Simplest bidding system for introduction into bridge
2 sections to my answer:


How to get up and running in 20 minutes
Next steps to progress from the 20 minute version to solid Bridge beginner


How to get up and running in 20 minutes

It's simply not possible to play the full game of bridge itself after 20 minutes in a way that satisfies or even makes any sense. However, one can make use of a Gateway game which is similar to bridge to get such a quick start.

Spades is a terrific gateway to bridge. Apart from lack of dummy, trick taking play is identical to bridge. No Trump is not an option There is only one possible trump suit: spades. Eliminating choice in suits vastly simplifies bidding - you simply call out the number of tricks you think you can take. To make it feel closer to bridge, you could eliminate the "nil" bid and sandbags. Or you could keep them in as they keep the game more interesting.

Regardless of which spades rules you use, the play of the hand feels similar to bridge (though not identical due to no dummy, different scoring incentives, and much less information exchanged during bidding).

I taught my son to play Spades when he was 5, and a few months later taught him beginner level bridge, as follows:

Next steps to progress from the 20 minute version to solid Bridge beginner

Now that you've played a number of spades hands, you now have a good introductory feel for the play of Bridge hands. It's time to move on to the more time-consuming part for beginners: bidding.

I believe it's simplest to learn the most popular system in your area, for the following reasons:


There will be ample learning materials.
Learning materials will have different levels and you can start at the beginner level.
Most bridge players will know it even if they don't play it - so you can play other players in your area and they will usually by happy to help you learn.
You will be able to understand a substantial portion of the bidding of bridge players in your area.
Bridge learning software tends to do a good job of giving you practice hands for the most popular systems.


In USA, the most popular system is currently Standard American (5-card majors). It is so popular and well known in USA that at tournaments there is something called "Standard American Yellow Card" which is often used when two strangers are paired with each other.

I quite liked the pair of books I used to learn Standard American, 5-card majors, and the other most common techniques and conventions associated with it:


Commonsense Bidding by William S. Root
Modern Bridge Conventions by William S. Root &amp; Richard Pavlicek


A real strength of this pair of books is how well structured it is for beginners. You can start by trying to master the first 10 chapters in Commonsense Bidding (and chapter 17) and that would be a very reasonable place to stop to enjoy a beginner level of bridge. This is exactly what I taught to my son when he was 5 (he did not read the books - I explained everything to him over the course of a few weeks while we played at least a few minutes every day). If you want to gradually learn more you can continue progressing through that book and then start on the 2nd book.

A real key to learning bidding that I wish I had known when I started is to start with just a very small number of the most common bidding techniques and conventions that will cover perhaps 60% or 70% of hands and concentrate on learning those well before going on to techniques and conventions that cover less common hands.