The Basics

Spades Rules Links

• The Basics
• Strategy
• AI Details

Quick Start

• The player across from you is your partner.
• Start by bidding the number of tricks you think you’ll take with your hand.
• You must play the suit that was led, if you have it.
• The highest Spade takes the trick; if no Spade is played, then the highest card in the suit that was led takes the trick.
• The game ends when one team reaches 250 points (or time runs out).

Overview
In Spades Showdown, you will be playing with three computer-controlled players. You control the player at the bottom of the table and are partnered with the player across from you; the players to your left and right are partnered with each other.

If you have played Spades before, either on a computer or in the real world, there are a few main differences with WorldWinner's Spades that you need to know before playing:

• The winner is the first team to reach 250 points.
• NIL bids are worth +75 points if you make them, or -75 if you fail.
• The "bag" penalty occurs at 5 bags, and gives 50 points to the opposing team.
• Aces are the highest card in each suit, 2 is the lowest.

Spades Basics

Each game is composed of a series of deals, or rounds. Each round consists of 13 tricks, in which each player plays one card.

You begin each round by making a bid, based on how many tricks you think you will take with your hand. Bet "NIL" if you think you can avoid taking any tricks. Your team scores points if you make your bid, but loses points if you fail to make your bid.

Once the bidding is complete, a card is led. Your partner leads the first round, the player to your right leads the second, you lead the third, and the player to your left leads the fourth. After that, the cycle repeats.

You must play a card of the suit that was led, if you have it. If not, you can play any card in your hand. Spades are a "trump" suit - if a trick includes a Spade, the highest Spade played takes the trick. If the trick does not include a Spade, the highest card in the suit that was led takes the trick. (The Ace is the highest card in each suit, the 2 is the lowest.)

• Example 1:
  1. Left plays a 2 of Diamonds
  2. Across plays a 6 of Diamonds
  3. Right plays an Ace of Diamonds
  4. You play a 5 of Diamonds
  5. Right's Ace of Diamonds takes the trick.
• Example 2:
  1. Left plays a 2 of Diamonds
  2. Across plays a 6 of Diamonds
  3. Right has no Diamonds, and plays a 2 of Spades
  4. You also have no Diamonds, and play a 4 of Spades
  5. Your 4 of Spades takes the trick.

The player who takes the trick leads the first card of the next trick. No player may lead a Spade until Spades have been broken (that is, a Spade has been played on a trick in which Spades wasn't led).
The game ends when time runs out, or at the end a round when one team’s score is 250 or more.

Game Scoring
Assuming that neither partner has bid "NIL":

• If your team takes as many tricks as you bid, you receive 10 times your bid.
• If your team takes more tricks than you bid, you receive 10 times your bid plus 1 point for each trick more than the team bid.
• If your team takes fewer tricks than you bid, you receive -10 times your bid. Note that you lose the same number of points whether you miss by a single trick or by many tricks.

• • Example 1:
    • Bid: You bid 3, and your partner bids 4, for a total team bid of 7.
    • Tricks Taken: 8
    • Round Score Calculation: 70 points for the 7 tricks to meet your bid, plus 1 point for the overtrick = 71 points.
  • Example 2:
    • Bid: You bid 2, and your partner bids 6, for a total team bid of 8.
    • Tricks Taken: 6
    • Round Score Calculation: Missed bid by 2 tricks, resulting in a penalty of -80 points = -80 points.

Each time you take an extra trick you get a "bag". A running total of each team's bags is displayed next to the team's score. Once a team collects 5 bags, there is a bag penalty: the opposing team gets an extra 50 points. Once this penalty is assessed, 5 bags are subtracted from the penalized team's bag count.

• • Example 3:
    • Initial Bags: Your team starts the round with 4 bags.
    • New Bags in Round: During this round, your team takes 9 tricks, but only bid 6, earning you 3 new bags.
    • Bag Penalty Calculation: At the end of the round, you have a new total of 7 bags, triggering a penalty. Your opponents receive 50 points, and your team’s bag count resets by subtracting 5 bags.
    • Updated Bags: 4 (initial) + 3 (new) = 7
    • After Penalty: 7 - 5 = 2 bags remain after penalty.

If a player bids "NIL", the two partners' bids are not combined as they usually are. Instead, the player who bid "NIL" will either get +75 points for taking 0 tricks, or -75 for taking one or more tricks. The partner's bid is treated just like a team bid, above.

• • Example 4:
    • Bid: You bid 3, and your partner bids NIL.
    • Tricks Taken: You take 4 tricks, and your partner takes none.
    • Round Score Calculation: 30 points for your bid of 3, plus 1 point for the overtrick, plus 75 points for the successful NIL bid = 106 points.
  • Example 5:
    • Bid: You bid 4, and your partner bids NIL.
    • Tricks Taken: You take 4 tricks, and your partner takes one.
    • Round Score Calculation: 41 points for meeting your bid, minus 75 points for the failed NIL bid = -34 points.
    • The game ends at the end of any round when a team's score is 250 or more, or when time runs out.

Tournament Standings Scoring
Once the game is over, your score is converted to a tournament standings score, using the following formula:

What this means for your strategy:

1. Winning against the AI is the most important thing, even if it takes you longer.
2. The fewer rounds you can win in, the better.
3. If you lose, it’s better to last longer into the game and try to eke out a win.
4. If you and the other entry fees win/lose in the same round, your in game score becomes the tie breaker. It’s better to score more against the AI opponents, and keep their score as low as possible.