Call of Spades brings the card game our group calls Call of Spades (Suspense) online. You predict how many tricks you will win, then try to finish on exactly that number. It is an individual exact-call game, rather than ordinary partnership Spades.
Seats, cards and game modes
Choose three to ten seats. Solo mode uses computer opponents; multiplayer lets friends create or join a private room. The game uses a standard 52-card deck. The forward rounds begin with one card per player and increase by one card each round. The maximum forward round is 52 divided by the number of seats, rounded down.
For five seats, that means rounds from one to ten cards per player. For ten seats, the largest forward hand has five cards. Table size changes the hand sequence; it does not promise a fixed session length.
Lock your call
After seeing your cards, declare how many tricks you expect to win. A locked declaration cannot be changed. The total declarations cannot equal the number of tricks available in that round, so the final caller may have one forbidden value. Follow the options shown by the game rather than assuming every number is available.
In a three-card round, a call of one means your goal is one trick. Zero or two tricks both miss that goal. Think about the cards you can win with and the cards you may be forced to win with later.
Follow suit and recognise trump
Follow the suit led whenever you hold it. If you cannot follow, you may play another suit. Spades are trump. The highest spade wins when a trick contains spades; otherwise, the highest card of the suit led wins. The trick winner leads the next trick.
The opening leader may lead any card, including a spade. If that player opens with a spade and wins, they must keep leading spades while they still hold spades and keep winning consecutive tricks. Once another player wins, that forced sequence ends. Outside that sequence, after the opening lead a player can lead spades only when no other suits remain in their hand.
These lead restrictions matter. Do not import a rule from another Hukum, Turup or Spades game simply because the suit names look familiar.
Score an exact match
An exact call earns 10 plus 11 times the declared number of tricks, before an earned streak bonus. A missed call earns zero for the round. Calling two and taking two earns 32 base points; calling two and taking three earns zero.
Three consecutive successful rounds trigger a five-point streak bonus. Another bonus is earned at each further multiple of three consecutive wins. A missed round resets the consecutive-win counter, while already earned points remain. The crown shows that a player has currently reached their call; another trick can remove that exact match before the round ends.
Forward and reverse rounds
After the highest forward round, the host decides whether to continue in reverse. Reverse begins one below the maximum and counts down to one card. If the host declines or the decision times out, the game proceeds to the final result.
Practice coins are virtual and have no cash value. Learn the round flow in solo play, then agree on the table size with friends before starting a private multiplayer session.