Spades

Bid with your partner, follow suit and use spades to take the tricks you promised.

Getting a board

Craft a Spades Board and fit it into a Large Game Table. Place matching Game Chairs facing the table, then take a seat.

Materials

1 ×Paper
7 ×Any planks
1 ×Blue wool

How to play

Open the fitted board to make your moves. How to play in the side tray gives you the same lessons with illustrations inside the game.

Bid as a team

Your bid: Say how many tricks you expect to win. — **Your bid**
Say how many tricks you expect to win.

Team target: Your bid and your partner's bid make one team contract. — **Team target**
Your bid and your partner's bid make one team contract.

Follow suit

Lead: The first card sets the suit everyone must follow if able. — **Lead**
The first card sets the suit everyone must follow if able.

Follow: If you hold that suit, play it. Otherwise you may choose another suit. — **Follow**
If you hold that suit, play it. Otherwise you may choose another suit.

Spades are trump

Off suit: A spade can beat the suit that was led. — **Off suit**
A spade can beat the suit that was led.

Highest wins: The highest spade wins the trick, even over a high heart. — **Highest wins**
The highest spade wins the trick, even over a high heart.

Win tricks

Four cards: Each player adds one card to the trick. — **Four cards**
Each player adds one card to the trick.

Take the lead: The winner takes the next lead and starts the next trick. — **Take the lead**
The winner takes the next lead and starts the next trick.

Nil is risky

Nil bid: A nil bid promises zero tricks for that player. — **Nil bid**
A nil bid promises zero tricks for that player.

Two outcomes: Make nil for +100. One trick loses 100; nil tricks do not help contract. — **Two outcomes**
Make nil for +100. One trick loses 100; nil tricks do not help contract.

Watch the bags

Contract: Make your team target for the contract points. — **Contract**
Make your team target for the contract points.

One extra: Winning five on a four bid scores the contract and one bag. — **One extra**
Winning five on a four bid scores the contract and one bag.

Break spades

First lead: Spades cannot lead while unbroken, unless the leader has only spades. — **First lead**
Spades cannot lead while unbroken, unless the leader has only spades.

After a break: Once a spade is played, spades may lead future tricks. — **After a break**
Once a spade is played, spades may lead future tricks.

Race to 500

Team score: Add contract points and keep bags under control. — **Team score**
Add contract points and keep bags under control.

Finish: At 500, the higher score wins; a tie continues for another deal. — **Finish**
At 500, the higher score wins; a tie continues for another deal.

Misses and bags

Miss the bid: A failed bid loses ten points for every trick bid. — **Miss the bid**
A failed bid loses ten points for every trick bid.

Ten bags: Ten overtrick bags cost 100 points. Extra bags carry forward. — **Ten bags**
Ten overtrick bags cost 100 points. Extra bags carry forward.

Rules in more detail

Failed nil and bags

A failed nil player’s tricks count towards team bags even when the positive bid fails. Those tricks do not help the partner make the bid contract.

Team contracts and the match target

Players One and Three form a team; Players Two and Four form the other. Positive bids make the team contract, while nil is scored separately. Extra tricks become bags, so repeatedly overtricking has a cost. The target is five hundred points. If both teams reach it with equal scores, another deal is played to break the tie. The failed-nil treatment in this section matters when calculating both the partner’s contract and team bags.

Keep playing

Use Rematch after the result to play again. To pause an unfinished match, the table owner can remove and keep its board.

See seats and solo play for multiplayer and Play alone, or item stakes if you want to agree on a pot.