For me, hands down, (pun intended) Bridge is my strategic game of choice. I've been playing Bridge for 70+ years, dating back to my Freshman year at the University of Illinois, during the 1950s. Back then. Bridge wasn't just a pass time, it was what students stayed up all night in their dorms playing, or cut classes haunting the Student Union lounges huddled around tables, deciding which suit to bid. It was the favorite after dinner activity at Sorority and Fraternity houses, a fanaticism that jeopardized the scholastic standing of a whole lot of students, - included myself.
So Bridge is my thing and when it comes to being a strategic game, there is no substitute for just plain old gut instinct and good judgement as opposed to the crazy "cue bidding" compiled by so-called experts who have diluted the purity of the game. I've been asked by people to teach them how to pay Bridge. But i always refused the request, telling them I can't teach you Bridge. You learn by playing it. You have to have what is known as "card sense". After all this time, I'm still learning the game.
Although complicated, Bridge is also simplistic. No bells and whistles, just a 52 pack of cards to deal out to 4 people for whom nothing is more fulfilling than bidding and making a grand slam - unless it's throwing your cards across the table at your partner for making a stupid play! This is why down through the years Bridge clubs always topped my list of recreational activity. But those days are gone, along with all my old buddies who have ascended to that big card table in the sky.
Bridge, itself, was dying out because it tended to be an "old people's game" but it is making a come back, and I go on line and play it every day with computerized robots. And if ever anything cast doubt on the reliability of "Artificial Intelligence", it's the game of Bridge. Robots make terrible Bridge players! They lack human instinct and are unable to establish rapport with their partner or to observe their opponents style of play and sense whether a queen-ace finesse will work.
So my fascination with this game continues but, of course, the day will come when instead of bidding, I will pass...