How to Play Hearts: Rules, Scoring and Beginner Strategy
By the CrazyArcade team ·
Hearts is a trick-taking card game for four players where the goal is the opposite of most card games: you want to take as few points as possible. Every heart you win costs one point and the Queen of Spades costs thirteen. The game ends when someone reaches the target score, and the player with the lowest score wins.
This guide explains the standard rules, which our own Hearts game follows, and the simple strategy that wins most games against casual players and the computer.
The rules in short
Each player gets 13 cards. Before each hand, everyone passes three cards: to the left, then to the right, then across, then no pass, and the cycle repeats. The player holding the 2 of clubs leads the first trick. You must follow the suit that was led if you can; if you cannot, you may play any card. The highest card of the suit that was led wins the trick, and the winner leads the next one.
Two extra rules matter. Hearts cannot be led until a heart has been played on an earlier trick, which is called breaking hearts. And on the first trick, you may not play a heart or the Queen of Spades unless you have nothing else.
Passing: get rid of danger
The pass is your best chance to fix a bad hand. Good cards to pass are the Queen, King and Ace of spades when you do not hold many low spades to protect them, and high hearts. Another strong idea is to pass all the cards of a short suit, such as two or three diamonds. Being void in a suit means you can throw away dangerous cards whenever that suit is led.
Play low, and duck under tricks
Most of the time, play the highest card that will still lose the trick. If the trick has a 9 of clubs in it and you hold the 8 and the King, play the 8. Save low cards for late in the hand, when the remaining cards are high and it gets harder to avoid winning tricks.
When you cannot follow suit, use the chance to dump your worst card: the Queen of Spades if you have it, otherwise a high heart or a high card in a suit you are still holding.
Watch the Queen of Spades
If you do not hold the Queen, leading low spades can force it out, because the player holding it may have to play it on a trick someone else wins. If you do hold it with only one or two other spades, be careful: an opponent leading spades can trap you into winning it yourself.
Shooting the moon
If one player takes all thirteen hearts and the Queen of Spades in a single hand, they shoot the moon: instead of taking 26 points, each opponent gets 26. It is a big swing but risky, because if you miss even one heart you keep the points you took. Try it only with a hand full of high cards and long suits. Just as important, notice when an opponent is collecting every point card, and win a single heart trick to stop them.
Our Hearts lets you play the computer on Easy, Medium or Hard. Easy is good for learning the rules, while Hard counts cards and will try to stop your moon shots.