Card games
Spades
Partnership Spades
Bid with your partner, make your contract
Spades is America’s favorite partnership card game. Two teams of two play with partners sitting across from each other, spades are always trump, and every player bids the tricks they’ll take. Make your team’s contract, keep your bags low and be the first team to 500.
- Players
- 4 players
- Length
- 15–30 min per game
- Type
- Card games
Play Spades online with friends
Spades needs four players, and Masa keeps the table full: invite your partner and two friends, or let bots fill the empty chairs — they hand a seat over when a new game starts. Every bid and every trick plays out on a 3D table.
How to play
- 1
Four players in two teams get 13 cards each. Partners sit across from each other, and spades are always trump.
- 2
Starting left of the dealer, everyone bids how many tricks they’ll take, from 1 to 13, or Nil. Partners’ bids add up to the team’s contract.
- 3
Bid Nil to take no tricks at all. If your team is 100 or more points behind, you may even bid Blind Nil, before looking at your cards.
- 4
The player left of the dealer leads the first trick. Follow the suit led if you can; if you can’t, play any card.
- 5
The highest spade wins the trick, otherwise the highest card of the suit led. The winner leads the next trick.
- 6
Spades can’t be led until a spade has been played (spades are “broken”), unless you hold nothing but spades.
Frequently asked questions
Can I trump when I can’t follow suit?
Yes, but you don’t have to: when you’re out of the suit led, you may play any card.
Do my Nil tricks help my partner?
No. Your partner’s bid stands on its own, and a failed Nil’s tricks count only as bags for your team.
What is a bag?
Every trick your team takes beyond its contract. Each one is worth a point, but every tenth bag costs 100.
What if both teams pass 500 on the same hand?
The higher score wins. If the scores are level, one more hand is played.
How is Spades different from Batak?
Spades is played in fixed teams, with spades always trump and partners’ bids added together; in Batak every player plays for themselves, and the auction winner names trumps.
