Royal Playing Deck • Official game instructions. Standard trick-taking rules apply: follow the suit led when you can. A rank change never grants a card permission to be played as a wildcard.
Setup
Three or four players, no partners. With three players, remove any one non-Spade deuce and deal 17 cards to each player. With four players, use 52 cards and deal 13 each. No Jokers; Spades are trump.
Play
Bid and score individually. Follow suit if able. Highest Spade wins a book, or highest card of the led suit if no Spade is played.
Classic
First individual to 500 wins. Successful bids score 10 points per book bid plus 1 per overbook; missed bids lose 10 per book bid.
Quick Match
Most books in a hand wins the round; all players tied for most books receive a round win. First to four round wins is champion unless multiple players reach four together.
Last Man Standing championship
If three or more reach their fourth win together, play another Cut Throat round. If exactly two reach four together, play a one-hand 1v1 Spades playoff. Higher score wins. If tied, play additional hands until one player wins outright. No shared crown.