Four players in two teams: you and Nora (sitting opposite) against Rosie and Mags. Each player bids how many tricks they'll win; together you try to make your team's total.
Teach it in a minute
- The goal: With your partner, win at least as many tricks as you bid together.
- Your turn: Play one card. Follow the suit led if you can; if you can't, you may trump with a spade.
- How a hand goes: Thirteen cards each, everyone bids how many tricks they'll win, then thirteen tricks are played.
- What people get wrong: Winning more tricks than you bid isn't free: extra tricks are bags, and ten bags cost 100 points.
- First-game tip: Bid one for each Ace, one for a King with another card of its suit, and one for each spade beyond three.
Tricks
A trick is one round where each player plays one card. The best card wins it.
Bidding
- After the deal, each player bids a number of tricks, starting left of the dealer.
- Your bid plus Nora's is your team's target. You can see her bid, but never her cards.
- Count likely winners: Aces, protected Kings, high spades and extra spades.
Playing
- The player left of the dealer leads the first trick.
- Follow the suit led if you can.
- If you can't, you may play a spade. Spades are always trumps and beat every other suit.
- Spades can't be led until one has been played on another suit, unless you have only spades.
- The highest spade wins; otherwise the highest card of the suit led.
Scoring
- Make your team's bid: 10 points per trick bid, plus 1 per extra trick.
- Extra tricks are bags: every 10 bags costs 100 points.
- Miss your bid (set): lose 10 points per trick bid.
- First team to 250 wins.
Why it works like this
- You bid before you play. It turns the game into keeping a promise. Knowing what your hand can do is the skill.
- Spades are always trumps. Everyone always knows which suit is strongest, so bidding is easier to learn.
- Spades can't be led until broken. Otherwise a player with many spades could pull everyone else's spades out at once.
- Bags cost points. It stops teams from bidding low and winning lots of tricks anyway; you have to bid accurately.
- Partners sit opposite. Turns alternate between the teams, so neither side gets two plays in a row.
Common questions
- Can I play with friends? Yes. Press Play with friends to make a room, then send the link. The table has four seats (partners sit opposite); computer players fill any empty seat, and a friend who arrives later can take one over. Each player has their own coach, which only sees their own cards.
- Should I beat Nora's card? Usually not: if she's winning, play low.
- Can I bid zero (nil)? Not at this table.
- What if we win more than we bid? You score them, but too many become bags.
The quickest way to learn is to play a hand: the coach explains each rule the moment it matters. Start a game of Spades →