What is a nil bid in Spades?

A nil bid is when one player declares they will win zero tricks that hand. If successful, their team scores a +100 bonus. If they win even one trick, their team takes a −100 penalty. The bid still counts toward their partner's total — only the nil bidder must win zero tricks.

What is a bag in Spades?

A bag (also called an overtrick) is any trick taken beyond what you bid. Each bag scores 1 point, but when a team accumulates 10 bags, they lose 100 points (bag penalty). Bags reset to zero after the penalty. This rule discourages teams from deliberately overbidding for safety.

What score do you need to win Spades?

The first team to reach 500 points wins. In some variants, a team that reaches −200 points or lower is eliminated, giving the other team an automatic win. Some groups play to 300 or 250 for shorter games.

Spades Score Sheet — Free Printable Scorecard

Q: How is Spades scored?

Each trick bid and made scores 10 points per trick bid. Extra tricks (overtricks or 'bags') score 1 point each but are tracked separately. Every 10 bags accumulated costs 100 points (the bag penalty). Nil bids score +100 if successful or −100 if failed. Blind nil bids score +200 if successful or −200 if failed. The game ends when a team reaches 500 points (or −200, forcing elimination).

A clean printable Spades scorecard with columns for team bids, tricks taken, bag count, and running total. Supports standard and Blind Nil rules.

May 24, 2026 2 min read

Print this score sheet to track your Spades game. The first team to reach 500 points wins.

Spades Scoring Quick Reference

Outcome	Points
Making your bid (each trick bid)	10 points per trick bid
Extra tricks (bags/overtricks)	1 point each
10 bags accumulated	−100 points (bags reset to 0)
Nil bid — successful	+100 bonus
Nil bid — failed (won ≥1 trick)	−100 penalty
Blind nil — successful	+200 bonus
Blind nil — failed	−200 penalty
Set (failed to make bid)	−10 points per trick bid

Printable Score Sheet

To print: Press Ctrl+P (Windows) or Cmd+P (Mac). The score sheet prints cleanly on any paper size.

How to Fill In This Score Sheet

Bid column: Record each team’s combined bid for that round (e.g., North bids 3, South bids 2 → Team bid: 5)
Won column: Record the actual number of tricks taken by the team
Bags column: Record the running cumulative bag count (tricks over bid)
Score column: Calculate round score and add to running total

Scoring Calculation Per Round

Made bid: (bid × 10) + bags this round
Set (failed bid): −(bid × 10)
Bag penalty: Subtract 100 if cumulative bags reached 10 (reset bags to 0)

Example: Team bids 7, wins 9 tricks → Score: (7 × 10) + 2 bags = 72 points, +2 to bag count.

Nil Bid Tracking

Mark nil bids separately because they score independently:

Nil: Partner still counts their bid alone. Nil bidder scores +100 (success) or −100 (failure)
Blind nil: Must be declared before seeing cards. Scores +200 (success) or −200 (failure)

FAQs

How is Spades scored?
Bid × 10 points if made, −Bid × 10 if set (failed). Extra tricks score 1 point each but accumulate as bags — every 10 bags = −100 penalty.

What is a bag?
Any trick taken beyond your bid. Also called an overtrick. Bags score 1 point each but 10 bags costs 100 points.

What is nil in Spades?
A declaration to win zero tricks. Success = +100. Failure = −100.

What score wins Spades?
500 points. Some groups play to 300 or 250 for shorter games.

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