How to Play Spades

• 1Spades is a partnership trick-taking game. You and your computer partner face two computer opponents across 4 hands. Spades are always trump.
• 2Before each hand, every player bids the number of tricks they expect to win. Your team's combined bid is your contract for that hand.
• 3Play follows clockwise. You must follow the suit led if you can. If you can't follow suit, play any card including a spade to trump the trick.
• 4Spades cannot be led until they have been "broken" — played as a trump on a previous trick — unless spades are your only suit.
• 5If your team makes your bid, you score 10 points per trick bid plus 1 point for each overtrick (bag). If you fall short, you lose 10 points per trick bid.
• 6Every 10 bags accumulated costs your team 100 points. Bid carefully — overtricks add up fast.
• 7Bidding Nil means you commit to winning zero tricks. Success scores 100 bonus points. Failure costs 100 points.

About Today's Daily Deal

Every day at midnight, SpadesFix generates a fresh 4-hand deal — the same sequence of cards for every player worldwide. Your score across all 4 hands is your daily total. Come back tomorrow for a new challenge.

Spades originated in the United States in the 1930s and became one of the most popular card games in American culture. Unlike Bridge or Hearts, Spades has always been a game of the people — played at kitchen tables, on military bases, and in college dorms for nearly a century.

Strategy & Tips

Count spades as they're played — knowing how many are left changes every decision. Never bid Nil unless your hand is genuinely clean of high cards and you have low cards in every suit. Covering your partner's Nil bid is one of the highest-skill plays in the game — sacrifice your own tricks to protect theirs.

Bags are the silent killer. A bid of 4 that takes 7 tricks feels like a win but costs you 3 bags. Over 4 hands those bags accumulate fast. Bid conservatively and let your partner take the overtricks if the hand goes long.