Spades Rules
Spades is a trick-taking game for four players in two partnerships. Spades are always trump, and each hand starts with a bid. It was invented in the United States in the 1930s and is still one of the most played card games there.
♠ Play it now: open Spades with a computer partner.
Players and cards
- 4 players in two teams; partners sit opposite each other.
- A standard 52-card pack, A high to 2 low. Spades are always trump.
- All cards are dealt, 13 each. Deal and play go clockwise.
Bidding
- Starting left of the dealer, each player bids once: the number of tricks they expect to win, 0 to 13.
- A team's contract is the sum of the two partners' bids. Partners' tricks count together.
- A bid of 0 is Nil: that player promises to win no tricks. Their partner's bid then stands alone as the team contract.
- (Variant: Blind Nil, bid before looking at your cards, worth ±200. Not used on Cheettukali.)
Playing
- The player left of the dealer leads first.
- Follow suit if you can. If you can't, play any card: a spade (trump) or a discard.
- The highest spade wins the trick; if no spade was played, the highest card of the suit led wins.
- Breaking spades: you may not lead a spade until a spade has been played on another suit, unless you have only spades left.
Scoring
| Result | Points |
|---|---|
| Team makes its contract | +10 × contract, +1 for each extra trick (bag) |
| Team fails ("set") | −10 × contract |
| Nil made (0 tricks) | +100 |
| Nil failed | −100 (the tricks count as bags, not toward the partner's bid) |
| Every 10 bags collected | −100, and 10 bags are removed |
Example: you bid 4 and your partner bids 3 (contract 7). Your team wins 9 tricks: 70 + 2 = 72, and 2 bags go on your count. Had you won only 6: −70.
Winning
The first team to reach 500 points wins (Cheettukali also offers 250). A team that falls to −200 loses. If both teams pass the target in the same hand, the higher score wins.
FAQ
How many points do you need to win Spades?
Usually 500. Shorter games use 250 or 300.
Do Nil tricks count toward my partner's bid?
No. If a Nil bidder wins tricks, the Nil fails (−100) and those tricks don't help the partner's contract; they count as bags.
Can you bid zero in Spades without it being Nil?
In standard rules a zero bid is Nil. Some house rules allow a team total bid of at least 4.
What happens if both teams reach 500?
The team with the higher score wins. If they are tied, keep playing.