Spoil Five is a trick taking card game for two to ten players.
Win three out of five tricks in a round to get ahead in this game!
Find the video tutorial and written explanation for how to play the card game spoil five below.
Spoil Five Tutorial
Needed
Two to ten players; 52 card deck; poker chips
Ante
Each player will ante one chip to form a middle pot.
Deal
Each player is dealt five cards in sets of two or three cards at a time.
The top card of the remaining deck is flipped up for everyone to see. The suit of the flipped up card is the trump suit for the round.
Objective
Spoil Five is a trick taking game. The objective of the game is to win chips by winning three tricks in a round.
A trick is created by each player playing a card into the middle. The player with the highest ranking trump card will win the trick. If no trump card was played, the winner of the trick is the player with the highest ranking card in the lead suit.
Card Rank
The card rank will change depending on which suit is the trump suit for the round. The ace of hearts is always the third highest trump card no matter what suit is trump for the round. When a suit is not trump, the rankings are as follows.
(Highest to lowest)
Diamonds: King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, Ace
Hearts: King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2
Spades/Clubs: King, Queen, Jack, Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Card rank for when a suit is the trump suit.
Diamonds: 5, Jack, Ace of hearts, Ace, King, Queen, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 4, 3, 2
Hearts: 5, Jack, Ace, King, Queen, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 4, 3, 2
Spades: 5, Jack, Ace of hearts, Ace, King, Queen, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Clubs: 5, Jack, Ace of hearts, Ace, King, Queen, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Game Play
The player left of the dealer will lead the first trick. Play moves left. Players must play a card in the same suit as the card led, or a trump suited card, whenever possible. If a player cannot follow the lead suit, the player can play any card.
The trick is won by the player who played the highest ranking trump suited card. If no trump suited card was played, the trick is won by the highest ranking card in the lead suit.
The player that wins the trick leads the next trick.
End of Round
If a player is able to win three out of the five tricks, that player wins the middle pot.
The deal moves left to the next player, and players will re-ante after a player wins the pot.
More often than not, the round will be spoiled. This means that no player was able to win three tricks.
In this case, the cards are collected and moved to the next dealer. The pot will roll over to the next round, with just the dealer adding one additional ante.
Rules
A player with the ace of trump in hand can swap any card in hand with the turned up trump from the deal. This is done before playing to the first trick.
The player with the ace of trump can also refuse the flipped up card by telling the dealer to turn the card down on their first turn.
If the player with the ace of trump fails to discard or have the trump card turned down, the ace of trumps becomes the lowest ranking trump card for the round.
If an ace is the flipped up card during the deal, the dealer gets the option to discard a card for the flipped up ace. Before the first trick is lead, the dealer will discard a card if wanted. Then, after the first trick, the dealer will put the ace into his/her hand.
If a lower trump suited card is led, a player with only the five of trump, jack of trump, or the ace of hearts, is not required to play it to follow suit. The player can play any card if wanted.
If a player wins the first three tricks, he/she can immediately take the pot, causing the hand to be over. Or, the player can choose to try and win all five tricks. If a player wins all five tricks, he/she wins the pot, plus each player must pay the winner one more chip. If a player goes for five tricks but is unsuccessful, the hand is spoiled. The pot rolls over to the next hand.