The 5 Best Offline Spades Games – September 2018

If you like card games, the odds are good that you’re a fan of Spades. Spades is a hugely popular card game that grew from a variant of Whist, a popular game in Victorian England. Spades developed in America during the 1930s and then became widely known when it became a game of choice for GIs fighting in World War II. Spades has a number of features that made it an ideal game for the time: it has a simple premise, needs only four players and although a full game can be quite long, the game can be paused and picked up again without losing track of progress.

Although Spades is no longer as popular as gambling games like Poker or Blackjack, it still has a solid following and there are of course a lot of online and offline computer versions of the game. Spades players who are going to be offline need a Spades variant that will play well when they don’t have Internet access. In this article, I’ve found five Spades versions that offer the highest quality offline play.

These games are a mixture of free with ad support and premium. They either play entirely offline or have an offline component that doesn’t need a data connection.

Spades Offline – Android and iOS

Spades Offline is good for beginners to the game as it isn’t too challenging for a new player. It offers free play with a reasonable challenge. While reviews cite poor AI, I think this is a good thing for someone who is just getting to grips with the game. Otherwise, the user interface is decent, colors are clear, hands are well paced and overall this is a pretty good spades game for anyone who is new to the game. The iOS version is here.

The game plays well and while there are ads and there is an issue with ads covering the play area, most of these spades apps have that. Otherwise, Spades Offline is pretty decent game to kill an hour or two.

Spades – Android

Spades has an online and offline mode so you can decide to play however you want depending on your mood. The UI is simple but effective and the game itself has been very well reviewed. As well as the base game against other players you can play spades offline against bots. There are also supposed to be quests and mission-type games too but I didn’t try those.

If you want to play online you can. There are usually a few players online at peak times and they will have a range of abilities which can challenge you. Online play is also fairly easy to get to grips with and adds another dimension to the game, should you want it.

Spades – Play online & offline – iOS

Spades – Play online & offline does exactly what it says on the box. The UI is super-simple and a little cartoony but gets the job done. The AI can be quite challenging and gameplay is fluid and well-paced. The art style may seem a little kindergartenish when you first look at the game but once you’re playing, the clarity and simple coloring works in the game’s favor. The game is constantly being developed and seems to have good support too.

While there aren’t yet many reviews, I had a few games and the game played well and without issue. The only downside to this game is the download size, 66MB, which is sizeable compared to the average 20-30MB of other games.

Spades Offline – Single Player – Android and iOS

Spades Offline – Single Player is another offline spades game just as the name suggests. Gameplay is straightforward and I would say the AI is middling. Not too easy and not too challenging either. This game seems to have the ads covering the play area issue too but as long as you don’t come up against that, it seems a pretty good game to play. Aside from that, this is a decent game designed to play offline. The iOS version is available here.

Spades Solitaire Plus – iOS

Spades Solitaire Plus has a very basic UI but it gets the job done. What it lacks in detail it makes up for in clarity and ease of use. The deck, table, bid and cards are all very clear and make it simple to pick up a game and begin playing. Again, the simplicity of the game works in its favor. It is easy to concentrate on the game, the cards and the hand in play.

Like the other spades games in this list, the AI isn’t exactly challenging but it is interesting enough to play against and not get bored.

Know of any other decent offline spades games worthy trying? Tell us about them below if you do!