AOL Games.com is one of the best online gaming websites that provide online users access to hundreds of free online games without paying a dime. From Board Games to Card Games, Casino Games, puzzle games, and a lot more. Share your favorite games with your friends and family. Amongst the popular games that can be played on AOL is Spades. Millions of online users from across the world visit AOL Games.com just to play the Spades Game for fun.
You can play it all on the platform for free. Games are available for both the young and the old. And you will get the best online gaming experience as you get to chat with other players.
Spades as you know is not a new game. We can even say that our granddad probably did play the game back then with their friends and family members. It is a card game that is all about blinds, bags, and bids and can be played for free on AOL Games.com. Meanwhile, the main objective of the AOL Spades is for each partnership or pair to take the least number of tricks or win as many books as possible as you and your partner bid.
You are to bid the number of books or tricks you think you can win or you can bid 0 to try for a bonus. However, any book you take when the bidding is automatically deducted or subtracted from your score. AOL Spades is quite an interesting game. It can be played alone or with your friends and family members using the multiplayer classic feature.
Complete Guide on How to Play AOL Spades Online
As stated above, the AOL Spades is a pair or partnership trick-taking Card game that can be played with a single deck. The game is quite easy to play alone or with your friends and family. However, certain guides need to be followed and you also need to be aware of. The player opposite at the table is your partner and you both are supposed to work together. While your opponents are seated at your left and right. The goal is to win as many books as possible as you and your partner bid.
BIDDING
At the inception of the game, you and your opponent are each dealt thirteen cards face down. Bidding starts with the player at the left of the dealer. During your turn to bid, you must bid on the number of books or tricks you expect to win.
Before looking at your card, you may decide to bid “Blind Nil”. This means you will take no tricks or books during the hand and earn a scoring bonus for your blind bid. Or a penalty if unsuccessful.
Once you have looked at your cards, you may bid from 0 which is Nil to 13 books. Note that, if you and your partner bid Nil, you are each responsible for making your bid separately or your bids and books will be counted together.
TAKING BOOKS
The Player at the left of the dealer leads the hand playing cards except for a Spade. During your turn, you must play a card of the same suit as the first card led. This is called following suit. If your card is the highest Spade of the four cards played, you get to collect all the cards known as a book or a trick.
If no Spade was played, you can collect the book or trick if you play the highest card of the suit led. The collected books are placed beside your hand to determine your score. Cards are ranked from Ace which is high to Two which is low.
Meanwhile, if you have no cards of the suit led, you can lay any card but not a Spade on the first trick. Unless you have no other playable cards in your hand. This is because playing the first spade in the hand when no other Spade has been played is called “Breaking Spades”.
You are responsible for leading the next trick if you eventually win a book. If all thirteen books have been taken, the hand’s end, and the score is updated. But if neither partnership wins the match, the player to the left of the previous dealer becomes the dealer. And a new hand automatically begins.
SCORING
You can be scored based on a series of hands. If the books you have won is greater or equal to your bid, you earn the following point;
- 10 Points for each book won that was included in your bid
- 1 Point for every book won that surpasses your bid
- 100 Points for a successful bid of 0 books won
- 200 Points for a successful bid of Blind Nil Won
Note that if your bid is unsuccessful, you will be penalized as follows
- 10 Points for each trick in your bid
- 100 Points for an unsuccessful bid of Nil either 1 or more books won
- 200 Points for an unsuccessful bid of Blind Nil either 1 or more books won
Meanwhile, to avoid bidding low or sandbagging, every book taken that exceeds your bid is recorded as a bag. For every 10 bags, your partnership collects, your team is penalized and a point of 100 is subtracted. If any nil bidders take tricks, they do not count towards making the partners bid. But counts as bags for the team. The match ends when you reach or exceed the predetermined score or when a team’s match score is – 200 or less. While the team with the highest match score wins the AOL Spades game.
How to Play AOL Spades Online
After reading through the above guide to successfully play the Spade Game on AOL Games.com. You can follow the steps below to play the game;
- Open your device’s web brow
- Visit AOL Games.Com
- Searching for the Spades Game on the homepage
- Tap on the Play icon
- You will be redirected to another page
Allow the game to load and follow the prompt to play the AOL Spades Game for free. Make sure you have a strong and stable network connection while trying to access the game on either your PC or Mobile device.