Hearts

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Arthur 0

Daniel

Elizabeth

You

Hearts

Hearts is a trick-taking card game, typically played with four players, where the goal is to end the game with the fewest points. Within each round are 13 tricks, and points are given to players who take tricks containing heart cards (1 point each) and tricks containing the queen of spades (13 points). You play rounds until someone reaches 100 points, and the winner is the player with the lowest score.

Players

Tricks

Moon

100

Target

Hearts Terminology

Trick-taking games, like Hearts, have unique components. Here's a visual breakdown of key game concepts:

Rounds

All four players are dealt 13 cards each round. Play rounds until someone reaches 100 points.

Passing

Pass 3 cards at the start of 3 out of 4 rounds: left → across → right → keep. Pattern repeats.

Leading

The player who won the previous trick leads the next. First trick is led by the two of clubs.

Tricks

Each player plays one card per trick. Highest card of the lead suit wins, unless hearts are played.

Points

Hearts = 1 pt, Queen of Spades = 13 pts, Diamonds & Clubs = 0 pts. Keep score after each round.

Shoot the Moon

Taking all hearts + Queen of Spades gives all other players 26 pts instead of you.

Hearts Rules

To play Hearts successfully, it’s important to understand and follow the basic rules. These rules cover passing cards, following suit, winning tricks, and handling point cards.

You must pass cards to begin most rounds.

You must pass three cards to another player except every fourth round. Pass to your left for the first round, across from you for the second round, and to your right for the third round. Keep all the cards dealt to you for the fourth round, and then repeat the pattern of passing with subsequent rounds.

You must follow suit.

Whatever suit is first led in a trick, you must play a card that matches that suit if you have one. Otherwise, you can “slough off,” which means you play a card from another suit.

The highest card of the suit that led wins the trick.

Once all players have played a card, whoever has the highest ranking card for the lead suit takes the trick. If the five of spades is led, and the next three players play the two, eight, and king of spades, whoever played the king of spades wins the trick. Off-suit cards that are played can’t win the trick.

You cannot play point cards in the first trick.

The two of clubs leads the first trick of each round, and in that trick, no one can play a heart or the queen of spades. While you have to follow suit and play a club if you have it, if you don’t have one, you can play a diamond or any other spade except the queen.

You cannot play a heart until hearts are “broken.

If a player doesn’t have the same suit that led and it’s not the first trick, they can play a heart, which means hearts are broken and can now be played. Although the high-point card, the queen of spades, can be played during any trick except the first one, hearts cannot be played until they are “broken.”

Winning Strategies

Tactics to stay ahead and survive moon attempts.

Understand when to pass aces.

Each hand you’re dealt is different, so consider your total hand when deciding which cards to pass each round. If you want to control the lead, you might consider keeping the aces for clubs and diamonds, but you often want to pass the ace of spades so you don’t get stuck taking in the queen. When it comes to the ace of hearts, it can be nice to have, especially if you have lower-ranking hearts to play under in other tricks, so that you can take a trick if someone tries to shoot the moon.

Pass the two of clubs.

Whether you want to take the lead in the first trick or not, pass the two of clubs. Because no cards worth penalty points can be played in the first trick, the first trick is your chance to dump a high-ranking card without penalty. You can’t do that if you’re forced to lead with the two of clubs.

Plan ahead before passing cards.

As with any game, understanding what moves you can make and ensuring you have options are invaluable to gameplay. Before passing, consider whether you need to control the lead to pull out penalty cards or whether you have enough lower-ranking cards to fly under the radar. For example, if you have a few spades ranking lower than the queen, you might want to keep an ace of clubs to take the lead in the first trick and lead spades next to try and flush out the queen. Knowing your possible options helps inform what you pass to other players.

Get rid of one suit.

If you rid yourself of a suit, either by passing the cards away or focusing on playing them from your hand, you have a better chance of getting rid of high-point cards, like the queen of spades. If you only have three diamonds, but you have the queen of spades, consider passing all the diamonds. Chances are you’ll have an opportunity to play the queen when everyone else is playing diamonds, even if you’re passed a diamond or two.

Count the cards.

When you get down to the last few tricks, you may be nervous about winning a trick with a high-ranking card, or you may end up winning a trick with penalty points because you lead a lower-ranking card but no one else has that suit. Each suit contains 13 cards. So if, for example, you notice that 10 clubs have been played but you have three clubs left in your hand, no matter how low those cards rank, you’ll win the trick. So knowing how many cards of each suit have been played can help.

Remember the higher-ranking cards that were played.

Similar to the reasons why you should count cards, remembering the higher-ranking cards that were played can help you know what to lead or not. Knowing if cards that rank higher than yours have been played can be the difference between losing a trick or taking one with the high-point queen of spades included.

Keep low hearts.

Hearts give penalty points, but hearts can’t be played until they are broken. So if you have low hearts, keep them so that you can play under higher hearts that are led.

Watch for opponents trying to shoot the moon.

The only worse thing than ending up with a ton of penalty points is getting 26 points because someone else took all the penalty cards. If you notice someone is leading with a lot of high cards and controlling the lead, they are likely trying to shoot the moon. So look for ways to take a trick, even if it means scoring penalty points—a few penalty points is better than 26!

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Frequently Asked Questions

Click the green 'Deal' button to start a new round. Cards will be dealt to all four players, and the passing phase will begin (except on round 4).

At the start of most rounds, you must pass 3 cards to another player. The pattern rotates: Round 1 → pass left, Round 2 → pass across, Round 3 → pass right, Round 4 → no pass. Then the pattern repeats.

Each heart card is worth 1 point, and the Queen of Spades is worth 13 points. Diamonds and clubs are worth 0 points. The goal is to have the lowest score.

If one player takes ALL hearts (13 points) AND the Queen of Spades (13 points) in a single round (26 points total), instead of getting 26 points themselves, all other players receive 26 points. This is a high-risk, high-reward strategy.

Hearts cannot be played in the first trick unless a player has no other suits to play. This rule prevents hearts from being 'broken' immediately. The Queen of Spades is also not allowed in the first trick.

If a player leads with a club, every other player must play a club if they have one. If you don't have the lead suit, you can play any card from another suit (called 'sloughing off').

The game continues until one player reaches 100 points. The player with the LOWEST score at that time wins. So accumulating fewer penalty cards throughout the game is key.

The player who played the highest card of the lead suit wins the trick and collects all cards. That player then leads the next trick. Points from the trick are added to their score.

Dimmed cards are not playable at that moment. This happens when you must follow suit (and the dimmed card is from a different suit) or when hearts aren't broken yet and you're trying to lead with a heart.

During the passing phase, simply click on any 3 cards from your hand. They will lift up to show they're selected. Click the 'SEND PASS' button when you're ready to pass them.

It refers to playing a point card (a heart card or the Queen of Spades) on a trick after the first trick. You cannot lead with a point card until hearts have been broken.