Championship Spades Card Game   - User Guide and FAQ

1. Quickly set the 'intelligence' of the opponents using the Difficulty menu.
2. Adjust game speed and other cool stuff under the Options...General dialog.
3. Click on the trickcard to quickly show the last trick played.
4. Create a new profile/name and/or try some of the Game variations.
5. Read Spades 101 and Mastering Spades tutorials to improve your game.
6. Use right-click menu to take back a play or let the computer playout.
7. Disable practice options & resist temptation under the General Options menu.
8. Partner or opponents frustrating? Throw a pie at them under Practice menu!
9. Play online! It's easy! Just choose Play online from Multiplayer menu.
10. Find the Easter egg in the about box or find Ctrl+Shift cheat keys...

Frequently Asked Questions - Championship Spades Card Game

1. My partner took a trick I was winning in round 10 or 11, why?
   This is probably correct behaviour. If you are playing with an expert partner, they are smart enough to realize that you are already 'set' and cannot possibly make your bid. For example, if you and your partner bid 7 and have only taken 3 by round 11, even if you take the last 3 tricks, you will still be set! If the opponents have already made their bid or are only 1 trick away, a smart player will decide to instead try to give those last tricks to the opponents as bags. Overtaking a trick you already won now helps avoid taking a trick in a later round.
   
   In this way, you are trying to make the most of a bad situation. You may have already been set, but if you can give your opponents a few bags, you bring them that much closer to the bag penalty. This non-obvious strategy works very well but often surprises many people who think it is an incorrect play.
   
   Even if it is still possible for you to make your tricks, some endgame situations can also cause this type of behaviour. Say your opponent is winning 455 to your 250. The only way to win is to stop them. If you cannot set them, another sly strategy may be to set yourself (possibly even underbidding!) and give them lots of bags so they take the bag penalty.
   
   I discuss these strategies in greater detail in the Mastering Spades tutorial that registered users receive. If, after this explanation, and a review of your play history, you still feel the computer made a bad play, please do send a badhand report to the author.
   
   
2. My partner took a trick their Nil was currently winning, why?
   This may be correct behaviour, especially if you are on the last hand of the game. For example, let us say you are winning a game 454 to 259 and you bid a conservative 5 to put you over the top. If your opponent bids Blind Nil and 1, your partner may decide that the Blind Nil is no threat (even if they get it) and instead concentrate on making your tricks.
   
   I discuss these strategies in greater detail in the Mastering Spades tutorial that registered users receive. If, after this explanation, and a review of your play history, you still feel the computer made a bad play, please do send a badhand report to the author.
   
   
3. One of the bots bid Nil but deliberately took a trick, why?
   1. In certain game situations, this is actually smart play. If the opponents are about to win the game on THIS hand, then you MUST do anything it takes to stop them from winning. This means you basically have two options: Set the opponents, especially if they bid 10-for-200. Unless your partner has a great hand and the opponents bid excessively high (which is very unlikely with them leading), and you bid Nil, the only chance you have to set them is to sacrifice your own Nil bid. About 80% of the time (especially on a 10-for bid), this works and you set them! Even with your Nil set, you stopped the win and are back in the game!
   
   OR
   
   2. Bag out the opponents, especially if they already have 7 or 8 bags. Again, good players will see this and bid on the high side to prevent taking bags, but if they are high, its usually better to bid low (or Nil) and force them to eat as many bags as possible. If the Nil bidder took a trick, then that probably didn't happen in this case.
   
   
4. I was assessed a bag penalty with only one extra trick, why?
   Are you sure you did not already have some bags from a previous hand? Bags are accumulated over several hands. This is explained in the Spades 101 tutorial which you can access from the game's Help menu. Basically, when you reach 10 overtricks (the usual setting), you are assessed the bag penalty, usually 100 points. This common game variation helps prevent consistent underbidding.
   
   If you prefer, you can disable the bags by setting the Bag Penalty to 'Never' under the game options menu if you do not want to play with them. You can also press the Help button on the Scoring dialog for an explanation of the penalties and bonuses.