Suppose that you have been introduced to baseball and that you are enjoying it. Probably you like being part of a team, encouraging each other, hitting the ball, catching the ball, throwing the ball, and talking about the game after it’s over. But if you want to win at baseball, you also need to understand what it takes to achieve runs and what it takes to achieve outs. In short, you need to understand the scoring system. It’s the same for bridge; there is much to love about the game without considering what it takes to win, but if you want to win, you also need to understand how the winner is determined.
In The Real World, most bridge is played with matchpoint scoring. The primary exception is team-of-four games, which usually have IMP (international matchpoint) scoring.