Spades

About the game

What is Spades?

This trick-taking game is a standard deck playing card game and takes on many different group-specific rules. Generally speaking, each player is given thirteen cards and a partner who sits across the table. Each player bids the number of tricks they'll take, and then the partners collectively attempt to take at least as many as they bid. The tricks are fairly standard with following suit if you can, and spades as the trump suit. If you make your bid you earn ten times the number of tricks you bid, otherwise you lose that many points. Plus there is usually a nil bid, which means you personally won't take any tricks but your partner still plays as normal. Call Break is a popular variation of Spades among card game players in South Asian countries. To win, players must score the maximum points in 5 rounds. Points equal the number of tricks bid in each hand. The player who wins that hand gains point, the loser loses the same amount of points.

How it plays

Mechanics

On the shelf

Categories

Questions players ask

Questions to bring to BoardGameBrain

• How do setup and the first turn work in Spades?
• When does scoring happen and what ends the game?
• How should the table resolve an unusual timing or rules interaction?