What is Partnership Spades?
When people say 'Spades' without a qualifier, this is the game they mean. It is the version most players learn first.
Two teams of two
The four seats form two partnerships, with each player facing their teammate. Because turns move clockwise, an opponent always plays between you and your partner, which shapes strategy on every trick. You never see your partner's cards, so success depends on inference and cooperation rather than open coordination.
Shared bids and shared score
What makes it a partnership game is the combined contract. Your bid and your partner's are added together, and your side must reach that total as a unit. A single scoreboard tracks the team, so one player's Nil or one partner's overbid affects you both. Coordinated bidding is everything.
Why it is the standard
The give-and-take of playing with a partner, covering their weaknesses and reading their intentions, is what makes this version endlessly replayable. It is the default game at Partnership Spades, and you can take the same format online in real-time multiplayer. Prefer going it alone? Try Solo Spades instead.
The fastest way to make this stick is to deal a hand and try it.
Keep reading - related questions
How do you play Spades?
Spades is a trick-taking card game for four players split into two partnerships that sit across from each other. Everyone is dealt 13 cards, each player bids the number of tricks they expect to win, and play goes clockwise one card at a time. You must follow the suit that was led when you can, spades always outrank the other three suits, and your team scores by taking at least as many tricks as it bid.
What is Solo Spades?
Solo Spades, often called Cutthroat, strips out the partnerships so that all four players compete individually. Everyone bids for themselves, scores for themselves, and there are no teammates to cover for you. The core trick-taking rules stay the same, but with no partner the whole game becomes a shifting free-for-all where temporary alliances form and break.
How does multiplayer Spades work?
Multiplayer Spades lets you play against real people in real time instead of the computer. You open the multiplayer lobby, get matched with other players, and take your turns live as the game syncs instantly across everyone's browser. It uses the same rules as single-player, so you already know how to play once you are seated.