Board Game Arena

I've been away from Spades on BGA for more than a year. And I'm wondering when did the extreme underbidding to bag the other team become so played on BGA? I understand using it from time to time during a game. But most of the games I'm playing it's done throughout the whole game. 9 and 10 bids make up 80% of the bids. I hate it because it prolongs the game. Also it's a trick taking game, not a trick avoidance game (like hearts). Bags are meant to prevent underbidding not to promote underbidding.

I can't say I'm really familiar with the game, but how would that work?
Surely you always want to win tricks under any circumstance.

You either LIKE it or LUMP it.

This has been going on for months.

Are you talking about the Nil bid?
There is always the option for lowering the score to 50.

I agree it is annoying. And just turns into who can under cut the most. It makes no sense and like you said drags the games on FOREVER.

lol

2 good ways to alleviate this is to go with 5 bags 50 down instead of 10 bags 100 down. Then people aren't underbidding for the 100 point change in a single hand. People often do it to minimize skill and maximize luck of cards into the game hoping for 100 points here and there. Likewise if you use the 50 point option that will also slow that down because those players are underbidding hoping for the hands with most nills. The 50% bags is effective and does avoid that. The 50% bags does not make the game longer, but the 50 point nill would only because the nills are getting 100 pts per shot. I high recommend trying the 50% bags. It may take a few hands to get used to it, but it will work. There are also strategies to utilize too, but it makes the game quite long and boring.

RicardoRix wrote: ↑11 January 2023, 12:05 Are you talking about the Nil bid?
There is always the option for lowering the score to 50.

No. He's not talking about nil bids. He's talking about players bidding 2 or 3 tricks lower than they could win if they aggressively tried to win tricks. They lower the total bid to 9 or 10 whereas it should usually average to 11.5. The idea is to make it impossible to be set, but it also ensures that 3 or 4 bags are taken every hand. This results in a team bagging out and losing 100 pts every 4 or 5 hands, making the game go on forever.

And as the original post stated, the spirit of the game is a trick taking game - not a trick avoidance game.

Not the nill bid, the bagging.