher, director and scorer might be the same person.
The words matter most
A thank-you note matters more than any gift. Bridge volunteers usually hear about things when something goes wrong: a wrong movement, a mistyped score, a ruling that someone didn't like. They hear much less often when something goes right.
The best notes say something specific:
- the evening you nearly didn't come, and someone made sure you had a partner;
- the moment something finally clicked in a lesson, like counting trumps or the first time you made a contract you'd bid properly;
- a ruling that was handled kindly, especially if you were the one who'd made a mistake;
- the results that were always online by the time you got home;
- the tea that was always there, and the person who remembered you take it black;
- for a long-serving volunteer, how many years they've given, and what the club would be without them.
You don't need to be clever. "I'd been widowed for a year and hadn't been out in the evening once. You found me a partner on my first night and I've been back every week since" will mean more than any card.
Who might send one
A thank-you to a bridge volunteer might come from:
- a new player, after the beginners' course or their first year in the club;
- a regular member, at the end of the year or at the AGM;
- a partnership, after a good season or a first county event;
- the committee, for a volunteer stepping down;
- the club as a whole, for a teacher, director or scorer who has done the job for years;
- a member's family, for the volunteers who looked after their mother or father, gave them lifts, or rang when they were ill;
- a junior player or their parents, for a youth coach.
Gifts, clubs and good manners
Bridge clubs are usually friendly, informal places, but a few things are worth thinking about:
- phones in the playing room. Many clubs, and the laws and regulations of most bridge bodies, don't allow electronic devices to be used at the table during play, for very good reasons. Take photos before the session starts, during the break or afterwards, never during play, and never of someone else's hand.
- photos of members. Some members don't want to be photographed or appear online, and some clubs have a policy about photos at events. If you'd like a photo with people in it, ask first, and leave out anyone who isn't keen.
- results and names. A results sheet or scoreboard often has everyone's names on it. If it's in the picture, crop it out or blur it unless everyone is happy.
- gifts to volunteers. Most clubs are happy with cards and small tokens; some prefer that members don't give individual gifts to directors or teachers, especially around competitions, to avoid any suggestion of favouritism. If in doubt, ask the club secretary.
- paid teachers and directors. Some clubs pay their teachers or directors a modest fee. A thank-you is still very welcome, but keep it small and personal.
When to send it
There's no wrong time, but some moments are especially good:
- at the end of the beginners' course, often in the spring;
- after your first year as a member;
- at the AGM or the end of the club year, when volunteers are thanked publicly;
- at the Christmas or summer party, if your club has one;
- after a big event, such as a charity simultaneous pairs, a club championship or a congress the club helped to run;
- when a volunteer steps down after many years;
- when a volunteer has been ill, and you'd like them to know they've been missed.
Why a jigsaw can fit
Bridge players like puzzles. They spend whole evenings working out where the missing cards are. A photo puzzle is a gentle, slow way to look at a picture, and for a bridge volunteer it can be a nice change from the usual box of chocolates. You put it together piece by piece: the green cloth, the bidding box, the corner of a scorecard, the familiar room. With Puzzlify, your note appears when the last piece goes in, so the thank-you arrives at the end, after they've had time to look.
If you're a new player
If you've just finished the beginners' course, or you're in your first year at the club, a thank-you to your teacher or host is a lovely gesture. Tell them how you're getting on: that you've started playing duplicate, or that you made your first slam (even by accident). A photo of the club room on your first night, or of the bidding box you were so nervous about, can work well.
If you're thanking a teacher
Teaching bridge is hard. It's a complicated game with a lot of rules, a lot of conventions and a lot of ways to feel foolish, and a good teacher makes it feel manageable. Many club teachers spend their winters preparing lessons, photocopying hand-outs and dealing practice hands, and then spend the spring and summer supervising new players at the table. If you're thanking a teacher, tell them which lesson stuck: the night you finally understood finesses, or the sentence they said that you still hear in your head every time you pick up a hand. A photo of the whiteboard, the practice boards or the room where the lessons were held is a good match.
If you're thanking a host
The host, sometimes called the standby or the "spare", is the person who arrives ready to play with anyone, so that a member who turns up without a partner doesn't have to go home. It's a generous job, because the host often plays with someone much less experienced, and has to be patient, encouraging and very good at not sighing. If a host made your first evening possible, say so. "If you hadn't been there, I'd have gone home and never come back" is the kind of sentence hosts remember.
