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About Spades

Spades is a four-player partnership card game built on a promise. Before each hand you bid how many tricks you expect to take, your partner does the same, and your team must take at least the combined total — no more is fine, but falling short costs you the lot. Spades are always trumps.

The tension is entirely in the bid. Underbid and you'll accumulate 'bags' that eventually cost you 100 points; overbid and you go set. Blind nil — bidding zero without looking at your hand — is the high-risk swing that can win a losing game.

How to play Spades

Bid

Choose your number before the hand

Play a card

Click it in your hand

1. Each player bids the number of tricks they expect to take.
2. The team's contract is the two partners' bids combined.
3. Follow suit if you can; spades are trumps and win any trick they're played on.
4. Spades can't be led until they've been broken by a discard.
5. Make your contract to score; fall short and you lose the bid's value.

Spades tips

• Count your certain winners — aces, the ace and king of spades — and bid those, not your hopes.
• Don't take tricks you didn't bid for; every extra is a bag, and ten bags cost 100 points.
• Lead low from a long side suit to force out trumps.
• Nil is worth trying with a hand of low cards and no high spades; blind nil almost never is.

Spades — questions