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How to Play Spades

Bid smart. Spades are always trump.

👥 4 players (2 teams) · Medium difficulty

Spades is North America's most iconic trick-taking partnership game. Every hand starts with a bidding phase — your team must win exactly the tricks you bid. Too few costs points; too many "sandbags" accumulate into penalties.

🎮 Ways to Play Spades

Create a Spades Table

Create your own Spades table in seconds — choose the seats, share the invite code, and fill empty spots with AI opponents.

Join a Spades Table by Invite

Enter a friend's invite code and take your seat at their Spades table — no strangers, just your crew.

Play Spades Against the Computer

Practice Spades against smart AI opponents with multiple difficulty levels — the perfect way to learn the game or test new strategies.

Play Spades Offline

No connection? No problem. Play Spades offline against computer opponents, anywhere you are.

🎯 Objective

Be the first team to reach 500 points.

🃏 Spades Setup & Rules

Two teams of two sit opposite each other. Deal 13 cards to each player.
Each player bids 0–13 tricks. Team bid = sum of both partners' bids.

▶ How to Play Spades

Spades cannot be led until they have been "broken" (played as a discard in another suit), unless a player has only spades.
Spades beat all other suits. Highest spade wins if any are played; otherwise highest of led suit wins.
Players must follow suit. If void, play any card including a spade.

🎬 Watch: How to Play Spades

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📖 Detailed Guide

Setting up your table

Spades is 4 players in two fixed partnerships — you and the seat across from you are Team A; the other two are Team B.
Each player card shows bid, tricks taken, team score, and bags at all times, so you can read the state of the hand at a glance.
13 cards are dealt to each player. Use the arrange helper to sort your hand by suit before bidding.

Bidding

Starting left of the dealer, each player bids the number of tricks they expect to personally win (0–13). Your team's contract is the sum of both partners' bids.
Count likely winners: Aces and Kings in side suits, plus long spades. A typical starting hand bids 3–4.
Bidding 0 is "Nil" — a bold declaration that you'll win no tricks at all. Made Nil = +100, failed Nil = −100, on top of your partner's normal bid.
In the app, use the +/− dialog to set your number and tap "Place Bid." Both teams' totals are shown as bids come in.

Trick play

The player left of the dealer leads the first trick. You must follow the led suit if you can — the app highlights legal plays.
Spades are always trump: if any spade is played to a trick, the highest spade wins it; otherwise the highest card of the led suit wins.
You may not LEAD spades until they're "broken" — a spade discarded on another suit's trick — unless spades are all you have left.
The trick winner leads next. Keep counting: how many spades are out, and how many tricks your team still needs.

Scoring, bags, and winning

Make your team contract and you score 10 × bid. Fall short and you LOSE 10 × bid.
Every trick over your bid is a "bag" worth +1 — but collect 10 bags and your team is docked 100 points. Don't hoard cheap tricks.
Nil results are scored separately from the partner's bid. Blind Nil (bid before looking at your cards) doubles the stakes to ±200.
First team to 500 points wins the match.

📊 Spades Scoring

Made bid: 10 × bid. Each overtrick (bag): +1 but every 10 bags = −100. Failed bid: −10 × bid. Nil bid made: +100. Nil bid failed: −100. Blind nil: ±200.