If you're thanking a director or scorer
Directors and scorers are often thanked least, because their work is only noticed when it goes wrong. A note that says "the results were up before I got home, every week, for three years" or "you sorted out our revoke so kindly that I wasn't embarrassed" will be treasured. A photo of the room set up before a session, all those tables and boards neatly in place, is a good match for the work they do.
If you're on the committee
If you're thanking a long-serving secretary, treasurer or chair, ask other members to contribute a line each and put them together in one note, or in a card that comes with the puzzle. A photo of the club's trophies, the noticeboard or the hall on a busy night can work well. For a club's founding member, an old photo from the club's early years can mean a great deal.
If you live with a bridge volunteer
If your mother, father, partner or grandparent runs a bridge club, you know how much time it takes: the evenings, the phone calls, the boards on the dining room table, the scoring at midnight. A puzzle from the family can be a nice way of saying you've noticed. A photo of them at the club, or with the trophy they finally won, might be just right.
For the volunteers who kept the club going online
During the pandemic, many bridge clubs moved online almost overnight, and it was usually a small group of volunteers who made it happen: setting up accounts, running practice sessions, answering phone calls from members who'd never used a tablet, and directing online sessions several evenings a week. For many older members, living alone, those sessions were a lifeline. Many clubs still run online games alongside face-to-face ones. If one of those volunteers helped you, a thank-you is never too late. A screenshot isn't usually the best picture for a puzzle, so a photo of your own kitchen table with the tablet propped up and a cup of tea beside it might be better.
In memory of a bridge volunteer
Many bridge clubs have members and volunteers who have been part of the club for decades, and when one of them dies, it can feel like losing part of the club itself. A puzzle sent to their family, with a photo of the club room or the trophy named after them and a note from the members, can be a gentle way of saying what they meant. Keep it quiet: leave the leaderboard off, ask the family first, and let the club secretary help with the wording.
For bridge clubs elsewhere
This guide uses British terms, but the same ideas apply wherever bridge is played: in the US and Canada with ACBL clubs and units, in Australia and New Zealand with their national federations, and in clubs all over Europe, Asia and South America. Some clubs are big, some are small; some play online, some at kitchen tables. Volunteers are the backbone of all of them.
Photo ideas and consent
The best photo is one that means something to the person you're thanking. Some ideas:
- the club room set up before a session, tables, cloths and boards all in place;
- a single table with four bidding boxes and a board in the middle;
- a hand of thirteen cards fanned out (one you've made up at home, not one from play);
- the trophy cabinet, or a trophy on the table after a club championship;
- the tea table with the urn and a plate of biscuits;
- the club's sign on the door, or the hall from outside on a winter evening;
- for a teacher, the whiteboard after a lesson, with "count your trumps" still written on it.
A few things to keep out of the frame:
- people's faces, unless they're happy to be included;
- results sheets, membership lists or anything with names, phone numbers or email addresses;
- anything showing where members live, such as a car registration or a house.
If in doubt, use a photo of the room or the cards. Every bridge volunteer recognises their own club instantly.
Getting the JPG right
Puzzlify works from a JPG photo, so a few small things help:
- a fanned hand of cards makes a wonderful puzzle, because the suits and colours give lots of contrast;
- green cloth on its own is hard, so make sure there's something else in the frame, like cards, boards, a cup or a scorecard;
- church halls and community centres can be dimly lit, so take the photo near a window or under good light, without a flash;
- if there's writing you want people to read, like "Thank you" on a card or the club's name, take the photo straight on and pick a higher piece count;
- save the original JPG straight from your phone or camera rather than a copy from a messaging app, which compresses it. If your photo is in another format, save it as a JPG first.
Privacy, an optional PIN, and saying it's from you
The puzzle sits behind a private link, so only people you send it to can open it. If you'd like an extra layer, add a short PIN and share it separately, for example in a card handed over at the next session.
Bridge players are, quite rightly, careful about unexpected links, and many have been targeted by scams. So say clearly that the link is from you and that it's a thank-you, not a request. A one-line message helps: "This is a thank-you puzzle from Ayesha, from the spring beginners' course. It's a photo of the club room with a note at the end. It's not asking for anything." If you're sending it through the club, the secretary can pass it on with a line of introduction.
