Spades is a classic card game that never seems as well-represented on electronic platforms as many of its peers. A game of teamwork and careful strategy, it takes a fair bit of skill and an awful lot of luck to play. If you've ever wanted to play Spades on your smart device, you'll definitely want to check out Spades Plus. Whether it replicates the traditional gameplay experience or not is, of course, up to the experience of the player.

Features

Spades Plus is a fairly straightforward app that allows players to take on several different types of classic Spades games. You can play against real players or against the computer, but you also have the option to play with or without an AI partner. This gives players a chance to build up their own skills before they play against real people while still giving even those who don't have much time to play a chance to get into a game without having to worry about inconveniencing a human player. The game also has a ranking system which encourages players to keep playing the game, with coin bonuses and other in-game status markers helping to differentiate those who have just started from those who have mastered the game.

Benefits

This is by far one of the easiest ways to play Spades on a smart device. It's fairly easy to get into a game and it's not that hard to get a game going with friends. Spades isn't always the most popular game on app stores and most of the Spades apps are fairly barebones, so this app stands out by offering a little more than most of its competition. The game also benefits from its ranking structure, which gives players a reason to keep coming back and to hone their skills in the game.

Pros and Cons

There's a lot to like about this game if you are already a fan of Spades. The app looks great, plays well, and allows you a chance to play against both your friends and against strangers from around the world. This is one of the easiest ways to jump into a quick game of Spades, even if the game does seem to really promote playing longer games against real people.

The downsides to this game are the same as those in a lot of Zynga games. Spades Plus seems geared towards getting players to spend real money, so you'll always notice a huge ramp up in difficulty as you get closer to new ranks. You'll also notice that the game really pushes the modes where you can spend coins, while hiding away those that might be a little more friendly to newer players. Microtransactions are often a part of mobile gaming, but Zynga's use of these transactions in this game really does hurt the overall quality of the game.

Conclusion

Spades Plus is a good Spades game that tends to get frustrating the more you play. While it's a great way to have fun with friends and to get in a few games of Spades while you have free time, it's also a game that absolutely seems driven to make sure that it gets as much of your money as possible. If you don't mind microtransactions or if you don't care about making your way up the leaderboard, though, you might find that this game is a perfect way to have fun with a classic card game.