How to Play 3 of Spade

Starting the Game

Teams: The game is played by 4, 6, 8, or 12 players, split into two competing teams (Team A and Team B). Players are seated so that turns alternate between teams.

The Deck: A standard 52-card deck is used for 4 and 6-player games. Two decks are used for 8 and 12-player games.

Dealing: All cards are dealt out to the players. The number of cards per player depends on the game size.

First Player: In 4 and 6-player games, the player holding the Ace of Spades starts the first round. In 8 and 12-player games, the first player who was dealt cards begins.

The Flow of a Round (A "Trick")

A game consists of several rounds, also known as "tricks".

Leading the Trick: The first player of a trick can play any card from their hand. The suit of this card becomes the "leading suit".

Following Suit: All other players must play a card of the leading suit if they have one. This is called "following suit".

Playing Trump: If a player does not have any cards of the leading suit, they can play any card, including a Spade. Spades are the "trump suit" and will beat any card of any other suit.

Winning a Trick

The trick is won by the player who played the highest-value card according to these rules:

  1. The 3 of Spades is the most powerful card and wins any trick it's played in.
  2. If the 3 of Spades was not played, the highest-ranking Spade played wins the trick. (Spades are the trump suit).
  3. If no Spades were played, the highest-ranking card of the leading suit wins.

Tie-breaker: In games with two decks, if two identical cards are the winning cards (e.g., two Aces of Spades), the card that was played last wins the trick.

The player who wins the trick collects all the cards from that round and begins the next trick.

Scoring

Points are awarded to the team that wins the trick, based on the cards collected:

  • 3 of Spades: 30 points
  • 10, Jack, Queen, King (any suit): 10 points each
  • 5 (any suit): 5 points
  • All other cards are worth 0 points.

The points from all cards in a trick are given to the team of the player who won that trick.

Winning the Game

The game is played for a set number of rounds (e.g., 13 rounds for a 4-player game).

At the end of all rounds, the team with the highest total score wins the game!