Spades Online implements a standard 4-player partnership Spades ruleset. This page walks through how a game flows from table setup through the final hand — from how seats are assigned and cards are dealt, all the way to the conditions that end the game. For scoring details see Scoring, and for Blind Nil specifics see Blind Nil.Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/Antonelli-Tech-Solutions/spades/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
Teams & Seating
Every table seats exactly four players split into two fixed partnerships: North/South versus East/West. Seats do not rotate — once you are seated, you stay in that seat for the entire game. Your partner is always the player directly across the table from you.North / South
North and South are partners. They share a combined bid target and a combined score throughout the game.
East / West
East and West are partners. They share a combined bid target and a combined score throughout the game.
Dealing
At the start of each hand the server builds a standard 52-card deck (no jokers), shuffles it, and deals 13 cards to each player. Cards are sorted in your hand by suit and then by rank — this display order is fixed and cannot be changed.The suit order used for sorting is: Spades → Hearts → Clubs → Diamonds. Within each suit cards run from Ace (highest) down to 2 (lowest).
Bidding Phase
After the deal, each player makes a bid — a commitment to win a certain number of tricks during that hand. Bid values: Any integer from 0 to 13,"nil", or "blind_nil" (if eligible). A numeric bid of 0 is a legal zero-tricks bid and is not the same as a Nil bid — every trick the team takes when both bid 0 is a bag, but no Nil bonus or penalty applies. A Nil bid is a separate bid type ("nil" in the API) that carries a +50/−50 scoring outcome. A Blind Nil bid is submitted as "blind_nil" in the API and is subject to eligibility rules.
Bidding order: Bidding starts with the player to the dealer’s left and proceeds clockwise around the table. The second team member to bid always sees their partner’s bid before they act.
Partnership bidding: The second bidder on each team sets the team’s combined total, not just their own hand’s worth. This combined total becomes the team’s bid target for the hand.
Example: North bids 4. South (bidding second for N/S) sees the 4 and enters a team total of 7. The team target is 7 — South has effectively bid 3 tricks for themselves.
If the second bidder enters a team total lower than the first bidder’s individual bid, that is a legal strategic choice. Every trick the team takes above the team total will be a bag. See Scoring for the bag penalty rules.
Playing Phase
Once all four bids are placed (and any Blind Nil card exchange is complete), play begins with the player to the dealer’s left making the opening lead.Following Suit
Players must follow the led suit if they have any cards in that suit. You may only play a card of a different suit — including a Spade — when you have no cards of the led suit remaining.Spades as Trump
Spades are the permanent trump suit. A Spade beats any non-Spade card, regardless of rank. Spades breaking: Spades cannot be led until they have been “broken.” Spades break the first time any player plays a Spade because they cannot follow the led suit. Once broken, Spades may be led freely on any subsequent trick.Winning a Trick
- If one or more Spades were played, the highest Spade wins.
- If no Spades were played, the highest card of the led suit wins.
- Cards of a non-led, non-Spade suit can never win a trick.
First Trick Restriction
On the very first trick of a hand, Spades are restricted — both when leading and when unable to follow suit:- Leading: A player may not lead a Spade on the first trick. The only exception is if the player’s entire hand consists of Spades, in which case a Spade lead is permitted.
- Following (can’t follow suit): If a player cannot follow the led suit on the first trick, they may not play a Spade as long as they hold any non-Spade card. Only if their remaining hand is entirely Spades may they play one.
Game End
Win at 250
The first team to reach 250 points at the end of a hand wins. If both teams reach 250 in the same hand, the higher score wins. An exact tie triggers an extra hand, repeated until the tie is broken.
Lose at −250
A team whose score drops to −250 or below loses immediately. If both teams hit −250 in the same hand, the higher (less negative) score wins. An exact tie again triggers an extra hand.
Table Creation Options
When creating a table you can configure:| Option | Choices |
|---|---|
| Table name | Optional display name shown in the lobby |
| Visibility | Public · Friends-Only · Private |
| Join policy | Open · Friends-Only · Invite-Only |
| Spectating | Allowed or disallowed |
Bot Players
When a human player leaves a game in progress, the server immediately replaces their seat with a bot so the hand can continue without interruption.How bots bid
How bots bid
Bots count the number of Spades in their hand and bid that number. When a bot is the second bidder for its team, it adds the partner’s bid to its own Spades count to produce the correct team total — for example, if the partner bid 3 and the bot holds 4 Spades, the bot bids a team total of 7. If the partner bid Nil or Blind Nil (not a number), the bot falls back to bidding only its own Spades count.Bots never bid Nil or Blind Nil.
How bots play
How bots play
Bots select a card uniformly at random from the set of legal plays for the current trick. The same legal-play rules that apply to human players — suit-following, Spades breaking, first-trick restrictions — constrain the bot’s choices.
Bot player IDs
Bot player IDs
Bot IDs follow the pattern
bot:<seat> (for example, bot:north or bot:east). When a seat is filled by a bot you will see this identifier in the game state’s players map.