How to play Spades
- You and North are partners against West and East. Each player is dealt 13 cards and bids how many tricks they expect to win, or Nil for none at all.
- Follow the suit that was led if you can. Spades are trumps: a spade beats any card of another suit. Spades can’t be led until one has been played.
- Your team scores 10 points for each trick it bid when it makes its combined bid, plus 1 for each extra trick, and loses 10 for each trick it bid when it falls short. The first team to 500 wins.
Tips for winning Spades
- Count your sure tricks. Aces outside spades and the ace and king of spades usually win. Kings and queens are less certain, especially without low cards to protect them.
- Mind the bags. Once your bid is made, try to lose the extra tricks. Ten bags cost 100 points, which can swing a close game.
- Lead your partner’s suit. When your partner trumps a suit or shows strength in one, give them a chance to win again.
- Save your trumps. Spades win tricks in any suit. Don’t waste a high spade on a trick your partner is already winning.
- Set the other team. If West and East bid high, playing to make them fall short can be worth more than taking extra tricks yourself.
About Spades
Spades is a trick-taking game for four players in two partnerships, played with a standard deck, where spades always outrank the other suits. It grew popular in the United States in the 20th century and is still one of the most played card games there. Here you partner with North against West and East, with the usual bidding, nil, bags and a game to 500 points, and the scores of a game in progress are saved on this device.