Description
This makes the game more than a smaller version of standard Spades. Every choice can improve your hand or deny your opponent a valuable card. Because both players can see what is being selected, the draft also provides clues about the strength and shape of the opposing hand.
Once drafting is complete, the round follows the familiar Spades framework. Spades are always trump, each hand contains 13 tricks, and both players bid and score individually. There are no partners or team bids: you compete head-to-head against a single AI opponent
Instructions
On each draft turn, you see one card. Keep it and the next card is automatically discarded. Discard it and the next card is automatically kept. You decide only what happens to the card shown.
Once both hands have 13 cards, bid the number of tricks you expect to take. Bid Nil if you expect to take none.
Blind Nil is available only when you are at least 100 points behind. You must declare it before seeing your hand.
Follow the suit led if you can. If you cannot, you may play any card, including a spade.
You cannot lead spades until they have been broken by a spade played when someone cannot follow suit.
A spade beats any card of another suit. Otherwise, the highest card of the suit led wins the trick.
Make your bid and score 10 points for each trick you bid. Each extra trick is a bag worth 1 point. Miss your bid and lose 10 points for each trick you bid.
Collect 10 bags and lose 100 points. Any bags beyond 10 carry forward.
Successful Nil scores 100 points; failed Nil loses 100. Blind Nil doubles both outcomes. The first player to reach 500 points wins.
Strategy and Tips
Judge the card you can see
Each draft turn gives you one decision about the card shown. If you keep it, the next card is discarded automatically. If you discard it, the next card is kept automatically, without you seeing it first.
Think about the card you give up
Keeping a useful card also means losing the next one. Discarding a weak card means accepting an unknown one. As your hand develops, weigh the certainty of the visible card against that risk.
Balance spades and other suits
Strong spades can win tricks as trump, but you also need ways to win tricks in hearts, diamonds and clubs. Consider how each card fits the hand you have already built.
Bid on the finished hand
Once you have 13 cards, assess your likely winners before bidding. Count strong spades, high cards in other suits and chances to trump when you cannot follow suit. There is no partner to cover a bid that is too high.
Keep track of bags
Extra tricks earn points, but collecting 10 bags costs 100 points. When you have several bags already, consider that penalty before bidding too cautiously.
Treat Nil as a separate challenge
A Nil bid means taking no tricks at all. Check whether you have high cards that may be difficult to avoid winning with, especially in suits where you have few safe alternatives.
Frequently asked questions
How is 2-Player Spades different from regular Spades?
Hands are drafted rather than dealt. You and your opponent take turns choosing cards until you each have a 13-card hand. Bidding and scoring are individual, with no partnerships or team bids.
What does “drafting” a hand mean in this game?
Instead of receiving 13 random cards at once, you select the cards that form your hand while your opponent does the same. Each choice can improve your hand or keep a valuable card away from your opponent.
Is Spades still always trump?
Yes. Spades are always trump. Drafting changes how you build your hand, not the trump suit.
Do I need a partner to play?
No. This is a two-player game. You play individually against one computer opponent.
How many tricks are in a hand?
Each hand has 13 tricks. You and your opponent each play one card per trick.
Who do I play against?
You play against one computer opponent. Both of you draft a 13-card hand before bidding and playing.