You and Hops against Pip and Shelly. How long a game?
Spades
Cards · Team up with Hops, bid your tricks and trump with spades.
Play Spades free online as a team with Hops the frog against Pip and Shelly. Bid how many tricks you'll take, follow suit, and trump with spades, which beat every other suit. Make your team's bid for 10 points a trick, dodge too many extra tricks (bags), or bid Nil and take none at all. First team to 500 wins, or 250 in a short game. Choose Easy, Medium or Hard, try the Daily deal, or play Spades online with friends.
🏆 Leaderboard
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How to play
- Everyone gets 13 cards. You sit at the bottom and Hops, your partner, sits across from you; Pip and Shelly are the other team.
- Bid how many tricks you think you'll win, from 1 to 13, or Nil if you think you can take none. Your bid and Hops' bid add up to your team's contract.
- The player left of the dealer leads. Follow the suit that was led if you can; if you can't, play anything, including a spade to trump.
- The highest spade wins the trick, or if no spade was played, the highest card of the suit that was led. Spades can't be led until one has been played on another suit.
- Make your contract and score 10 points per trick bid, plus 1 point for every extra trick (a bag). Miss it and you lose 10 points per trick bid. Every 10 bags cost 100 points.
- A Nil is worth 100 points if that player takes no tricks, and costs 100 if they take one. Blind Nil, bid before looking at your cards, is worth 200 and is only allowed when your team trails by 100 or more.
Tips to win
- Count sure tricks: Aces, protected Kings (with one more card of the suit) and high spades. Add about one for a long spade suit, then bid a little low rather than high.
- Listen to Hops' bid. If he bids high, your team needs fewer tricks from you; if he bids Nil, win the tricks he might be stuck with.
- Short in a suit? Once it's gone you can trump it with a small spade. Holding one or two cards in a suit is worth a trick if you have spades to spare.
- Don't collect bags you don't need. Once your contract is safe, play low and let the other team win tricks.
- Set the other team: when they need every trick, hold on to your high cards and trump their winners.
- Bidding Nil? It works best with no Aces or Kings, few spades and low cards in every suit. Throw away your highest cards whenever you can't follow suit.
- Learning? Press Teach me: Hops suggests a bid or highlights the card to play and says why in one line. Coached games are practice, so they don't count as wins.
- Switch on the Classic look for a green felt table with white cards and a grey score window.
Questions
How do you play Spades?
Four players in two teams of two each bid how many tricks they'll take. Then you play 13 tricks, following suit when you can; spades are always trump. Make your team's bid to score 10 points a trick. The first team to 500 points wins.
How does scoring work in Spades?
A team that makes its bid scores 10 points per trick bid plus 1 point per extra trick. A team that falls short loses 10 points per trick bid. Nil is +100 or −100, Blind Nil +200 or −200.
What are bags in Spades?
Bags are the tricks a team takes beyond its bid. Each one is worth 1 point, but every 10 bags cost 100 points, so collecting them on purpose rarely pays.
When can you lead spades?
Only after spades are broken, which means someone has played a spade on another suit because they couldn't follow. If you hold nothing but spades, you may lead one anyway.
What is the Daily deal?
Everyone gets the same Spades deal each day and plays one hand with Hops. Par is the score Hops' team makes playing your seat; match it or beat it.
Can I play Spades online with friends?
Yes. Choose Online, then Play a friend, and send the link. With two, you play against each other with Hops' pond friends as partners; with four, it's two against two. Empty seats are filled by Hops and his friends. Quick match finds you another player.