The Special Bids options and settings are:

Blind Nil (default setting: checked) 
If the "Blind Nil" option is checked players will have the option of bidding "Blind Nil" before viewing their cards. This bid is worth 200 points. If the player takes zero tricks, the team will receive the 200 points; if the player takes one or more tricks, the team will lose 200 points.

10 For 200 (default setting: checked)
This will be used as a bid for players who think they, or their team, will take a total of no less than ten tricks in the course of the current hand. This is a 200-point bid. If the player, or the team, takes ten or more tricks the team will receive 200 points. If the team takes less than ten tricks, they will lose 200 points. In team play, this is a team bid. If one partner bids 10 for 200, the other partner's bid is removed.

The Bags options and settings are:

Points Per Bag (default setting: 1)
The settings for this option are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15 or 20. This is the point value of each bag (tricks taken over amount bid).

Bags Per Trip (default setting: 10)
The settings for this option are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15 or 20. When a player's or a team's number of bags reaches this, their score will be deducted by the amount set in "Points per Trip".

Points Per Trip (default setting: 100)
The settings for this option are 50, 100, 150 or 200. This is the number of points a player or team will lose when their number of bags reaches the amount set in "Bags per Trip".

The End of Game options and settings are:

Minimum (default setting: -250)
The settings for this option are -100, -150, -200 or -250. If a player's score or a team's score falls to or below this amount, the game ends and the player or team with the highest score at this time wins.

Maximum (default setting: 500)
The settings for this option are 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 400, 500, 750 or 1000. If a player's score or a team's score reaches or passes this amount, the game ends and the player or team with the highest score at this time wins.




Host Options

The host of a game has the options to seat, mute or kick players at the table, allow bots (computer players) to play, allow watchers, and lock the door.


Seat (default setting: host seated in "South" position)
The host seats player at the beginning of the game. The host can also seat a player if the player left the table and comes back or can seat someone in place of another player, including the host. To replace a player, there is no need to remove the player first -- just click the name of the player you wish to seat, click the word "Seat", and click the seating position of the player to be replaced.

Mute
To mute someone at a table you are hosting click their name in the list of players then click "Mute". When someone is muted they will not be able to chat or play sounds at that table. When you click the "Auto Mute" button, if a muted player disconnects from the table and comes back, they will still be muted.

Kick
To kick someone from the table you are hosting, click their name in the list of players and then click "Kick". Kicking removes a player from your table. They can rejoin unless you have the door locked.

Allow Bots To Play (default setting: unchecked)
This option is found by clicking the "Options" menu, then clicking "Host Options". Bots are computer players that can act as fill-ins when you do not have enough players for a game. When this option is checked, the bots can play and bid; otherwise, four players must be seated to play.

Allow Watchers (default setting: unchecked)
This option is found by clicking the "Options" menu, then clicking "Host Options". When this option is checked, people at the table who are not currently playing can view the players' cards. When the host enables this option, "***Card Viewing has been turned on" will be seen in the chat portion of the table.

Lock Door (default setting: unchecked)
This option is found by clicking the "Options" menu, then clicking "Host Options". When this option is checked, no one can enter the table.




Player Options

Each player has many options in this game. These are found under the "Options" menu of the spades table. The options found in this menu are Confirmations, Table Cloth, and Card Backs.

Confirmations: There are three Confirmation options:

Confirm Bid
When this option is checked you will be prompted to confirm that the bid you selected is correct.

Confirm Card Play
When this option is checked you will be prompted to confirm that the card you selected is the one you want to play.

Beep On My Turn
When this option is checked your computer will play a sound when it is your turn to play or bid. *note to hear sounds you must have a sound card.

Table Cloth
When you click on this option you can chose from a list of available styles. *currently only green is available*

Card Backs
When you click on this option you can chose from a list of available styles.




Bidding Your Hand

Before a hand begins each player must bid. To bid you decide the number of tricks you think you will be able to take with your hand. Someone bidding nil or blind nil must take zero tricks, no more. When the game begins, the host is the first to bid. If the "Blind Nil" option is set to yes, the host can either bid blind nil or click the "Show Cards" button. After pressing the "Show Cards" button, you can view your hand. Choose your bid amount and click the corresponding button. Bidding moves clockwise until each player has bid.




Playing Your Cards

The player who bid first will also play first. To play a card, either double click the card, or click it once and then click the "Play Card" button. To have the computer play your cards for you automatically, click the "AutoPlay" button your cards will be played automatically (from right to left) until you click the "Stop" button or until the hand is completed. Play moves clockwise from the first player. Each player after the first must play a card of the same suit unless they have no cards of that suit in their hand. If you do not have any cards of the suit that was led (played first) you can either throw a trump card (spades) or a card from any other suit. The person who throws either the highest card of the lead suit, or who throws the highest trump card takes that trick and leads the first card of the next trick. You may view the last trick taken by pressing the "Last Trick" button. This will show you what cards were played on the last trick and who played each. When you are finished viewing the last trick click "Done". You can view the results of previously played hands by selecting the "Scores" button. This will show what each player bid, what each team (each player when not it team game) scored on each hand, the current total score.




Scoring

At the end of the hand players or teams who took as many tricks as they bid receives ten points for each trick that was bid. If a player or team takes fewer tricks than they bid they lose ten points for each trick that was bid. Scoring for bags is determined by the "Bags" option in the game setup. Special bids are worth more: Nil is worth 100 points, Blind Nil and 10 For 200 are both worth 200 points.




Sounds

You can play sounds during the game that the other players will hear. Click the "Sounds" button, then chose a sound from the sounds in your list. To not hear the sounds being played during the game, click the "Sounds" button and click the "Sound is On" button. You will still be able to hear the beep for your turn if the "Beep on My Turn" option is checked in the "Options" menu. If you have sound on but are not hearing all the sounds being played, it is because these are user sounds which have to be installed on your computer to play.