Are You Twitching to Stream Your Game?

Are you Twitching to Stream your Game?

By Alex J. Coyne © Great Bridge Links

If anyone wanted to know what was going on at the Bridge Battle Of The Century in the 30s, they had to turn on the radio, check the newspaper, or show up.

In the 21st Century, you just have to stream your bridge game online.

Twitch.tv is an online streaming platform for video content. Content includes gaming (like Animal Crossing (check out Jude’s Stream at JudeCreative, League Of Legends, World Of Warcraft, and DOTA 2), but also includes a vast library of other topics – including bridge!

Want to watch some bridge streams, or plug in your own?

Here’s everything you should know about Twitch.tv for bridge players.

How It Works

Twitch.tv is a mixture of live streams, and on-demand viewing.

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Users can subscribe to their favourite channels, and view streams by user or topic. Uploading users can link their stream (or videos) to be broadcast to the millions of people who frequent Twitch.

If you’ve never been on Twitch before, imagine an interface that’s a lot like YouTube or Netflix, but live and user-driven.

Broadcasting and viewing is available through the browser (at https://www.twitch.tv), or through the app.

At the bottom of this article we have listed some better-known Bridge Streams – but it’s a growing list so we’re likely going to need a whole new page on Great Bridge Links!

How To Stream My Bridge Game

Streaming your bridge game on Twitch is easy.

1. Create your Twitch account.

First, create an appropriate Twitch account for streaming. It requires basics about yourself, plus a username that everyone can remember to click on!

2. Set up your stream and Start Streaming.

A bridge game played on a computer  will use screen capture software and we recommend OBS  (Open Broadcaster Software). It’s free and can be easily downloaded.

The basics for your startup will be a webcam or camera on your laptop, an audio headset or ear buds, screen capture software (OBS), and optional editing software. Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) is completely free (and open-source) and easy to set up and use. Here’s a fantastic video that will get you started. Watch the first segment, then skip to Settings at 15:00 in order to learn how to hook up to your Twitch Channel.  You can download OBS here.

Side note: If you’re thinking of streaming from a Game Console, such as Ninetendo’s Switch, you’re also going to need a Capture Card. We use Elgato – and here’s their website – But you won’t need this to stream from your computer.

Example: Jude Streams FunBridge on Great Bridge Links

With the awesome help of Christophe Grosset from E-Open Bridge  Jude was able to set up to stream tournament play using the FunBridge app.

Jude has three settings:
Video Capture (from her webcam) so viewers can see her
Window Capture (captures the FunBridge App Window)
Audio Input Capture (Jude just uses her laptop microphone) so viewers can hear her talk

Test recording
You can choose Start Recording on the OBS bottom right menu. Jude uses this a lot to test the quality of her stream. Before you click Start Streaming, click Start Recording. Record your voice, move around your game a bit, then Stop. In the top left menu, under File, you can find Show Recordings – here is a list of your recordings, you can click on one and view your test.

Start Streaming
Click Setting on the bottom right menu, travel to your Twitch account and get your Stream Key.  Return to OBS and paste it in and you’re ready to Start Streaming! That button is just above Start Recording in the bottom right menu.

Play around with this and just start! No one will know you’re there immediately so feel free to play with it all. It’s not recorded unless you want it to be. We totally recommend everyone watch a Twitch 101 video. Here’s the link ->

3. Promote Your Channel

If you have a streaming channel, let other bridge players know about it! Promote your channel link, and fellow players will stop by.

Much like Field Of Dreams, if you stream it, they will come …

What’s Allowed (And Not)

As users can expect from any streaming or video channel, there are terms and conditions to follow!

  • Nudity and profanity can result in a ban.
  • Drinking in moderation is fine, but getting smashed on camera gets a ban.
  • Smoking is fine, but depending on what, might also get you a ban.
  • General illegal behaviour that you already know is a bad idea when you’re about to it, that’s also a ban.

Overall, the rules for streaming on Twitch are more obvious than strict.

Twitch Links You’ll Need

Here’s a cheat sheet for the links you’ll need the most as a bridge player heading to Twichland.

Who’s On Twitch?

So, who’s on Twitch already? Here are some of the bridge channels you should check out. As we mentioned earlier, it’s a growing list – there was a time when bridge blogs were all the rage. Today, live streaming seems to be the ‘new blog’ – watch for a new GBL page coming soon.

NEW!
Great Bridge Links
https://www.twitch.tv/greatbridgelinks
You can watch Jude play 4 handed FunBridge tournaments on the new Great Bridge Links Twitch Channel. This stream is suitable for beginner to beginner plus. Jude is an ACBL Life Master and author of the award-winning book Teach Me To Play as well as a bridge cartoonist (Table Talk). She’s all set up, but still in the testing phase. Coming soon!

E-Open Bridge
https://twitch.tv/eopenbridge

Canada Bridge
https://www.twitch.tv/canadabridge

bridgeoverlord201
https://www.twitch.tv/bridgeoverlord201/

v8mama
https://www.twitch.tv/v8mama/

thebridgetv
https://www.twitch.tv/thebridgetv/

labridgetv
https://www.twitch.tv/labridgetv/

World Bridge Tour
https://www.twitch.tv/worldbridgetour/

 

Photo by ELLA DON on Unsplash