Confused with Bidding in Contract Bridge

Question

I'm building an Android game based on Contract Bridge, where 4 players will be playing simultaneously once they are connected with the Game Server.

I have no prior experience of playing any card game, and have been learning Bridge while working on this project. I understand most of the concepts of the game, things like Deal, Trick, strength of a hand, major suit, minor suit, the actual game play, etc.

But I'm still a bit confused by Bidding, the key part of the game. Since I'm a developer, and will not be working on creating an artificial CPU player, I'm more interested in getting the Rules of Bidding right, rather than strategies for making a great Bid.

Here are my rule questions:

• How long does the bidding process continue? I know that when a certain bid is made by a player, and the remaining three call "Pass" subsequently, the last bid is agreed as a final contract. But what if players continue to bid, "double" or "redouble" the last bid forever? Do the cards need to be re-dealt in that case?
• When a player calls "double" for a last bid, what exactly happens on the score card? I've read that you double your stakes for the game, i.e. if the player who bid makes that contract, he wins double points, and if he fails, you win double points, but I need a more figurative explanation with examples. Same with "redouble".
• How is the declarer (or the attacking team) decided? Does the player whose bid is chosen as a final contract (with the suit he chose becoming the trump suite) become declarer? Or does the player who was first to mention the suit, which becomes the trump suit of the game, become the declarer?
• What would be the purpose of a dummy player in the game if his cards are played by the declarer? In the Android game that I'll make, he'll be just sitting idle in-front of the phone and watch the show doing nothing (except the time when he exposes his cards and is done).

I know I've asked many questions here, but they all relate to rules of bidding. Any help with getting these rules clear in my mind would be appreciated.

Update

Following are the sources I have referred so far to understand the game:

• http://www.bridgeworld.com/default.asp?d=intro_to_bridge&f=bbeg5.html
• http://www.acbl.org/learn/howToPlay.html
• http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/how-to-play-bridge
• Videos of channel iBridgePlayer on YouTube.

P.S.: I'm a software developer and not an enthusiast, so please keep your answer jargon-free where possible.

Answer 1

• The bidding process continues until all players have passed in succession, or three players have passed in succession after a bid. You seem to misunderstand the double and redouble bids - they can't go on indefinitely. After a double from the opposing team, your only options are to go to a higher level or redouble. After a redouble from the opposing team, your only option is to go to a higher level. (Or pass out of course, in either case.) If bidding reaches 7 no trumps redoubled, there is nowhere left to go.

• It would be easy to assume that "double" and "redouble" imply x2 or x4 value for the contract - much too easy! In fact doubling and redoubling also do some rather complex things to scoring overtricks or undertricks in the final score, dependent on the "vulnerability" of the contract, that has little to do with a simple multiplier. And that's before we get into the additional "insult bonus" for successfully making a doubled or redoubled contract... Here's a link to the Wikipedia sections on the subject, probably better and conciser than me trying to outline all of it from memory.

• Declarer is, as you say, the first player to mention the trump suit (or bid no trumps) in the partnership that ultimately wins the contract.

• Unfortunately dummy has little to do except twiddle his thumbs until the contract is played out. Fortunately Bridge is a complex and tense game that is usually as much fun to watch as play, and generally I don't find it a big problem to sit there watching partner play the hand, even online. You definitely want to be able to berate your partner after she's finished making a hash of the hand, with useful advise about how you would have done it! Er, I mean "commiserate with", not "berate", obviously...