Spades

Classic partners Spades, nil and bags — plus Solo, Mirror, Whiz and Jokers.

Live

A score pad, not a casino.

Maker's note

The most polished thing I have made, and again it came from a decision rather than from the artwork: draw the game as a score pad instead of a casino.

Most card-game apps come from the same place — coins, chips, timers, a reward blinking at you. But Spades is a game played at a kitchen table, and at that table there is a sheet of paper with the scores written on it in pencil. So the app is that sheet: bids are written on the players' tags, bags are pencil strokes, a broken nil is struck through, and at the end the winner's total is ringed in pencil. Dark mode prints the pad in reverse.

Once that decision was made the rest followed. With nothing left to flash at you, all that remains is the cards, the bid and the score — and then you have to make those three look good. That is where the polish came from.

What it does

Six ways to play

Partners: the classic, where your bid and your partner's make the team's contract. Solo: no partners, your own bid and bags. Mirror: everyone bids exactly the spades they hold. Whiz: bid your spades, or nil. Forced Nil: in each team one player goes nil, the other bids four or more. Jokers: two jokers and the deuces of diamonds and spades become the top trumps.

Nil, blind nil and bags

Bid nil for 100 points and try to take nothing while your partner covers you. When your team is 100 behind, you may bid blind nil before you look at your cards, for 200. Every trick over the contract is a bag, and ten bags cost 100 — the scoring serious players expect.

A score pad, not a casino

Bids are written on the players' tags, bags are pencil strokes, a broken nil is struck through, and the score sheet fills itself in after each hand. At the end of a game the winner's total is ringed in pencil. No coins, no chips, no timers, nothing flashing at you.

Opponents that play the game

Three levels. The hard one samples up to two hundred possible deals before every card and bids by expected points; it covers its partner's nil and tries to break yours. Easy is forgiving. Normal is a fair table.

Honest money

Every way to play is free. An advert comes only between hands, never during play, and there are no rewarded videos. One purchase removes the adverts and adds the engraved deck and two more card backs. Nothing that wins a trick is for sale.

Details

Platform: Android phone
Variants: 6 ways to play
Opponents: 3 levels, the hard one samples deals
Games: To 300 or 500
Internet: Not required
Price: Free, one purchase removes adverts
Version: 1.1.0 · 24 Sep 2026

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