Trick-Taking Teamwork: Mastering the Classic Card Game Spades

🔨 Your Project

1. Find a group of 4 students to play with. You'll be working in partnerships of 2 against the other team.
2. Ask your teacher to help you find a safe space to play, like a table or desk. Make sure everyone can reach the middle and has enough room. Be careful not to trip or bump into each other.
3. Your teacher will give each team a deck of cards. With your teacher's help, check that your deck has 52 cards (no Jokers). The cards should be in good condition, not bent or torn. If any are missing or damaged, let your teacher know.
4. Shuffle the cards. Be gentle so you don't bend or rip the cards. If you're not sure how to shuffle, ask your teacher to show you. After shuffling, place the deck face-down on the table.
5. The player to the dealer's left cuts the deck. To do this, take about half the deck and place it next to the other half. The dealer then puts the bottom half on top of the cut half to complete the cut.
6. The dealer deals out all the cards face down, one at a time to each player going clockwise. Keep dealing until everyone has 13 cards. Make sure not to flip over or show your cards to the other team. If you accidentally see someone else's card, let them know right away so they can hide it.
7. Pick up your cards and hold them so only you can see them. This is called your hand. Quietly discuss with your teammate how many "tricks" (hands) you think your team can win. This is called "bidding." Decide on a number together. If you're not sure, start with a low number like 2 or 3.
8. The player to the dealer's left starts by placing any card face-up in the middle of the table. This is called "leading." The suit (hearts, diamonds, clubs, or spades) of that card becomes the "lead suit" for this trick.
9. Going clockwise, each player must play a card of the lead suit if they have one in their hand. If you don't have a card of the lead suit, you can play any card, including a spade. Take turns playing cards until everyone has played one card. If you're not sure what to play, ask your teammate for help.
10. Look at the four cards played. The highest card of the lead suit wins the trick, unless a spade was played. If one or more spades were played, the highest spade wins instead. The player who played the winning card collects the four cards and places them face-down in a pile. That player then leads the next trick by playing a card face-up, starting again from Step 8.
11. Keep playing tricks until all cards have been played. This completes one "hand." With your teammate, count how many tricks your team won. If it's at least as many as your team bid, your team scores 10 points per trick. If you didn't make your bid, your team loses 10 points per trick. Have one player on each team write down the score. If the scores don't match, recount your tricks and check with the other team.
12. For the next hand, the player to the left of the previous dealer becomes the new dealer. Collect all the cards, shuffle them, and deal again, starting from Step 4. Remember to take turns being the dealer so everyone gets a chance.
13. Keep playing hands until one team reaches 500 points. That team wins the game! If you get stuck or have any questions during the game, raise your hand and ask your teacher for help. Don't argue with your teammates or the other team - your teacher will help resolve any disagreements.
14. When you're all done playing, put the cards back neatly in the box. Return the deck to your teacher. Make sure your play area is clean and tidy, with chairs pushed in. Thank your teammates and opponents for a good game! If you had fun, let your teacher know you'd like to play again sometime.