How many pieces?
| Pieces | Feels like | Typical time |
|---|---|---|
| 24 | one board | a few minutes |
| 48 | a short round | around 5–10 minutes |
| 80 | a full round of three boards | around 10–20 minutes |
| 130 | an evening's duplicate | around 20–40 minutes |
| 252 | a weekend congress | an hour or more |
Times vary with the photo. For a thank-you, finishing beats difficulty; 48 or 80 is a gentle middle. A room full of identical tables is harder, so go lower if most of the picture is one pattern.
The leaderboard: only for a group
If you're thanking a whole team, say the club's directors or the tea rota, you can turn on the leaderboard so everyone solves the same photo. Bridge players are competitive, so this can be a lot of fun, perhaps with the result announced at the Christmas party. Ask the secretary first; some clubs would rather keep things simple. For one volunteer, or a puzzle in memory of a member, leave the leaderboard off.
A few note ideas
The note appears when the last piece goes in, so keep it short and warm:
- "To Pauline, who found me a partner on my first night when I nearly didn't come: I've been back every week since. Thank you."
- "To Malcolm: three years of results online before I'd even put the kettle on. We notice, and we're grateful."
- "From the spring beginners: thank you for a winter of patience, a lot of biscuits, and never once making us feel silly."
- "To the director who sorted out my revoke so kindly I actually laughed: thank you."
- "To Ron and the tea rota: the shortbread is the main reason some of us come. Thank you for every cup."
- "To Mum, stepping down as secretary after twenty years: the club wouldn't exist without you. Now you can finally just play."
How to make one (about a minute of setup)
- Open Puzzlify's puzzle maker in a browser: https://puzzlify.app/en/puzzle-maker/
- Upload the photo (JPG works best).
- Choose a piece count for how much time they might have and how detailed the photo is.
- Add your thank-you note and, if you like, a PIN and a leaderboard (for a group only).
- Preview for free. When you're happy, publish the link with one credit and send it with a message, in a card at the next session, or through the club secretary.
Honest pricing and notes
The preview is free, so you can see exactly what the puzzle looks like before paying anything. You only pay when you publish the link: one credit is €3.99, three credits are €8.99, and Plus is €14.99 a year for ten credits. If you're thanking several people (your teacher, the director and the host, say), three credits works out cheaper per puzzle; for one thank-you, one credit is enough. If money is tight, a card, a message or a tin of biscuits for the tea table cost very little and are a perfectly good choice. If you'd like to see it first, the free preview is here: https://puzzlify.app/en/puzzle-maker/
The person who receives the link doesn't need an account, an app or a printer; it opens in a normal web browser. Photos are not used to train AI and are not shared with third parties.
This is a digital jigsaw you play on a screen. It isn't a cardboard puzzle in the post, a printed product or a public puzzle board, and it isn't connected to any bridge club, union, league, charity or council. It's also not puzzlify.io (a chess site), Puzzlit, Puzzly or Puzzify, which are different things with similar names. A message in your own words is often what people remember, so the puzzle works best alongside one rather than instead of one.
Ideas that are not a puzzle
Some of the best thank-yous for bridge volunteers cost nothing at all, or go straight to the club:
- A handwritten card, handed over at the next session, telling them what the club means to you.
- A tin of biscuits or a cake for the tea table, for everyone to share.
- Volunteering yourself: joining the tea rota, learning to score, helping to put the tables away, or one day training as a director or host.
- Bringing a friend to the next beginners' course; clubs need new members more than anything.
- A short, kind note in the club newsletter or on the website, saying what a volunteer's help meant, with their permission and without anyone's personal details.
- For a long-serving volunteer stepping down, a small book of thank-you notes from members past and present, collected by the secretary with permission.
Whatever you send, the most important part is the sentence that sounds like you, written to the person who set out fourteen tables before anyone arrived, found a partner for the woman by the door who nearly didn't come, called "start please, round one" on the dot of seven, and stayed behind long after everyone had gone home, so that next Wednesday, it would all happen again.
Written by the team behind Puzzlify. Not affiliated with the EBU, the Scottish, Welsh or Northern Ireland Bridge Unions, the CBAI, the ACBL, the Australian Bridge Federation, New Zealand Bridge, the World Bridge Federation or any bridge club, unit, charity or council. Not legal, safeguarding or privacy advice. Check your club's own rules on gifts, photos, publicity, phones in the playing room and contact between members.