Story first ran in the Dec. 20, 2014, edition of the Siuslaw News.

Billionaires Warren Buffett and Bill Gates enjoy a game.

James Bond deals the evil Sir Hugo Drax a ruff lesson in Moonraker.

Snoopy engages Woodstock and friends in a game in an occasional Peanuts strip.

And Florence resident John Weatherwax has been singing its praises for nearly a half century.

"I've played every card game in the world, and contract bridge is the best card game in the world," says Weatherwax, director/manager of the Florence Bridge Club. "Anybody can pick it up. The rules are quite simple, and you can get into it quite quickly."

Weatherwax and as many as a dozen regular members gather weekly at the St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Florence for three hours or more of fun, food and fellowship.

Games are played at 12:30 p.m. Thursdays. A Tuesday session is added, as needed, normally in the summer, when the club attracts traveling bridge fans.

"We charge $4 a session, and that covers more than three hours of play, all the coffee you can drink, snacks and fellowship," he says.

Some of the money also goes to renting a room at the church, some goes for sanction fees to the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) and some pays for a Christmas dinner for club members.

"We keep a small reserve, but we're not squirreling away much," he says.

Thankfully, they didn't have to pay for their electronic scoring system, Bridgemate, which cost nearly $1,000. The system was provided by ACBL Unit 572, which includes Florence and other clubs on the coast from Bandon to Lincoln City.

"It allows you to enter the player's name, his number, if he has one, and you can score as you go along," says Weatherwax. "When we're done, you transmit to a server in a laptop, and we have the standings right away."

Players accumulate points, a first goal the 300 needed to be a life master. Bronze life master is 500 points, silver 1,000 and gold 2,500. Weatherwax has some 1,600 points masters points, while his playing partner, James Smith, has more than 3,500.

"You don't have to be a club member to play, and you don't have to be playing for masters points," Weatherwax says.

But you do have to be on your best behavior.

"We have what's called zero tolerance," he says. "We don't stand for people who are abusive, who make it uncomfortable for others to play."

It has yet to be an issue.

"We've never had any problems," Weatherwax says. "And the people from the outside, who come to play, are to a person friendly."

Games are played in tables of four players, featuring two competing partnerships. All 52 cards in a standard deck are used.

"The game is simple, but there's a lot of strategy," Weatherwax says. "It's better than chess."

The ACBL says a "true beginner" can learn the game in five hours using its Learn Bridge in A Day course. There are online games, for beginners to learn and for masters players to accumulate points.

"We will teach from scratch," Weatherwax says. "But we're usually looking for people who have played."

And who are in for some fun, food and fellowship.

"These are fun people," says Weatherwax of his fellow club members.

"We want people to know we're not a bunch of grumps, out to kill you if you don't play well."

That's something even a billionaire would like.