To play Spades, follow these key steps:
Setup
- Use a standard 52-card deck.
- Four players are dealt 13 cards each.
- Players sitting opposite each other form teams
Objective
- The goal is to win at least the number of tricks you bid before play begins
Bidding
- Each player bids the number of tricks they expect to win (minimum bid is one).
- Bids are made in a single round, starting with the player to the dealer’s left.
- No passing is allowed, and spades are always trump, so no suit is named in the bid
Gameplay
- The player to the dealer’s left leads the first trick by playing any card except a spade (spades cannot be led until they are "broken," meaning a spade has been played to trump a previous trick)
- Players must follow the suit led if possible.
- If a player cannot follow suit, they may play a spade (trump) or another suit.
- The highest card of the suit led wins the trick unless a spade is played, in which case the highest spade wins
- The winner of each trick leads the next trick.
- Play continues until all 13 tricks have been played
Scoring
- If a player/team makes their bid exactly, they score 10 points per trick bid.
- Each trick won beyond the bid (overtricks or "bags") scores 1 point each.
- If a player/team fails to meet their bid, they score zero for that hand.
- Accumulating 10 bags often results in a penalty of 100 points deducted.
- A bid of zero tricks ("nil") scores 100 points if successful, but -100 if failed.
- The game is typically played to 500 points, but this can vary
Summary
- Deal 13 cards to each player.
- Bid how many tricks you expect to win.
- Follow suit if possible; spades trump other suits.
- Spades cannot be led until broken.
- Score based on meeting or exceeding your bid.
- First to the target score wins
This is the basic structure of Spades, a trick-taking game where strategy revolves around bidding accurately and managing trump cards effectively.
