EUGENE–Sometimes fun and games can really pay off, as they have with Ginsberg’s Intelligent Bridge Player (GIB), a sophisticated software program that utilizes the power of artificial intelligence to play computer-based bridge.

The program, written by University of Oregon computer expert Matthew Ginsberg, is marketed by Just Write, Inc., of Eugene. Sales have topped $170,000 through the distribution of about 5,000 units throughout the world, including Holland, France and Australia.

"This level of sales is far more than expected," Ginsberg says. "And the orders just keep coming."

GIB’s market position is good news for Lane County, as all profits from GIB’s sales stay in the local area. In addition, four percent of total sales go to the university, which provided support for Ginsberg’s work on GIB in the Computational Intelligence Research Laboratory (CIRL) located in the Riverfront Research Park.

Priced at less than $80, GIB is designed to operate efficiently on personal computers. It is also the only non-human member of the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL), and it obliterated all other competition at last year’s computer bridge championship in Chicago.

"I started writing GIB almost five years ago," Ginsberg says. "At the time, everyone believed it wouldn’t work. But then GIB defeated all the other computer bridge-playing programs in the world, and the basic technology that differentiates GIB is now being adopted by other programmers."

For more information about GIB, browse the web at http://www.gibware.com.

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