[Tim Ocean]

I'm a big fan of both bridge and BBO. I love playing bridge and probably no other site is a match for BBO when it comes to bridge. However for some years I have been wondering: why is BBO so ugly? I have seen many sites where you can play card games: bridge, spades, hearts, 500 etc. etc. and I must admit BBO is unfortunately the ugliest.

My eyes hurt whenever I'm looking at that ugly cards-like blocks which look like painted in paint. They hardly resemble playing cards:





I know that the software of some pages could be too sugary for the BBO playes' taste, but why can't BBO cards look more or less like that (EDIT: I have switched the picture because it's beautiful software):



? Out here we have quite aesthetic, neat software with cards looking like real playing cards.

What is the reason for that? Why has BBO had this problem for many years? Why isn't BBO improving? Why can't BBO release some skins so that the players could adjust the software according to their taste? It's even more misterious and frustrating, because BBO has been actually degenerating Several years ago you could set "small cards" (which were paradoxically bigger) and looked quite good:



Now that option for some reason is gone The entire software was generally more good-looking and comfortable in my oppinion (and I've seen that not only in mine).

So, what's the reason for that? Is it because BBO is in old technology? I've seen someone stating that BBO is written in html. Are they any attempts or plans to rewrite BBO in newer technology, I don't know, in some php or C#?

I'm not going to hate BBO, I'm seriously curious. I'd like BBO to improve, I'd like playing bridge at BBO to become more pleasent. Unfortunately it's going the other way

[pescetom]

I don't miss the graphic representation of cards, but then I also much prefer a 'hand diagram' view (as shown in history at the bottom right of your last image) which is available (although not default for some reason).
So this is actually one of the few areas where I feel I am stepping back when playing on other bridge sites, however 'realistic' their cards may be.

[stanmaz]

BBO is a tool for playing bridge online, not a work of art.

[harikannan]

I prefer cards as shown in the first diagram though I want the dummy to be distinct with a grey background.

[fuzzyquack]

Chacun a son gout

[YAYDAY0]

Dear Readers I totally disagree with Tim Ocean that BBO is "ugly"! In my opinion it is the finest and the very best online bridge on the entire internet! To prove it, just look at the large number of players who access BBO continuously on a 24 hour basis. I agree with the writer who mentioned they "do not need to look at a work of art". I feel the same way, as all I need is what most others generally also need, a perfectly clear, concise and practical display of the playing cards (which BBO do provide) and which makes it very easy to concentrate not only on the suits and card numbers but also on the table display of all 4 players. I seem to think that Tim Ocean is comparing BBO to the (ugly) Funbridge site, which most of the folks I have met despise due to their smaller, inferior display of the cards which is set out in a format as suggested by sour grapes writer Tim Ocean.
Everyone at the Bridge Club which I frequent has agreed that BBO has the best displays and formats available to satisfy all the needs of most bridge fanatics on the planet.
So, BBO, be consoled that we all think you are not only the best bridge site, but defintely the most BEAUTIFUL!

[jpprin]

Agreed. BBO is hideous.

[Douglas43]

It is a matter of opinion. For me, clarity is more important than elegance.

[Tim Ocean]

 YAYDAY0, on 2023-September-05, 05:41, said:

Dear Readers I totally disagree with Tim Ocean that BBO is "ugly"! In my opinion it is the finest and the very best online bridge on the entire internet! To prove it, just look at the large number of players who access BBO continuously on a 24 hour basis. I agree with the writer who mentioned they "do not need to look at a work of art". I feel the same way, as all I need is what most others generally also need, a perfectly clear, concise and practical display of the playing cards (which BBO do provide) and which makes it very easy to concentrate not only on the suits and card numbers but also on the table display of all 4 players. I seem to think that Tim Ocean is comparing BBO to the (ugly) Funbridge site, which most of the folks I have met despise due to their smaller, inferior display of the cards which is set out in a format as suggested by sour grapes writer Tim Ocean.
Everyone at the Bridge Club which I frequent has agreed that BBO has the best displays and formats available to satisfy all the needs of most bridge fanatics on the planet.
So, BBO, be consoled that we all think you are not only the best bridge site, but defintely the most BEAUTIFUL!

Ok, I see. I'm sure BBO will appreciate your dedication, but could I get some additional skins so that I could pick the one I like? I would be totally happy if they restored the one on the 3rd picture.

[Tim Ocean]

 Douglas43, on 2023-September-05, 08:43, said:

It is a matter of opinion. For me, clarity is more important than elegance.

Of course. I agree with that. But is it possible to combine clarity and elegance?

[pescetom]

 Tim Ocean, on 2023-September-05, 12:56, said:

Of course. I agree with that. But is it possible to combine clarity and elegance?

Yes, see for instance the intuitive and powerful ways you can navigate results, boards, bidding and play in Realbridge.
Elegance is as much in the interface as in the graphic design (and unfortunately BBO on the whole is not good in either respect).
Nor is it great on clarity either (try to figure out which tournaments listed you can actually play, or even just who is dummy and whether or not you must play or are dummy).

[Tim Ocean]

 pescetom, on 2023-September-05, 13:20, said:

Yes, see for instance the intuitive and powerful ways you can navigate results, boards, bidding and play in Realbridge.
Elegance is as much in the interface as in the graphic design (and unfortunately BBO on the whole is not good in either respect).
Nor is it great on clarity either (try to figure out which tournaments listed you can actually play, or even just who is dummy and whether or not you must play or are dummy).

Oh, my gosh. BBO give me something like that 😭

[johnu]

I used to like the old downloadable windows version where dummy was displayed according to the laws of bridge, ie 4 columns of cards by suit, with trumps on the left. This version also let the user determine where dummy and declarer were oriented, the order the suits appeared on screen, had a voice option, etc etc. A very customizable piece of software that was ahead of its time.

BBO got rid of the correct dummy display, and probably 90% of the user configurable options when they went to their flash web version. Never got a real reason, presumably because it was too hard to program, or they ran out of time in the conversions and never got back to adding everything the original version had. I don't see that the html version has added anything worthwhile to the playing experience.

Also, I would like the "option" to have drag and drop for making bids and playing cards. IMO, this makes mechanical mistakes much less likely because an accidental click or double click can result in an irreversible error depending on the game.

Somehow, sites like RealBridge were able to go from startup idea to fully functioning playing space in just a year or two and basically start out with a far superior user interface.

[Tim Ocean]

 johnu, on 2023-September-05, 16:43, said:

I used to like the old downloadable windows version

The downloadable version was abandoned for good, wasn't it?

[pescetom]

 Tim Ocean, on 2023-September-05, 13:31, said:

Oh, my gosh. BBO give me something like that ��

The part I was complementing is not the play interface (as shown) but the post-mortem interface (with perfectly interlinked information and uniquely clear presentation). BBO and all competitors would do well to study it closely.

[lchiu7]

I play online with Realbridge (which is what the interface in the posted in the thread is) because it's what my club offers.

I use BBO for Instant Tournaments, playing old matches with my partner against robots which I think I a great feature.

I recently tried out Funbridge but that UI has gone over the top, especially in the way it pops up all the cards in the suit when it's your turn to play. I find that really annoying and have basically given up on the platform.

Now if Realbridge had the replay capability of BBPO that would be the best situation. You can replay hands from a set you played and see the card play by play but you can't load up hands from Vugraph nd play them.

[johnu]

 Tim Ocean, on 2023-September-06, 06:13, said:

The downloadable version was abandoned for good, wasn't it?

IIRC, sometime in 2020 or thereabouts.