Spades
Cards Used
Spades is played with a standard 52-card deck and is typically played by 4 players in two partnerships (2 vs 2). No jokers are used in the basic version.
Aim of the Game
The aim of Spades is for a team to correctly predict and win the number of tricks they bid before each round, using the Spades suit as a permanent trump suit.
Point Scoring
Teams score points based on how accurately they meet their bid: each trick successfully bid is worth 10 points per trick, and extra tricks beyond the bid are called bags and usually give 1 bonus point each. Failing to meet a bid results in 0 points for that round. Many versions also apply a penalty for accumulating too many bags (often -100 points after 10 bags). The team with the highest score after a set target (commonly 500 points) wins.
How to Deal
All 52 cards are dealt evenly so each player receives 13 cards. Players look at their hands and decide how many tricks they believe they can win.
Gameplay
- 1
The game is played in tricks:
- (a)
Each player makes a bid, predicting how many tricks they will win.
- (b)
The player to the dealer’s left leads the first trick. Players must follow suit if possible.
- (c)
If they cannot follow suit, they may play any card—but Spades cannot be played until they are “broken” (i.e. someone has already played a Spade when they couldn’t follow suit).
- (d)
Spades is always the trump suit, meaning any Spade beats any card of another suit. The highest card of the led suit wins the trick unless a Spade is played, in which case the highest Spade wins.
- (a)
- 2
After all 13 tricks are played, teams compare their actual tricks won to their bids and score accordingly. The game continues over multiple rounds until a team reaches the agreed winning score.
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