Spades
How to play Spades
Spades is a trick-taking card game for four players in two partnerships, in which spades are always trumps and each side tries to take the number of tricks it bid.
Spades with a computer partner against two computer players, played to 500 points.
About Spades
The classic game ends after the hand in which a side reaches 500 points.
A race to 500 runs over several hands, so bags have time to pile up. Your side's bags carry from hand to hand, and each time they reach 10 you lose 100 points, which can undo several hands of careful play.
Bid close to what you expect to take, and when your side already carries seven or eight bags, let spare tricks go once your contract is safe. Nil is worth 100 either way, a fifth of the target. Blind nil is only offered when your side trails by 100 or more, and made it wins back 200.
The goal of Spades
Spades is a trick-taking game for four players in two partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each other. You play with a computer partner against two computer opponents. In every hand each player bids how many tricks they expect to take.
How to set up Spades
Each player is dealt 13 cards from a 52-card deck, aces high. Spades are always trump. The deal passes one seat clockwise after every hand.
Spades rules
Starting to the dealer's left, each player bids once, from 0 to 13 tricks. Your side's contract is the sum of both partners' bids, leaving out any nil. A bid of 0 is nil: a promise to take no tricks at all, scored for that player alone.
Blind nil is allowed only when your side trails by 100 points or more at the deal, and to only one player per side in a hand. Your cards stay face down until your bid; you either bid blind nil or look at your cards and bid normally. After a blind nil, the bidder and their partner exchange two cards.
The player to the dealer's left leads first. You must follow suit if you can; otherwise you may play any card, including a spade. The highest spade wins the trick, or if no spade was played, the highest card of the suit led. Spades may not be led until one has been played to an earlier trick, unless you hold only spades.
Spades scoring
A side that makes its contract scores 10 points per trick bid plus 1 point for each extra trick. Each extra trick is also a bag, and when a side collects 10 bags it loses 100 points. A side that falls short loses 10 points per trick bid.
A nil that succeeds scores 100 and one that fails loses 100; blind nil scores or loses 200. Tricks taken by a nil bidder never count toward the partner's bid, but they do count as bags for the side.
How to win at Spades
The game ends after a hand in which a side reaches the target score. The side with the higher score wins; if both sides are exactly tied, another hand is played.
Spades strategy tips
Count your likely tricks, such as aces and high spades, and bid close to that number: bidding too high risks losing points, and bidding too low collects bags.
When your partner bids nil, play your high cards to win tricks they might otherwise be forced to take.
Keep an eye on the bags shown in the bar. When your side is close to 10, let tricks you do not need go to the opponents once your contract is made.
The ace of spades always wins the trick it is played to, so never bid nil while holding it. Nil suits a hand of low cards with few spades.
Spades questions and answers
Can you play Spades online with a partner?
Yes. Sign in, open a Spades table and send its code to the friend you want as your partner. The first person to join sits across from the host as their partner, and anyone after that joins the other side. With Fill empty seats with bots ticked, the host can start once two people are seated, and bots take the remaining seats.
How does blind nil work in Spades?
Blind nil is a bid to take no tricks, made before you look at your cards; it scores 200 if made and loses 200 if not. It is offered only when your side is 100 or more points behind at the deal, and only one player per side may bid it in a hand. After the bidding, you and your partner exchange two cards.
What are bags in Spades?
Bags are the tricks your side takes beyond its contract. Each one scores a single point, but they are counted across hands, and every time your side reaches 10 bags it loses 100 points and those ten come off the count. Tricks won by a player who bid nil also count as bags for their side, but they score no points.
Can you lead spades on the first trick in Spades?
No, unless your hand holds nothing but spades. Spades cannot be led until one has been played to an earlier trick, which happens when a player who cannot follow suit trumps with a spade. You may still play a spade to the first trick if you cannot follow the suit that was led.
What happens if both partners bid nil in Spades?
Each nil is scored on its own: plus 100 for each partner who takes no tricks and minus 100 for each who takes any. Your side then has no contract, so it scores nothing for the tricks it wins, and every trick either of you takes counts as a bag.
How many points do you need to win Spades?
The classic game is played to 500 points and Spades: Short to 300. The game ends after a hand in which a side reaches the target, and the side with the higher score wins. If both sides are exactly tied, another hand is played, so a game never ends in a draw.