Want to get your own back on the kids this Christmas? Just as they reach for those annoying, noisy Game Boys, you can lunge for your high-tech Pro Bridge Professor, a sort of Play Station for adults. If you're not getting the right class of dinner invitation, there may be a simple reason - you can't play Bridge. The tragedy is, it is not only a complicated card game, it is also impossible to practice without the indulgence of at least two other people.

Now you can brush away those Bridgeless blues with an electronic game that teaches beginners, trains intermediates and tests experts. Made in Germany by Saitek (the people who brought you Gary Kasparov's if-you-can't-beat-em-join-em chess computer), it sells itself as "the world's most advanced electronic bridge learning system". This includes a comprehensive guide to the game, and offers a book of 600 Bridge hands. You can practice on your own in the traffic jam, in the office, in the bath or on the train.

The Pro Bridge Professor is also designed to comply with the ACOL Bridge system, according to the box: "Play the hands, learn the lessons."

The price? A snip at, from in the Grafton Arcade, Dublin, and all other good gadget stores.