How to Play Spades

How to Play

Spades is a trick-taking card game. Each player is dealt 13 cards. Spades are always trump. The goal is to win the number of tricks you bid.

How to Bid

Before play begins, each player bids the number of tricks they expect to win. Partnership bids are combined. Bidding your hand accurately is key — winning fewer tricks than you bid costs points.

Nil & Blind Nil

Nil: Bid zero tricks. Success = +100 points, failure = −100. Blind Nil: Bid nil before looking at your cards. Success = +200, failure = −200. High risk, high reward.

Jokers

When jokers are enabled: Big Joker beats Little Joker beats Ace of Spades. Jokers are always trump and beat all other spades.

Bags & Bag Penalty

Every trick won above your bid counts as a "bag" (overtrick). Bags accumulate across hands. When you reach 10 bags, you lose 100 points and your bag count resets to 0.

Scoring

Meet your bid: 10 × bid + overtricks. Miss your bid (set): −10 × bid. First team/player to reach the target score wins.