What are challenges?

Challenges are fun one-on-one duels where you and your opponent play the same hands to see who scores better.

You can challenge a friend, a random player, a robot, or even a star!

Some challenges can be upgraded to earn BXP and ACBL Masterpoints®, or played for small BB$ prizes.

Starting a Challenge

To begin, open the Challenges screen and choose your preferred format:

Once you start a challenge, it appears at the top of your screen, as shown below.

Each challenge shows a colored icon for its current status:

🟢 Green — Active! You can start playing now.
🔴 Red — You’ve finished your boards; waiting for your opponent.
🟡 Yellow — Waiting for your opponent to accept or decline.

Challenge Reward: Micro, or Low-Stakes

If you’re looking for a fun and exciting way to test your skills, try a Challenge Reward! Available in two flavours: Micro and Low-Stakes, this type of challenge pays back BB$ rewards.

Play a short 4-board (IMPs) match against a random opponent. Both players contribute a small entry, and the winner earns back BB$.

A fast, competitive head-to-head match — perfect when you want a quick result and a bit of extra thrill!

ACBL Challenge Tournament

ACBL Challenge lets you play a series of 12 head-to-head matches, each consisting of 1 board, against 12 different opponents.

In each match, you score 2 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, and 0 points for a loss. Your total score determines how many ACBL Masterpoints® you earn. Score 12 points or more (50%) to earn ACBL Masterpoints®.

Important: Unlike some other challenges on BBO, ACBL Challenge is not asynchronous. Once you begin your set of 12 boards, you are expected to complete them in one session.

Challenge a Friend

Invite any BBO player to the type of match you’d like to play. You can choose the scoring type, the number of boards, and whether the challenge is Best Hand or Just Declare. You can also upgrade it to a BXP Challenge, which gives both you and your friend Advanced GIBBO robot and awards BXP if you win or tie.

Once your friend accepts, you each have up to 3 days to complete your boards. The winner is decided when both players finish — or when the time limit expires.

You can have up to 10 open friend challenges at a time. Finish one to make room for another.

Challenge a Stranger

Also known as an Arena Challenge, this option matches you with a random BBOer for a 4-board duel in your chosen scoring format. May the best player win!

You can have up to 3 arena challenges active at once. If you reach the limit, finish one before starting another.

Challenge a Robot

Play against BBO’s GIBBO robot. You can choose the number of boards, the scoring type, and whether to play Best Hand or Just Declare. You can also upgrade it to a BXP Challenge, which gives you Advanced robots and the chance to earn BXP if you win or tie.

Results appear instantly once you finish your boards.

Challenge a Star

Replay hands previously played by BBO stars! Choose your preferred format and number of boards, and optionally upgrade to a BXP Challenge for Advanced robots and the chance to earn BXP.

Once you complete the challenge, you’ll immediately see your results — and discover which star you were up against!

Group Challenge

Group Challenges let you play with up to four friends. Click Start a Group Challenge, then use the + button to invite them. Everyone plays the same hands — it’s like your own private mini-tournament!

BXP Challenge Upgrade

Friend, Robot, and Star Challenges can be upgraded for a small BB$ fee. Upgraded challenges use Advanced robots and award BXP based on your result:

Winner: earns 0.30 BXP
Tie: each player earns 0.15 BXP

How it works

The challenge issuer pays the upgrade fee.
The upgrade applies to both sides of the match.
If your opponent is a friend, robot, or star, the upgrade is applied automatically.
If the challenge is pending and requires acceptance, the upgrade activates only once your opponent accepts.

For troubleshooting or additional details, contact BBO Support.