Spades is a popular card game that is played with a standard deck of 52 cards and a set of rules that are slightly different from those of other card games. The game is played by four players, who are organized into two teams of two players each.
The goal of the game is to bid on the number of tricks (sets of four cards) that you think you can win, and to score points by taking tricks and fulfilling your bids.
How to play Spades
- To start the game, the players shuffle the deck of cards and deal 13 cards to each player. The players then look at their cards and decide how many tricks (sets of four cards) they think they can win. This is called the “bid,” and it is a prediction of how many tricks the player will take during the game.
- The players then take turns playing cards from their hand, trying to win tricks and fulfill their bids. The player to the left of the dealer starts the game by playing a card from their hand, and the other players must then follow suit (play a card of the same suit) if they can. If a player cannot follow suit, they can play any card from their hand.
- The player who plays the highest card of the suit that was led wins the trick, and they collect the cards that were played. They then start the next trick by leading a card from their hand. The game continues with the players taking turns playing cards and winning tricks until all of the cards have been played.
- At the end of the game, the players count up the number of tricks they have won, and they score points based on their bids and the tricks they have won. If a player fulfills their bid exactly, they score 10 points for each trick they have won. If a player wins more or fewer tricks than their bid, they score 1 point for each trick they have won.