# Spades - Expert AI — Custom Rules & Offline Play > AI-powered Spades card game with custom rules and offline play. (iPhone/iPad app by NeuralPlay, LLC.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spades-expert-ai/id1556139708 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [NeuralPlay, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1536040863) - Category: Games, Education, Card, Strategy - Price: Free with in-app purchases - Rating: 4.70/5 from 630 App Store ratings · 29 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 16.0 · 36 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2021-03-11 - Data updated: 2026-09-07 - Monetization: free with in-app purchases - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spades-expert-ai/id1556139708/reviews.md ## What is Spades? Whether you’re a seasoned pro or learning Spades for the first time, Spades – Expert AI is a great way to play, learn, and master this classic trick-taking card game. Enjoy Partnership Spades, 3- or 4-player Solo (Cutthroat) Spades, and popular variants including Mirror, Suicide, and Whiz. Learn smarter, play better, and master Spades with powerful AI partners and opponents, plus in-depth analysis tools. Play anytime, even offline. Extensive customization options let you enjoy your favorite rules. CHALLENGING AND ENJOYABLE FOR ALL New to Spades? Learn as you play with the NeuralPlay AI, which offers real-time suggestions to guide your moves. Build your skills hands-on, explore strategies, and improve your decision-making in a single-player experience that teaches you every step of the game. Already an expert? Compete against six levels of advanced AI opponents designed to challenge your skills, sharpen your strategy, and make every game competitive, rewarding, and exciting. KEY FEATURES Learn and Improve • AI guidance: Receive real-time insights whenever your plays differ from the AI’s choices. • Built-in card counter: Strengthen your counting and strategic decision-making. • Trick-by-trick review: Analyze every move in detail to sharpen your gameplay. • Replay hand: Review and replay a deal to practice and improve. Convenience and Control • Offline play: Enjoy the game anytime, even without an internet connection. • Undo: Quickly correct mistakes and refine your strategy. • Hints: Get helpful suggestions when you’re unsure of your next move. • The Rest Are Mine (TRAM): End the hand early when your cards are unbeatable. • Skip hand: Move past hands you’d rather not play. Progression and Customization • Six AI levels: From beginner-friendly to expert-challenging. • Detailed statistics: Track your performance and progress. • Customization: Personalize the look with color themes and card decks. RULE CUSTOMIZATIONS Explore different ways to play with flexible rule options, including: • Trump: Play with spades only, or add jokers and/or deuces as high trump. • Nil: Allow nil, disallow nil, or use a zero bid. • Blind nil: Enable when behind by 100, behind by 200, always, or never. • Nil / blind nil bonus: Set to 100/200 or 50/100 points. • Blind bids (non-nil): Enable when behind by 100, behind by 200, always, or never. • Nil passing: Exchange 0–4 cards with your partner. • Blind nil passing: Exchange 0–4 cards with your partner. • Minimum team bid: Choose 2–5, or no minimum. • Bag penalty: 10 bags = −100, 5 bags = −50, or no penalty. • Bag (overtrick) points: +1, 0, −1, or −10 per bag. • Failed bid penalty: 10× bid, 10× tricks short, or no penalty. • Failed nil overtricks: Count as bags, not bags, or apply to partner’s bid. • 10-for-200: Set the bonus for a combined team bid of 10 or more. • Initial lead: Left of dealer, Two of Clubs leads, or everyone plays lowest club. • Trump first trick: Allow or disallow trumping on trick one. • Leading spades: Lead only after spades are broken, or allow anytime. • Must beat: Require players to beat the winning card when able (on/off). DOWNLOAD TODAY Play, learn, and master Spades – Expert AI. Enjoy a single-player Spades experience designed for practice, strategy, or casual play. Whether you want to improve your skills or relax with an offline card game, play your way with smart AI opponents, customizable rules, and a fresh challenge every game. ## Key features - AI guidance for learning - Built-in card counter - Trick-by-trick review - Offline play - Customizable rules - Six AI difficulty levels - Detailed statistics ## Pricing and in-app purchases Base price: Free. **One-time purchases** | Purchase | Price | Type | | --- | --- | --- | | Remove Ads | $12.99 | one-time | ## What do users think of Spades? Overall sentiment: negative **Pros** - 🎮 Engaging and fun card game experience - 🎯 Challenging AI difficulty levels available - 📚 Good for learning Spades rules and strategy - 🚀 Fast-moving gameplay **Cons** - 🤖 AI partner makes illogical and counterintuitive plays - 🤖 AI fails to understand basic strategy and teamwork - 🤖 AI doesn't cover partner's nil bids effectively - 🤖 AI overtrumps unnecessarily and plays against its own team - 🎲 Unfair nil hand distribution to opponents - ⚖️ Inconsistent penalty application between teams - 🔊 Loud and intrusive advertisements - 📺 Inappropriate and offensive