History and Evolution
The modern game of Spades became popular in the late 1940’s, especially on college campuses.
It was difficult to ascertain the true origin of this game.
A review of several card game reference sources revealed that Spades descended from Whist.
Spades also has a kindred spirit with Bridge, Pinochle, Euchre and other similar games featuring partnership play, bidding and a trump suit.
George Coffin, the great Bridge author, traced the roots of Spades to the Mid-West.
He determined that this game was introduced in Cincinnati, OH, sometime between 1937 and 1939.
From there, it spread to other cities in the general region and eventually into the military.
Spades was played extensively during World War II as it was a fast paced game, which could be interrupted at any time – especially during battle conditions!
Please note that (the late) Mr. Coffin completed extensive research relative to the history of many card games.
At one time, he was the most prolific Bridge writer in the country and competed against some of the greatest players of his era.
While Whist (especially Bid-Whist) and Euchre have enjoyed modest resurgence, Spades has continued a very steady growth and has become established nationally.
It is now the number one partnership card game in the United States, and still reigns as the king of card games in Colleges!
The appeal of Spades is its relatively basic bidding system, opportunity for advanced play and very quick moving action.
Many seasoned Bridge players became very proficient at Spades before graduating to their specialty.
Spades is by far and away the most popular card game on the Internet, although some will argue a case for Poker and Black Jack.
Since the latter two are individuals’ contests of chance, I do not consider the comparison to gambling games as valid, although I do recognize these games as having a high skill factor.
The future growth of Spades is ensured as the Internet becomes more and more accessible. One site, The Microsoft Internet Gaming Zone, has an average of six thousand Spades players in various social and competitive Rooms on any given night!
Several live tournaments and a universal rating system will allow anyone to seek a competitive game – locally and nationally.
As of this writing, a U.S. National Championship is planned for May 2000 in Las Vegas, NV, and the Mind Sports Olympiad has included Spades as part of its itinerary in London, England in August of 2000.
For more details on Hearts, Spades, and Euchre - refer to this Site:
http:///www.pagat.com - it is a treasure trove of information!
- Joe Andrews
