To play Spades, follow these key steps:

Setup

• Use a standard 52-card deck.
• Four players are dealt 13 cards each.
• Players sitting opposite each other form teams

Objective

• The goal is to win at least the number of tricks you bid before play begins

Bidding

• Each player bids the number of tricks they expect to win (minimum bid is one).
• Bids are made in a single round, starting with the player to the dealer’s left.
• No passing is allowed, and spades are always trump, so no suit is named in the bid

Gameplay

• The player to the dealer’s left leads the first trick by playing any card except a spade (spades cannot be led until they are "broken," meaning a spade has been played to trump a previous trick)

• Players must follow the suit led if possible.
• If a player cannot follow suit, they may play a spade (trump) or another suit.
• The highest card of the suit led wins the trick unless a spade is played, in which case the highest spade wins

• The winner of each trick leads the next trick.
• Play continues until all 13 tricks have been played

Scoring

• If a player/team makes their bid exactly, they score 10 points per trick bid.
• Each trick won beyond the bid (overtricks or "bags") scores 1 point each.
• If a player/team fails to meet their bid, they score zero for that hand.
• Accumulating 10 bags often results in a penalty of 100 points deducted.
• A bid of zero tricks ("nil") scores 100 points if successful, but -100 if failed.
• The game is typically played to 500 points, but this can vary

Summary

• Deal 13 cards to each player.
• Bid how many tricks you expect to win.
• Follow suit if possible; spades trump other suits.
• Spades cannot be led until broken.
• Score based on meeting or exceeding your bid.
• First to the target score wins

This is the basic structure of Spades, a trick-taking game where strategy revolves around bidding accurately and managing trump cards effectively.