Spades

Ages 10+        4 Players            60 Min

This trick-taking game is a standard deck playing card game and takes on many different group-specific rules. Generally speaking, each player is given thirteen cards and a partner who sits across the table. Each player bids the number of tricks he'll take, and then the partners collectively attempt to take at least as many as they bid. The tricks are fairly standard with following suit if you can, and spades as the trump suit. If you make your bid you earn ten times the number of tricks you bid, otherwise you lose that many points. Plus there is usually a nil bid, which means you personally won't take any tricks but your partner still plays as normal.