TallynightHow to keep score in Spades
In Spades, each team bids how many tricks it will take. Make your bid and you score 10 for each trick bid, plus 1 for every extra trick, but miss it and you lose 10 for each trick bid. The first team to 500 wins.
- Players
- 4, in two teams of partners
- Who wins
- First team to 500
- Each hand
- 13 tricks, bid before you play
- Bags
- Every 10 cost 100 points
How a hand is scored
Partners add their bids together into one team bid. After the 13 tricks, count the tricks both partners took and compare them with the bid.
| Result | Points |
|---|---|
| Make your bid | 10 for each trick bid |
| Each trick over your bid (a bag) | 1 |
| Every 10th bag your team collects | −100 |
| Miss your bid (you're set) | −10 for each trick bid |
| Nil made: the nil bidder takes no tricks | 100 |
| Nil missed: the nil bidder takes a trick | −100 |
| Blind nil, made or missed | 200 or −200 |
Bid 5 and take 7, and your team scores 52: 50 for the bid and 2 bags. Bid 5 and take 4, and you score −50. There's no partial credit for coming close.
Bags and the 100-point penalty
Every trick over your bid is a bag (or sandbag). It's worth 1 point, but bags add up across hands, and when your team reaches 10 you lose 100 points. Any bags over 10 carry on towards the next penalty.
Say your team has 298 points and 8 bags. You bid 5 and take 8, so you score 53 and collect 3 more bags. That makes 11, so you lose 100 and carry 1 bag: 298 + 53 − 100 = 251.
Because each bag is worth 1 point, the last digit of a team's score usually shows how many bags it holds. A Bags column on the score sheet makes them easier to check.
Nil and blind nil
Bid nil and you promise to take no tricks at all. Make it and your team scores 100. Take even one trick and it costs 100. Your partner's bid is scored on its own, as usual.
A nil bidder's tricks never help their partner make a bid. In the usual rule, any tricks a failed nil bidder takes count as bags for the team.
Blind nil is bid before you look at your cards, for 200 or −200. Tables that allow it usually only let a team bid it when it's at least 100 points behind.
When the game ends
Keep a running total for each team. The first team to reach 500 at the end of a hand wins. If both teams pass 500 on the same hand, the higher score wins, and if they're level, play another hand.
Some tables also end the game when a team falls to −200 or −500, and some play to 300 for a shorter game or 1,000 for a longer one. Agree before you deal.
Variants that change the score
- Minimum bid: some tables say a team must bid at least 4 tricks between them.
- Bags at −1: each overtrick costs 1 point instead of scoring 1, and there's no 100-point penalty.
- Big bids: some tables score a bid of 10 tricks or more at 200, or −200 if it fails.
- Two or three players: everyone plays for themselves and scores their own bid. Some three-player tables take 10 off for each overtrick instead of counting bags.
A scoring example
Ana and Ben are Team A, Cleo and Dev are Team B. Each cell shows the team's bid and the tricks it took. In hand 2, Cleo bid nil and Dev bid 6.
| Hand | Team A bid · took | Team A | Team B bid · took | Team B |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 · 6 | 51 | 6 · 7 | 61 |
| 2 | 6 · 4 | −60 | Nil and 6 · 0 and 9 | 163 |
| 3 | 7 · 8 | 71 | 5 · 5 | 50 |
| Total | 62 | 274 |
In hand 2, Cleo took no tricks, so her nil scored 100. Dev bid 6 and took 9: 60 for the bid and 3 bags, so Team B scored 100 + 63 = 163. Team A took only 4 of its 6 and lost 60.
Every hand adds up to 13 tricks. Team A has 2 bags and Team B has 4, and the game goes on until a team reaches 500.
Keep score for Spades in Tallynight
Spades is set up for you: rounds, highest score wins, first to 500. Add each team as a player, then type both teams' points for the hand on one keypad. The table keeps the totals, who's in front and who deals next.
- Add each team as a player, and the table keeps both running totals
- A minus key for a missed bid or a bag penalty
- Offers to end the game when a team reaches 500
- Tap any hand to fix it, or change the target and keep it as a favourite
A Spades score sheet to print
Playing on paper tonight? Print a free Spades score sheet, or save it as a PDF.
Questions
How do bags work in Spades?
Each trick you take over your bid is a bag, worth 1 point. When your team collects 10 bags, you lose 100 points, and any bags over 10 carry on towards the next penalty.
How many points is a nil bid in Spades?
100 if the nil bidder takes no tricks, and −100 if they take even one. Blind nil, bid before looking at your cards, is worth 200 or −200.
What happens if you don't make your bid in Spades?
Your team loses 10 points for every trick it bid. Bid 7 and take 6, and you score −70 for the hand.
How many points do you play to in Spades?
500. If both teams pass 500 on the same hand, the higher score wins, and a tie means one more hand.
Do the nil bidder's tricks count for their partner?
No. A nil bidder's tricks never count towards their partner's bid. In the usual rule they count as bags for the team.
How do you score Spades with 3 players?
Everyone plays alone and scores their own bid: 10 for each trick bid, or −10 for each trick bid if you miss. Tables differ on overtricks: some count them as bags, others take 10 off for each one.