Spades Blitz

Spades Rules

Solo Mode

Spades is a trick-taking card game, part of the Whist family of card games. It is similar to classics such as Hearts and Bridge. While sharing many characteristics, perhaps the main difference is that the Spade suit is always the trump.

The game gain popularity during the 1990s, as it became more easily accessible due to the internet and the formation of many tournaments. Mainly being popular in the USA, the game has spread to many different countries since its creation.

Game Goal

Spades online is usually played by four players that use a standard deck of 52 cards. The suits, ranked from highest to lowest, are as follows: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.

The main objective of the game is to score a certain number of points. Players can accumulate points by winning the number of tricks they have bid before the beginning of each hand. They can also lose points by not succeeding in taking the stated number or exceeding it.

Dealing and Playing

Dealing and playing is clockwise, and each player receives 13 cards. Then the bidding phase begins. A number of tricks are chosen by each player. They can bid any number from 0 to 13, and there is no passing in Spades. Each bid is final once stated.

There is one special case: Nil bid – when a player declares that they will not win any tricks during the round. If successful, bonus points are awarded, and if not, a penalty are reduced from the final score.

The round begins with the player to the left of the dealer. Any card can be played at the beginning, apart from a spade. Afterward, players follow suit whenever they can. If unable to do so, any card can be played.

When cards of the spade suit are involved, the highest spade played takes the trick. When no spades are played, the highest card of the lead suit is the winner.

Spades can be led when the following conditions are met:

  • A player must have already played a spade
  • A player has only spades in his hand

When the first spade is played, it is known as “breaking spades”.

Scoring

The number of tricks that each player won is compared to their bids declared earlier. If a player won the exact number of tricks, each will award 10 points (a bid of 4 tricks would award 40 points).

If a player could not reach their bid, 10 points for each trick are deducted from the score. For example, a player has declared a bid of 3, but they won less than 3 tricks. The result will be a deduction of 30 points.

A successful Nil bid rewards 50 points, and if it is not – 50 points are deducted from the score.

When a player wins more tricks than declared, they score 1 more point for each additional trick (overtricks). Overtricks accumulate in the so-called bag. 5 overtricks will deduct 50 points from the score, and the bag will reset to 0.

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