Spades is the beloved four-player partnership trick-taking card game. You and your partner (North) sit across from two AI opponents (West and East), and the spade suit is always trump — a single spade beats any card of another suit. Each hand begins with a bid: every player predicts how many of the thirteen tricks their side will win, and the team must take at least that many or get "set" for a heavy penalty.
Brave players can bid Nil, promising to win no tricks at all for a big bonus — but one slip and it backfires. Overshooting your bid piles up "bags," and every ten bags costs you 100 points, so precision matters as much as power. This is free online Spades you can play in browser with no download or sign-up; choose Easy, Medium or Hard to face sharper bidding and card play.
Spades is a distinctly American invention. It emerged in the Midwest in the late 1930s as a faster, more direct cousin of Bridge and Whist, then spread worldwide with U.S. soldiers during World War II, who loved that a hand could be dealt and played in minutes between duties. After the war it took root on college campuses and in military communities, and in the late 1990s it found a second life online, becoming one of the most-played card games on early internet game rooms.
What sets Spades apart from its trick-taking relatives is that trump is never in doubt — spades are always trump — so the drama shifts entirely to the bidding. Counting your likely tricks accurately matters more than winning them, and the Nil bid adds a thrilling reversal where the goal becomes losing every trick. Popular table variants include Blind Nil, bidding before you look at your cards, and Cutthroat, an every-player-for-themselves version without partners.
Be the first partnership to reach 500 points. Win at least as many tricks as your team bid each hand, while setting the opposing pair when you can.
During bidding, click a number — or Nil — for how many tricks you expect to win. During play, click a glowing card in your hand to play it. You must follow the led suit when you can.
Making your contract scores 10 points per bid trick; extra tricks are 1-point "bags." Missing the contract loses 10 per bid trick. A made Nil is +100, a failed Nil −100, and every 10 bags accumulated costs −100.
Count the spades that have been played so you know when yours are winners. Lead low cards in side suits early to flush out high cards, and only bid Nil with no high cards and a short spade holding. Help your partner make their bid before chasing extra tricks that become bags.
What does it mean that spades are always trump?
Any spade beats any card of another suit. If you can't follow the suit that was led, playing a spade will win the trick unless someone plays a higher spade.
What is a Nil bid?
A bid promising you will win zero tricks. Succeed and your team earns a 100-point bonus; win even one trick and you lose 100 instead.
What are bags and why do they hurt?
Every trick you win beyond your team's bid is a bag. Bags look harmless, but every ten you collect costs your team 100 points, so overshooting your bid is a real mistake.
More classic games: Hearts, Whist, Euchre, Bridge, Gin Rummy, and all 100 free games.