Spades glossary
What Is a Boston in Spades?
A Boston is when one team wins all 13 tricks in a single hand. At Spades Night that earns a +200 bonus on top of the normal score for the hand. It is not an automatic win. Some other tables treat a bid of 13 as a Boston that wins the game outright.
A Boston is when one team takes all 13 tricks in a hand. Players "run a Boston" and it is the loudest moment at any spades table. Our spades rules score it as a bonus, not a game-winner, and this page explains why that matters.
How it works
A hand has 13 tricks, called books. If your team wins every single one, you have run a Boston. It does not matter what you bid: a team that bid 8 and took 13 still ran a Boston.
At Spades Night, the hand is scored normally first (your contract plus any bags) and then the 200-point Boston bonus goes on top.
Example
You bid 5 and your partner bids 4. Team contract: 9. You hold the Big Joker, Little Joker and 2♦, your partner has A♠ K♠ and long clubs, and the other team never gets in. You take all 13.
- Contract: 9 × 10 = 90
- Bags: 4 → +4 (and 4 bags on the count)
- Boston bonus: +200
- Hand total: 294
The other team, whatever it bid, is set unless both of its players bid nil, and in that case both nils were made.
How Spades Night handles it
- Boston = your team takes all 13 tricks, including any taken by a partner who bid nil.
- +200 bonus on top of normal scoring. It is not an instant win.
- The overtricks are still bags. Four extra tricks means four bags.
- The announcer calls it when it lands.
Variations at other tables
"Boston" means different things in different houses, which is why arguments start:
- Bid 13 ("bid Boston"). A team bids all 13 tricks up front. Made, it scores 200 or more, or wins the game outright. Missed, it loses the same.
- Take 13, instant win. Any team that takes every trick wins the game.
- Shoot the moon. A term some players borrow from hearts for the same idea.
Spades Night uses none of these: bids stop at your actual count, and taking all 13 is a bonus. Agree on the rule at a home game before someone runs one.
Related terms
- Book: a trick; a Boston is 13 of them.
- Set: what usually happens to the other team.
- Bags: extra tricks over your bid, which a Boston always creates unless you bid 13.
- 10 for 200: another big-bid bonus some tables use.
Questions people ask
How many points is a Boston in spades?
At Spades Night a Boston is worth a 200-point bonus on top of your normal contract score. Other tables vary: some score 200 or 250, and some make it an instant win.
Does a Boston win the game in spades?
Not at Spades Night. You get +200 and play continues. Some home tables do count a Boston, usually a bid of 13 that is made, as winning the game on the spot.
Why is it called a Boston?
Nobody knows for sure. Boston was also the name of an old whist variant, so the word may have come to spades from whist players. Players say they 'ran a Boston' or 'Bostoned' the other team.