ad content - 🐛 Card sorting and dealing inconsistencies - 🐛 Scoreboard interface is redundantly busy **Commonly reported bugs** - Cards dealt out of sequence - Unfair penalty scoring between player team and AI team - AI partner plays trump cards when bidding nil or blind nil - AI throws away winning cards and aces unnecessarily - AI leads with lowest cards when it should lead strategically **Most requested features** - Improved AI that plays with better strategy and human-like logic - AI that properly understands and covers nil bids - Statistics tracking and saving functionality - Silent advertisement option for public play - Better card layout and UI organization ## Recent user reviews (10 of 29) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spades-expert-ai/id1556139708/reviews.md ### 5/5 — Really good!! *2026-06-15, version 4.51* Addicted to this!!! ### 5/5 — Mental Challenge *2026-06-09* This Spades game is very hard to beat. Great for honing my logic and skills. **Developer response:** Glad to hear you are enjoying NeuralPlay Spades. Thank you for your review. ### 2/5 — Makes illogical moves *2026-06-08* Makes illogical moves. Will take a trick with a spade after bidding a NIl when holding a none spade card. Will take a trick when I bid a NIl when player player to my left has already beat my card. This leaves me vurnable with a higher card. **Developer response:** The AI bot player certainly should not take a tricks with a spade unnecessarily when bidding nil. Please see Settings -> Level to make sure you are playing on level 3 or higher. Play on level 3 has human designed rules and should play as a good human does. Play on Levels 4+ use an advanced Monte Carlo Simulation method. We have seen some creative play, like perhaps taking a trick with a high spade when the nil is not makable when both teams have bid nil. This could make sense to tell partner that the nil is not makable and it is best to try to defeat the opponent's nil. Thank you for your review. ### 5/5 — Seriously? *2026-04-30, version 4.50* Do the people who write the code for these games actually know how to play them? On level 5 the computer partner should play with some level of skill. Instead, it plays poorly. It overbids, underbids, unnecessarily takes tricks I clearly have and need when it doesn’t need to, doesn’t take tricks it clearly needs when it can, and takes unnecessary bags. Curious why a poor rating won’t upload. ### 1/5 — Nil victories *2026-04-26* This started out being a good game with the exception of the cards being spread out into two rows requiring some attention in playing a hand. But the game keeps feeding opponents Nil hands to win, in some games, every round featured the other team going nil. That makes the game no fun at all. Shame, that. **Developer response:** The deals are not biased to any seat. With more play, the luck should change. The AI uses an advanced Monte Carlo method to play on the higher levels. We play on level 1 for more relaxing games. Thank you for your review. ### 1/5 — Bad partner plays abound *2026-04-24* The moves make no sense. Trumping with a high trump. Partner leading a low card when you are going low. When you are going low, instead of playing some trump cards to allow you to clear out some high cards, the partner will continue leading a non trump suit until you get set…like playing for the other side. There’s no way this is AI **Developer response:** The AI uses an advanced Monte Carlo method to play on the higher levels. There is a bit of randomness as it decides whether to try to set the opponents or avoid bags. We are working on improvements. Thank you for your review. ### 2/5 — AI Partner NOT GREAT *2026-02-01* Multiple times my AI “partner” has played a trump card when unnecessary and at a time when they bid either nil or blind nil. Looking at the cards played afterwards, there were MANY other options that would have avoided catching the trick. I don’t think the game is nearly intelligent enough to keep decent players happy. **Developer response:** If you are not already, please try Level 6. This is our best play. It uses an advanced Monte Carlo Simulation method to estimate the best plays. We have seen the AI make some errors, but they are minimal and we are working on improvements. Level 3, will play more as a human, it will not make the clear mistakes like playing a higher card during a nil. It is rule-based and has hand-designed rules to follow. Levels 4+ play better overall, but the randomness does lead to an occasional surprising play. We are working on improvements. When you see an error, you can help us by sending the Menu - Play Log screen shot to us at support@neuralplay.com. Thank you for your review. ### 1/5 — Bad game algorithms *2025-12-26* Dont bother to play Solo format if you are expecting a challenging game. The badly structured algorithm ensures that every hand is balanced, with either 3 or 4 points per player And the Standard format is little better, with the opposite pair receiving the more aggressive hands, and never failing to achieve a Nil point hand This version is too predictable, and ho-hum boring **Developer response:** The deals are random and not biased to any