Once the bidding has finished and the contract has been decided, the cards are played.
The player to the left of the declarer makes the opening lead. As soon as the opening lead has been played, the dummy lays their cards face upwards on the table and takes no further part in the game. The declarer plays both their own hand and the dummy’s hand.
The game is played clockwise around the table. Each player in turns lays a card on the table. If the player has a card in the suit led by the first player then they MUST play the same suit. If they don’t have a card in the suit that has been led then they can play a card from another suit. If the game is being played in a trump contract they have the option to play a card from the trump suit or to throw away a card from another suit.
Each round is known as a trick. A trick is won by the team that plays the highest card in the suit that was led OR by the team that played the highest trump card. A card from the trump suit ALWAYS beats cards from any other suit. If the game is being played in a No Trumps contract then the trick is won by the team that plays the highest card in the suit that was led.
After the opening round, each subsequent round is started by the player (or dummy) than won the previous round.
The game is played until all 13 rounds or tricks have been played.
The declaring partnership count the number of tricks they have won. If they have made the number of tricks they bid for, or more, they score the relevant number of points. If they have made fewer tricks than they bid for then the opposing partnership win the relevant number of points.