Spades Plus vs Spedes: Every Rule and Number Compared
A rule-by-rule comparison of Spades Plus and Spedes: same deal and trick play, four scoring numbers that differ, and what that does to your bidding.
Spedes and Spades Plus are the same game with different scoring dials. The deal, the trick play, the spade-breaking rule and the bidding range are identical. Four numbers are not — and because those four numbers decide which bids are profitable, you cannot simply carry your instincts from one to the other. This page is the conversion table.
Unofficial guide. “Spades Plus” is a trademark of its respective owner. Spedes is an independent Spades site and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the Spades Plus publisher. This page compares publicly observable rules only — no Spades Plus artwork, screenshots or assets are reproduced here.
Players: 4, two partnerships: 4, two partnerships. Deck: 52 cards, 13 each, no jokers: 52 cards, 13 each, no jokers. Trump: Spades, permanent: Spades, permanent. Bidding: 0–13, clockwise: 0–13, clockwise. Made contract: bid × 10 + 1 per overtrick: bid × 10 + 1 per overtrick. Set (missed bid): −(bid × 10): −(bid × 10). Nil: +100 / −100 : +75 / −75 . Blind Nil: +200 / −200 : +150 / −150 . Ten bags: −100 : −50 . Match target: 300 / 400 / 500 by room: 150 . Game modes: Classic, VIP, Solo, Mirror, Whiz: Partnership, Solo 3, Solo 4, Mirror, Joker, Whiz. Practice vs computer: Not offered: Yes — free AI tables, all modes
A Nil is worth a third more in Spades Plus. Working the break-even against a safe bid of 1: Spades Plus needs a survival rate above 55% , Spedes above 57% . The gap sounds small, but it compounds with the shorter match — see the target score below.
Both are variance plays and both are usually wrong. Spades Plus punishes a failed Blind Nil harder in absolute terms (−200 against a 300–500 point target is potentially half a match), while Spedes punishes it harder in relative terms (−150 against a 150 point target can end the match outright).
This is the biggest behavioural difference. The long-run cost of an overtrick is about 9 points in Spades Plus and about 4 points in Spedes. In Spades Plus, chronic underbidding is a serious leak; on Spedes it is a mild tax. If you move from Spedes to Spades Plus, bid your hand one trick more honestly.
A Spedes match is roughly a third of the length. That changes risk appetite in both directions: a single −80 hand is 53% of the target instead of 16%, so a bad hand is far more damaging; but the match is also over quickly, so there is less time to grind back a deficit. Short matches reward steady, accurate bidding and punish experimentation.
Counting spades. Identical in both — this is the single most valuable skill and it transfers completely.. Following suit, trumping and spade-breaking rules. Byte-for-byte identical.. The honour-counting routine: ace is a winner, king needs protection, every spade is a winner.. Nil hand patterns. The shape that survives a Nil is the same; only the payoff differs.. Partnership covering technique — playing high to protect a Nil bidder works the same way. Bag tolerance. Do not carry Spedes' relaxed attitude to a Spades Plus table.. Nil frequency. Spades Plus pays more, so bid Nil on hands you would pass on Spedes.. Match pacing. A 150-point target gives you far fewer hands to recover.. Mode availability. Spedes has Solo 3 and Joker; Spades Plus has VIP tables and tournaments.
Spades Plus has no offline mode, so there is no way to drill a hand without a live table, a coin entry and three strangers. Spedes runs the identical deal and trick rules against AI, in the browser, with no coins and no waiting. The modes line up well:
Classic / VIP: Partnership : Combined bidding and partner covering. Solo: Solo (4 players) : Cutthroat bidding and table awareness. Mirror: Mirror : Hand evaluation under a forced bid. Whiz: Whiz : The Nil-or-spade-count decision. —: Joker Spades : Trump management with two extra top trumps. —: Solo (3 players) : Long-suit play with 17 cards
Drill the mechanics on Spedes, then take the scoring conversion back to Spades Plus. Nothing about the card play changes; only four numbers do.
Start with a Partnership hand on Spedes — same deal, same trick rules, no coins, no waiting for a seat.
If you play both, the whole conversion fits on one card. Before you bid, run this four-item checklist and adjust the number you were about to say:
- Count your winners exactly as you always do. Aces, protected kings, and every spade. This step never changes.
- Adjust for the match length. On a 150-point Spedes match, round down: there are too few hands to recover from a set. On a 300–500 point Spades Plus room, you can afford one accurate-but-ambitious bid.
- Price the Nil. Nil pays 100 in Spades Plus and 75 on Spedes. On Spades Plus, bid Nil on hands you would pass elsewhere; on Spedes, demand a cleaner hand — no ace, no spade above the 8, and a partner who bid enough to cover you.
- Check the bag count out loud. Nine bags in Spades Plus means the next overtrick costs about 100 points — worth dumping a winner to avoid. On Spedes the same situation costs about 50, which is painful but survivable.
Everything else — how you lead, when you break spades, how you cover a Nil bidder, how you count trump — is identical. Players who struggle when switching games almost always struggle with the scoring dials, not the card play, which is why the fastest improvement is to spend ten minutes on the numbers rather than another hundred hands on instinct.
Frequently asked questions
Is Spedes the same game as Spades Plus?
The underlying game is identical — four players in two partnerships, 13 tricks, spades always trump. Spedes is an independent browser Spades site with its own scoring tier (Nil 75, Blind Nil 150, ten bags −50, target 150), while Spades Plus uses Nil 100, Blind Nil 200, ten bags −100 and a 300–500 point target.
I play Spades Plus. What should I change on Spedes?
Bid Nil slightly less freely (75 instead of 100), relax slightly about bags (they cost about 4 points each rather than 9), and remember the match is a third as long, so one bad hand is far more damaging.
Can I practise Spades Plus without spending coins?
Spades Plus itself has no offline or practice-vs-computer mode. Spedes runs the same deal and trick rules against AI in the browser for free, in Partnership, Solo, Mirror, Whiz and Joker modes.
Do the two games use different decks?
No. Both use a standard 52-card deck with 13 cards each and no jokers. Spedes additionally offers a Joker mode that removes two low cards and adds two jokers ranked above the ace of spades.
Which has more game modes?
Spades Plus offers Classic, VIP, Solo, Mirror and Whiz plus tournaments. Spedes offers Partnership, Solo for three and four players, Mirror, Joker and Whiz. The overlap is Classic/Partnership, Solo, Mirror and Whiz.
Continue reading
About · Contact · Privacy · Terms