seat. With more play the luck should change. More aggressive and Nil hands should occur for your team too. Thank you for your review. ### 5/5 — Advertisement *2025-12-03* One ad that keeps appearing is surprisingly inappropriate. I believe it is an AI with photos ad. **Developer response:** Glad to hear you are enjoying NeuralPlay Spades. We apologize for the bad ad. We are working with our ad providers to improve the ad-based experience. Thank you for your review. ### 1/5 — AI is a moron *2025-11-15* I’ve got it on the highest level. My ai partner bid Nil. I’m running Spades so my partner can dump his worst cards. Idiot AI plays a 6 of Diamonds. So I lead my 5 of Diamonds. Which the AI takes with its 10 of Diamonds. There is nothing complicated about this. It wants to not take any tricks, but sloughs a low card rather than a high one. Garbage **Developer response:** Thank you for the report. This should not happen. Note level 3 uses human designed rules to prevent this. Level 6 uses a more advanced AI method called Random Monte Carlo Simulation. Level 6 does play better than level 3 overall, however the randomness may cause a rare obvious mistake. We are working on improvements. Thank you for your review. ## Frequently asked questions about Spades ### What is Spades - Expert AI? Spades - Expert AI is a mobile application designed for playing the classic trick-taking card game, Spades. It features advanced AI opponents and partners, in-depth analysis tools, and extensive customization options for game rules. The app allows for both learning and mastering the game, even when offline. ### What are the key features of Spades - Expert AI? Key features include AI guidance for learning, a built-in card counter, trick-by-trick review, and the ability to replay hands for practice. It also offers offline play, an undo function, hints, and customization options for AI levels, color themes, and card decks. ### How much does Spades - Expert AI cost? The app is free to download and play, but it does offer in-app purchases. This typically means there are optional features or content that can be bought within the app, though the core gameplay is accessible without purchase. ### Can I play Spades - Expert AI offline? Yes, a significant feature of Spades - Expert AI is its offline play capability. You can enjoy the game anytime and anywhere, even without an active internet connection, making it convenient for travel or areas with limited connectivity. ### What kind of custom rules can I set in Spades - Expert AI? The app provides extensive rule customization. You can adjust settings for trump, nil and blind nil bids, nil passing, minimum team bids, bag penalties, failed bid penalties, and initial lead, among many other options to tailor the game to your preferred Spades variations. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 4.74 — 2026-09-07 • Added three-player Cutthroat support. • UI improvements. • AI improvements. ### 4.71 — 2026-09-01 • Added three-player Cutthroat support. • UI improvements. • AI improvements. ### 4.70 — 2026-08-29 • Added three-player Cutthroat support. • UI improvements. • AI improvements. ### 4.62 — 2026-07-25 • Suicide Spades now requires a minimum team bid of 4 by default. New options allow blind nil bids and both partners to bid nil. See Settings to adjust. • AI improvements. • UI improvements. ### 4.61 — 2026-07-22 • UI improvements. • AI improvements. ## Apps similar to Spades | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Spades](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spades/id872912030) | 4.7 (2,516) | Free | Games | | [Spades : Offline Card Game](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spades-offline-card-game/id1476967148) | 4.5 (113) | Free | Games | | [Spades: Classic Card Game 2026](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spades-classic-card-game-2026/id6470269174) | 4.3 (53) | Free | Games | | [Spades - King of Spades Plus](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spades-king-of-spades-plus/id1176538921) | 3.3 (142) | Free | Games | | [Classic Spades Card Game](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/classic-spades-card-game/id1323778530) | 4.7 (2,070) | Free | Games | | [Spades Classic: US Edition](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spades-classic-us-edition/id6451287656) | 4.6 (800) | Free | Games | ## More apps by NeuralPlay, LLC - [Hearts - Expert AI](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hearts-expert-ai/id1536040860) - [Bid Whist - Expert AI](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bid-whist-expert-ai/id1541025438) - [Whist - Expert AI](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/whist-expert-ai/id1541769045) - [Oh Hell - Expert AI](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/oh-hell-expert-ai/id1543490820) - [Bridge by NeuralPlay](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bridge-by-neuralplay/id1544516848) - [Pitch - Expert AI](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pitch-expert-ai/id1553400379) All apps by NeuralPlay, LLC: https://appshunter.io/developer/1536040863 --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-07.*