Spades is a 4 player trick-taking card game that can be joined in partnerships of 2. The game utilizes a standard 52-card deck and each player is dealt 13 cards initially.
Goal in Spades
The goal is to win tricks containing cards from the spade suit, with each spade being worth 1 point. The first person to score 500 points wins the whole game. If at all possible, players must imitate this strategy and attempt to take as many tricks as they can given the cards they are dealt.
The two main strategic components of Spades are partnerships and bidding. Each team makes partnerships before the game begins and makes a bid on how many tricks they believe they can take. The contract for each team is decided by this.
How To Play
Each player takes turns playing one card per trick as the game progresses. If they can, players must follow suit; if not, they may play any card. For that player/team, the trick is won with the highest card of the suit led.
Additionally, there are options to "nil bid," or go for no tricks, and to use advanced play variations like mirrors and shadows. Overall, Spades encourages careful partners, cautious bidding, and tactical card play. A dynamic game of skill and deduction is created by the subtleties surrounding spade suits, contracts, and bidding.
Rules in Spades
- Players who are partners sit across from one another. To receive a favorable score, the sum of the partners' bids must be won.
- The order of the cards is 2 to K. The highest rank is Ace. Other suits are never superior to spades.
- Unless they are unable to, players must follow the leader's lead.
- Unless spades "have been broken" (played before), the lead player is not permitted to play a spade.
- Tricks that exceed the bid (bags) will accumulate, with a 100-point deduction for every 10 bags in curs.
- Compared to regular nil, blind nil has twice the bonus/penalty.
