What you need
- A standard 52-card deck, jokers removed
- Four players, sitting so that partners are opposite each other
- Pen and paper, or the free score keeper
Players and time
4 players in two partnerships. About 45 minutes to 1 hour.
The goal
Each hand, you and your partner try to win at least as many tricks as the two of you bid, and no more than that if you can help it. Spades are always trump.
The first partnership to reach 500 points wins the game.
Setup
- Partners sit across from each other. Pick the first dealer at random. After that the deal passes to the left each hand.
- The dealer shuffles and deals the whole deck one card at a time, starting with the player to the dealer's left, so everyone gets 13 cards.
- Cards rank from the ace (high) down to the 2 in every suit. Spades beat every other suit.
A turn
- Bidding: starting with the player to the dealer's left, each player bids once. Nobody can pass, and bids do not need to be higher than the one before. A bid is a number of tricks, or nil (zero tricks). There is no second round.
- Add the two partners' bids together. That total is the number of tricks your side is aiming for.
- The player to the dealer's left leads the first trick with any card except a spade.
- Each player in turn plays one card and must follow the suit led if able. A player who cannot follow suit may play any card, a spade included.
- A trick that contains a spade is won by the highest spade. A trick with no spade is won by the highest card of the suit led. The winner leads the next trick.
- Spades cannot be led until a spade has been played on another suit's lead (spades are broken), unless the player on lead holds only spades.
- After all 13 tricks, each side counts its tricks and scores the hand. Then the next hand is dealt.
Special cards and combinations
- Nil
- A player who bids nil is aiming to win no tricks at all. If the player takes none, the side scores 100 points on top of whatever the partner's bid scores. If the player takes even one trick, the side loses 100 points, but the partner's bid still scores as normal.
- Tricks won by a failed nil bidder
- Under the usual rule, tricks taken by a player whose nil failed do not count toward the partner's bid, but they do count as bags for the side. Some groups play it differently; see the house rules below. Two cases are not settled by the sources: whether those tricks still count as bags when the partner's bid is missed (the score keeper adds no bags to a set side), and how a side where both partners bid nil scores its tricks (every trick is then taken by a nil bidder, so by the usual rule each one is a bag, which is how the score keeper treats it). Agree on these before you play if they might come up.
- Bags
- Each trick your side wins beyond its bid is an extra trick, called a bag or an overtrick, worth 1 point. Bags add up from hand to hand. Each time a side collects ten bags it loses 100 points, and the count drops by ten, so ten more bags are needed for the next penalty.
- Being set
- A side that wins fewer tricks than it bid is set. Instead of scoring, it loses 10 points for every trick it bid.
- Leading spades
- Spades are held back until they are broken. You may lead one only after a spade has been played on another suit's lead, or if you have nothing but spades in your hand.
Scoring
Score each partnership separately at the end of every hand, then add it to the running total and track the bags.
| Result | Points |
|---|---|
| Bid made | 10 per trick bid |
| Each extra trick (a bag) | +1 each |
| Every 10 bags collected | -100, and the bag count drops by 10 |
| Bid missed (set) | -10 per trick bid |
| Nil made | +100 |
| Nil failed | -100 (partner still scores their own bid) |
| Tricks taken by a failed nil bidder | Do not count toward the partner's bid; count as bags |
Worked example
Partners A bid 4 and 3, so their side bid 7. They had 8 bags from earlier hands. They win 9 tricks. They made the bid: 7 x 10 = 70 points, plus 2 bags = 72. The bag count is now 8 + 2 = 10, which costs 100 points, and the count goes back to 0. Net for the hand: 72 - 100 = -28.
Partners B: one bid nil and took no tricks, the other bid 3 and took 4 tricks. That is 13 tricks in total (9 for A plus 4 for B). The 3-trick bid is made: 30 + 1 bag = 31. The nil is made: +100. Net for the hand: 131.
If instead B's nil bidder had taken 1 trick and the partner had taken 3: the partner makes the bid of 3 for 30, the nil bidder's trick counts as 1 bag for 1 point, and the failed nil costs 100. Net for the hand: 30 + 1 - 100 = -69.
Keep score with the Spades score keeper
How to win
The first side to reach 500 points wins. If both sides pass 500 in the same hand, the side with the higher score wins. If they are exactly level, play another hand.
The score keeper also ends the game when a side falls to the lose line, which is a house rule explained below.
Common house rules
These are house rules. They are not part of the official rules, so agree on them before you start.
- Lose line at -200 (house rule) House rule
- Many groups end the game when a side drops to -200 or lower, and the other side wins. This is a common house rule, not a rule in the sources used for this page. A similar rule in one reference uses -500 instead. The score keeper has this line off; type -200 (or -500) in its settings to use it.
- Blind nil (variation) House rule
- A player may bid nil before looking at their cards. It is usually allowed only when the player's side is behind by 100 points or more. The bidder passes two cards face down to the partner, and the partner passes two back. A successful blind nil scores 200 and a failed one loses 200. The score keeper has one nil value, so to use this rule, enter two nils made or two nils failed for that hand.
- Missed bids score zero (variation) House rule
- One published version scores a missed bid as 0 points instead of -10 per trick bid. The score keeper uses the penalty version.
- Failed nil tricks help the partner (variation) House rule
- Some groups let the tricks taken by a failed nil bidder count toward the partner's bid. The score keeper follows the standard rule: put those tricks in the separate failed-nil box so they stay out of the bid. To play this variation, leave that box at 0.
- Short game to 200 (variation) House rule
- For a shorter game, agree a lower target, such as 200. Change the target in the score keeper settings.
Frequently asked questions
What is a bag in Spades?
A bag is an extra trick beyond what your side bid. Each bag is worth 1 point, but collecting ten of them costs 100 points, so winning too many extra tricks is a slow penalty.
What does nil mean?
Nil is a bid of zero. The player is promising to take no tricks. It scores 100 if it works and costs 100 if the player takes even one trick.
Can you lead a spade on the first trick?
No. The first lead must be a card from another suit. In general, nobody can lead spades until a spade has been played on another suit's lead, unless the player on lead has only spades left.
What happens if a player bids nil and wins a trick?
The side loses 100 points. The partner's bid still scores if it is made, but the nil bidder's tricks do not count toward it. They count as bags instead.
Do you have to play a spade when you cannot follow suit?
No. If you cannot follow suit you may play any card. Playing a spade will win the trick unless a higher spade is played, but you are not forced to.
Can a player pass when bidding?
No. Every player must bid, either a number of tricks or nil. There is one round of bidding, and a bid does not need to be higher than the one before it.
What if both sides reach 500 in the same hand?
The side with the higher score wins. If the scores are tied, play another hand.
How many bags are too many?
Every time your side collects ten bags, it loses 100 points and the count goes down by ten. Bags carry over, so eight bags now means two more bags later will trigger the penalty.
Sources
- Pagat: Spades (Partnerships, bidding, nil and blind nil, scoring, bags, failed-nil tricks, leading spades, target of 500, and the variation lose lines.)
- Bicycle Cards: Spades (Basic bidding, leading spades, 10 points per trick bid, 1 point per overtrick, 100-point penalty for 10 bags, and the 500 target. Its version has no nil and scores a missed bid as 0.)