Contract bridge grand slam exists. The modern game of contract bridge was the result of innovations to the scoring of auction bridge by Harold Stirling Vanderbilt and others. The most significant change was that only the tricks contracted for were scored below the line toward game or a slam bonus, a change that resulted in bidding becoming much more challenging and interesting. Also new was the concept of "vulnerability", making sacrifices to protect the lead in a rubber more expensive. The various scores were adjusted to produce a more balanced and interesting game. Vanderbilt set out his rules in 1925, and within
Contract bridge hand is difficult, so there exist many bidding systems assigning meanings to bids, with common ones including Standard American, Acol, and 2/1 game forcing. Contrast with Spades, where players only have to bid their own hand. After the contract is decided, and the first lead is made, the declarer's partner (dummy) lays his cards face up on the table, and the declarer plays the dummy's cards as well as their own. The opposing partnership is called the , and their goal is to stop the declarer from fulfilling his contract. Once all the cards have been played, the hand is