Margie Way first took up bridge around 1969 as a break from the tedium of raising seven children. Her husband, William, encouraged her to find a hobby and promised to watch their offspring while she learnt the game. At 89, she is still playing.

By contrast, Diana Diel’s first encounter with bridge was a disaster.

“My father was a very fine bridge player,” the 95-year-old said.

“He tried to teach me and I absolutely could not play with him. I swore I would never play this horrible game.”

Years later, when friends needed another pair for bridge lessons, Mrs Diel and her husband agreed to give it another try. That was in 1953. She has been playing ever since.

Each woman has accumulated more than 3,500 master points, earning sapphire status in the American Contract Bridge League ranking system, two levels from the top — emerald, which is 7,500 points.

“It is a hard game to learn,” Mrs Diel said. “It takes a lot of persistence to learn. Once you do, it is the most addictive game.”

The pair play at the Bermuda Bridge Club on Pomander Road in Paget twice a week, online three times a week and also casually with friends.

When they first began, bridge in Bermuda had no permanent home. For years, players relied on borrowed rooms in offices in hotels around Hamilton. Their headquarters was opened in 1975.

Like many bridge players, both women have remarkable recall. After a game, they can run through the hands, bids and play of the cards in detail and will often telephone each other later for a spirited debate over a particular decision.

Another player, Betsy Bailie, who has not been playing as long as Mrs Diel and Mrs Way, said that for many newcomers the hardest part of bridge was the bidding — and the often mysterious “code” in which partners communicate.

Part of bridge’s appeal, the women say, is that no two players approach the game in quite the same way.

“Everybody has their own particular style,” Mrs Way said

She described her own approach as laid-back, laughing about bids that might surprise her opponents.

She also sees herself as a more emotional player, in contrast to partners who can recall every numerical detail.

There is also a big social aspect to the bridge games. Mrs Way said marriages have been made and broken over the bridge tables, but she is very leery of husbands and wives acting as partners in the games.

“That is the worst combination,” she said. “They start arguing after the game and then take it home with them.”

For Mrs Diel, one of the great levellers of the game is that success does not necessarily follow academic achievement.

“It doesn’t necessarily have to be the cleverest people who learn to play bridge,” she said. “I have known intelligent people who struggled to develop ‘bridge sense’.”

Over the decades, both women have seen the highly competitive side of the game.

They recall travelling to tournaments where Bermuda players were sometimes underestimated because their master-point totals were lower than those of American competitors. The disparity was partly structural: winning a small club game in Bermuda might earn only a fraction of a master point, while larger overseas tournaments could award several points at once.

In 2000, Mrs Diel and Mrs Way competed in the Bermuda Bowl at the Southampton Princess, where their team defeated the side that ultimately went on to win the world championship.

Mrs Diel plays for fun.

“If I do well, fine,” she said. “If I don’t, I don’t.”

She will not partner with anyone who makes the experience unpleasant.

Mrs Way has spent years teaching others, at both Bermuda College and the club. Her philosophy is simple: beginners must enjoy themselves.

The club is trying to shake off the perception that experienced bridge players are intimidating.

“People used to be scared of the people here,” Mrs Way said. “So that’s what we are trying to erase.”

Retirees typically join the club, because the game takes time. A typical game on Monday afternoon often lasts three hours.

They are always trying to recruit new blood. The club has previously introduced the game at CedarBridge Academy, Saltus Grammar School and Warwick Academy.

The club launches a new series of weekly lessons starting on Monday from 6.45pm to 9pm. Classes will run until December 14. The course will follow a programme from the American Contract Bridge League. By Christmas, participants should be able to play at a novice level.

A second set of lessons will begin after Christmas and continue until the end of April. The aim is to bring everyone up to a standard where they can comfortably play in club games at the beginner level.

The cost is $250 for all 27 weeks, including textbooks. For more information, e-mail lessons@bermudabridge.com.

The club has also introduced an open side game on Fridays, designed to offer a more relaxed and less competitive atmosphere for newer or more casual players.

• For details, e-mail bbcmail@bermudabridge.com