Spades vs Bid Whist
Spades keeps things simple: spades are always trump, and the bids are numbers of tricks. The twist is Nil, a bid to win nothing, and the penalty for collecting too many extra tricks.
Bid Whist is a richer auction. The 54-card deck includes two jokers, the winning bidder takes a six-card kitty and discards six cards, and they pick the trump suit. They also choose whether the cards run Uptown with the Ace high, Downtown with the Ace high but the 2 next, or at No Trump, which doubles the stakes.
Spades and Bid Whist at a glance
| Spades | Bid Whist | |
|---|---|---|
| In one line | Partnership trick-taking: bid your tricks, spades are trump. | Partnership whist with bidding, a kitty, uptown/downtown and no-trump. |
| Players | 4 | 4 |
| Type | Table game | Table game |
| Family | Trick-taking | Trick-taking |
| Options | Play to: 250 or 500 | Play to: 7 or 5 or 11 |
| Turn timer (online) | 30 seconds | 30 seconds |
| Cost | Free, no download | Free, no download |
Choose Spades if…
- You want a bidding game you can learn quickly.
- You like the fixed trump suit and the Nil bid.
Choose Bid Whist if…
- You want a deeper auction with real choices before play.
- You like jokers, a kitty and a game that changes with the bid.