Spades is a casual card game that originated in the United States in the 1930s. Spades is played with a standard deck of 52 cards, with card values ranging from 2 to Ace. The most popular version of 24/7 Spades is played with four Spades players in a team format, with players across the table considered teammates. Spades is a trump-based game in which all spades are the best cards in the game and will defeat all other suits.
Each hand begins with the players being dealt all 52 cards. The table then enters the bidding phase, in which they estimate how many tricks they can take with the hand they were dealt. You must bid a 0 without seeing your cards if you bid a Blind Nil. The payout will be higher if you succeed, but the loss will be even greater if you fail - so bid at your own risk! To receive a positive score, teams must complete the total number of tricks they have bid on together.
The player to the left of the dealer begins the Spades online card game by playing any card other than a Spade. Each player, in clockwise order, plays a card to follow suit, unless they do not have the suit, in which case they can play any card in their hand. If a trick is played without a spade, the trick is won by the highest lead suit card. If a trick contains a spade, the trick with the highest spade wins. The winner of the trick takes the lead in the next trick. Spades cannot lead a trick until they have been broken in another trick or are the only suit left in the lead player's hand.
The game is over when the entire hand has been played. If a team's bid is met, each trick is worth 10 points, with any additional tricks (sandbags) worth 1 point. Each trick in a bid is worth -10 points if it is not met. If a nil is bid and met, the team receives an extra 100 points. A double nil win earns 200 points. If either of these conditions is not met, the team will receive -100 and -200 points, respectively. When the team reaches 10 sandbags, it loses 100 points and must start over with 0 sandbags. After each hand, the score is tallied, and another deal begins. The team with the most points at the end wins!
