Spades

Spades is a four-player partnership trick-taking game where spades are always trump. You and your AI partner play against two AI opponents. Each hand, you bid how many tricks you'll take, then try to hit that number exactly. Taking too many tricks gives you sandbags. Taking too few scores nothing. Precision is everything.

The partnership is what makes Spades special. You can't talk to your partner directly, but good bids and steady play build an unspoken understanding. Nil bids — declaring you'll take zero tricks — offer bonus points but are risky. Your partner has to cover for you while you dodge every single trick.

Spades was invented in the U.S. Midwest in the late 1930s. Cincinnati college students almost certainly created it by adapting older partnership games like Whist and Bridge. Its big moment came in World War II. GIs taught it to each other in barracks because it was simpler than Bridge but more strategic than Hearts. It survived the war as a fixture of American card culture.

It became iconic in African American communities through the second half of the 20th century. It's been a campus and barbershop staple ever since. The Nil bid — declaring you'll win zero tricks for a 100-point bonus or 100-point penalty — is the move that gives Spades its edge.