Spades FAQ

Spades is a partnership trick-taking card game for four players in two teams of two, played with one standard 52-card deck. Each hand, every player bids how many of the 13 tricks they expect to win, then all 13 tricks are played with spades as the permanent trump suit. Teams score against their combined bid, and the first team to 500 points wins the match.

Yes. spadesgame.app is completely free and runs entirely in your browser. There is nothing to buy, download, or install, and there are no interruptive video ads, premium tiers, or paywalls.

No. You play instantly against three computer opponents — a partner and two opponents — with no lobby, no waiting for a fourth player, and no account. Your stats are saved locally in your browser.

Spades was developed in the United States in the 1930s as a simpler, faster relative of Bridge and Whist, and spread quickly through college dorms and military barracks before becoming one of the most widely played partnership card games in North America.

Each of four players gets 13 cards. Starting left of the dealer, everyone bids a number of tricks (or Nil, a bid of zero). The player left of the dealer leads the first trick with a non-spade card; everyone must follow the suit led if able, otherwise any card may be played. Spades beat every other suit, and the highest card of the suit led wins if no spade is played. After 13 tricks, hands are scored and the next hand deals.

A Nil bid is a bid of exactly zero tricks — a bet that you will take none of the 13 tricks in the hand. Succeed and your team earns a 100-point bonus (200 for a blind Nil, bid before you look at your hand). Fail by taking even one trick and your team loses the same amount. A Nil bid does not add to your team's combined trick target; your partner's bid still has to be met on its own.

Spades cannot be led to a trick until a spade has already been played to some earlier trick in the hand — that first spade "breaks" spades. The only exception is a player who holds nothing but spades and has no other legal lead. Once broken, spades can be led freely for the rest of the hand.

A team that takes at least as many tricks as its combined bid scores 10 points per trick bid, plus 1 point for every trick won beyond the bid — these extra tricks are called "bags." A team that falls short of its bid loses 10 points per trick bid instead. Bags accumulate across the whole match, and every time a team's running bag total reaches 10, that team loses 100 points and the counter resets by ten.

Tap or click a bid button during bidding, and tap or click a card in your hand to play it. Illegal plays are automatically dimmed. On the keyboard, the Left and Right arrows move focus across your hand, Enter or Space plays the focused card, and M toggles sound.

You sit South with Sam as your partner across the table at North. Riley (West) and Jordan (East) are the opposing team. Seating never changes mid-match; only the dealer rotates each hand.

Hands are played one after another, each dealing out the full 52-card deck, until one team's score reaches 500 or falls to -200 points. Whichever team has the higher score at that moment wins the match.

Count your spades — each one is a likely trick, especially high ones. Add your aces and any guarded kings or queens in the other suits. A suit you are void in or hold only one card of is a future trick once your side runs it out. Bid the total, not a hopeful round number.

Only with a genuinely weak hand: no aces, no unguarded high cards, and just a couple of low spades at most. A single card in your hand capable of winning a trick is usually enough to sink a Nil bid, since the other three players will actively try to feed you a trick you cannot avoid.

A low card from a suit you hold several of, played early while the trick is still cheap. Avoid leading a spade before it has been broken by someone else, and avoid leading a suit where an opponent is likely holding a high card you would simply be handing them a trick with.

The current streak counts consecutive match wins. Losing a match — your team's score falling to -200, or the opposing team reaching 500 first — resets the current streak to zero. Your longest streak is kept as a separate best.

Matches played and won, your current and longest win streak, your best winning score, and your Nil bid record are saved locally in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server and there is no account. A match in progress is not saved if you close the tab.

Yes. The table is built for touch: tap a bid button, tap a card to play it. Your hand and all three other seats fit on one portrait screen, and a new hand deals instantly with no page reload.

The game needs a connection to load the page the first time. After that, some browsers may keep the tab playable without a network, but there is no dedicated offline app or installer.

Open Stats from the game menu and use Reset progress, then confirm with the second tap. That clears matches played and won, streaks, best score, and Nil record on this browser. It cannot be undone.

Any current browser with JavaScript: Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari on desktop, plus their mobile versions. If cards do not respond, update the browser, allow scripts for this site, and reload.