To see how the University Of Chicago plays the game, check out their rules. The first team to reach 500 points is the winner. The team still scores points, but for each trick over the initial bid, they get something known as a “sandbag.” For example, if a team bids eight tricks but wins 10, it scores 80 points plus two bags because of the overbid.īe careful because collecting 10 bags reduces your score by 100 points. Overbidding occurs when a team takes more tricks than was bid.

In other words, a player who bids four tricks and only wins one won’t be penalized if their fellow team member takes three more tricks than was bid. Keep in mind that a team only has to make its combined bid to score points. For example, if they bid seven and fail, they lose 70 points. On the other hand, if a team fails to meet their bid, 10 times the amount of that bid gets subtracted. For instance, let’s say they said they would take 10 tricks and did. If a team wins the exact number of tricks bid, they get 10 times the points they bid.

Whoever took the trick in the previous round gets to lead in the next round. When a player wins a round, they collect the four cards used in that turn so they can tally their score later. However, if one or more players play a spade, the player with the highest-ranking spade wins the round. The player with the highest rank of the suit that started the round wins. Spades are also broken if a player has no choice other than leading with spades.Įach player lays a card down and must follow suit if they can. Players who cannot follow suit may choose to play spades but aren’t required to. Spades are broken when a player cannot follow suit (meaning matching the suit of the card already in play) and plays a spade. In fact, unless a player has no choice, they can’t ever lead with spades until the suit is “broken.” Players can only lead with a spade if their hand only includes spades. The player to the dealer’s left goes first. There’s only one bidding round.īidding commences with the player sitting to the dealer’s left. Players aren’t allowed to pass, and bids don’t have to increase with each player. However, spades trump all other cards.Īny number from 0 (“nil”) to 13 is an allowable bid. The round winner is the player with the highest card of the same suit as the card that led. This total is the number of tricks the partnership must win to score points and avoid penalties. Each team member adds the amount of their bid to what their partner has. BiddingĪfter looking at their cards, each player bids on how many “tricks” they can take (in other words, how many rounds they can win). Each player arranges their cards according to suit. Choose someone to be the dealer, who hands out 13 cards to each player. Grab a standard deck of 52 cards and remove the jokers. Divide players into two teams of two players each. If you’re ready to play Spades or one of its extremely popular variants, rustle up four players (including yourself). Before diving into what they are, let’s review the rules. However, it’s not only a pleasant way to spend a lazy afternoon but also comes with surprising psychological and health benefits (by the way, you can play Spades trick-taking card game online for free at Anytime Games ). If you don’t already know, it’s a delightful trick-taking card game involving teamwork and strategy.

I want to play spades