Spades Rule Variations
Ask four Spades players for the rules and you may get five answers. Every family, office and card club has its own house rules, and they're all part of the fun. Here are the variations we hear about most, with a note on what our online Spades game does. Our standard rules are on the How to Play Spades page.
Game Length: 500 or 300 Points
Most tables play to 500 points, which usually takes eight to twelve hands. A game to 300 is a good choice when time is short. With a lower target, a single set or a failed Nil matters more, so play a little more carefully.
In our game: choose 500 or 300 under Settings → House rules.
Nil Bids
Most players allow Nil, a bid to take no tricks, worth +100 if made and −100 if not. A few tables leave Nil out entirely and play only number bids.
Tables also differ on what happens to a Nil bidder's tricks. In some, tricks taken by a failed Nil bidder count toward the partner's bid. In ours, they don't: the partner must make their bid alone, and any tricks the Nil bidder takes are counted as bags.
In our game: Nil is on by default. Turn it off under Settings → House rules.
Blind Nil
A Blind Nil is a Nil bid made before you look at your cards. It's worth +200 if you take no tricks and −200 if you take any. Because it's such a gamble, most tables only allow it when your team is behind by 100 points or more, as a catch-up play.
Some tables let a Blind Nil bidder exchange two cards with their partner after the bid, which gives the Nil bidder a chance to pass away their most dangerous high cards. Our game does not include the card exchange.
In our game: Blind Nil is off by default. Turn it on under Settings → House rules. It's offered only when your team trails by 100 or more.
Bag Penalties
The usual rule is that every 10 bags costs 100 points. Some groups get tougher and take 50 points off for every 5 bags. Others play with no bag penalty at all, so extra tricks are simply worth a point each. Without a penalty, careful bidding matters less and setting the opponents matters more.
In our game: the 10-bag penalty is on by default. You can turn it off under Settings → House rules. The 5-bag version isn't available.
The Minus 200 Rule
Many tables end the game early when a team falls to −200 points or lower: that team loses. It keeps a bad game from dragging on. Others prefer to keep playing, since a couple of good hands can bring a team back.
In our game: the −200 rule is on by default. Turn it off under Settings → House rules.
Breaking Spades
Under the standard rule, nobody may lead a spade until spades have been "broken" by someone trumping, unless the leader has only spades left. Some casual tables skip this rule and let anyone lead spades at any time. That makes a long spade suit even stronger, because you can start pulling trump on the first trick.
In our game: breaking spades is on by default. Turn it off under Settings → House rules.
Other Variations You May Know
These are real house rules, but our game doesn't offer them yet:
| Variation | How it works | In our game? |
|---|---|---|
| 2 of clubs leads | Whoever holds the 2♣ leads it to the first trick. | No: the player to the dealer's left leads |
| Big Joker, Little Joker | Two jokers join the deck as the highest trumps, and two of the 2s come out to keep 52 cards. Some tables also make the 2♠ a high trump. | No: standard 52-card deck |
| Minimum team bid | Each team must bid at least 4 tricks between them. | No minimum |
| Board bids | "Board" means bidding 4 by default. A team bid of all 13 tricks may earn a bonus. | No |
| Cutthroat Spades | Three players, each on their own, with 17 cards each (one card set aside). | No: four players in partnerships |
| Suicide Spades | In each partnership, one player must bid Nil and the other must bid at least 4. | No |
Playing Our Way
Our game plays the classic partnership version: four players, a standard deck, spades always trump, and the player to the dealer's left leads first. Six house rules are built in: game length (500 or 300), Nil, Blind Nil, the bag penalty, the −200 rule and breaking spades. Your choices are saved on your device.
Settings also let you choose how strong the computer players are (Easy, Normal or Hard) and play a particular deal number, so you can replay a hand or compare scores with a friend. For tips that work under any house rules, see our Spades strategy guide. And if you enjoy trick-taking games, Hearts is a fine companion to Spades.