Card game · vs the computer
Hearts
Dodge the hearts and the queen of spades. Lowest score wins.
Pull up a chair
Pip, Juno and Otto are ready to play.
How sharp are they?
Game length
How to play Hearts
Hearts is a card game for four. You play against Pip, Juno and Otto. Each hand everyone gets 13 cards, and the aim is to take as few points as you can.
- Pass three cards. Pick three cards to give away: left on the first hand, right on the second, across on the third, and no pass on the fourth.
- The 2♣ leads. Whoever has the two of clubs starts the first trick.
- Follow suit. Play a card of the suit that was led if you can. If you can’t, play anything. The highest card of the suit led wins the trick, and the winner leads next. Aces are high.
- No points on the first trick. You can’t throw a heart or the queen of spades on the very first trick (unless that’s all you have).
- Breaking hearts. You can’t lead a heart until a heart has been played, unless you have only hearts left.
- Scoring. Each heart you take is 1 point and the queen of spades is 13. Points are bad.
- Game over. When someone reaches 100 (or 50 in a quick game), the lowest score wins.
On your turn the cards you can play stand up; the others are dimmed. Tap a dimmed card and we’ll tell you why it can’t go.
Questions
How does passing work?
Before each hand you choose three cards to pass. The direction turns each hand: left, right, across, then a hand with no passing. It’s your chance to get rid of the queen of spades, high spades and high hearts, or to empty a suit so you can throw points later.
What does “breaking hearts” mean?
Nobody can lead a heart until a heart has been played on an earlier trick, usually by someone who couldn’t follow suit. After that, hearts can be led. If all you have left is hearts, you may lead one anyway.
Why is the queen of spades so scary?
She’s worth 13 points, half of all the points in a hand. If you hold her, try to pass her or drop her on a trick someone else wins. If you hold the ace or king of spades, be careful: the queen may land on your trick.
What is shooting the moon?
Take every heart and the queen of spades in one hand and you score 0 while everyone else gets 26. If giving the others 26 would end the game with you still losing, you take 26 off your own score instead. Hard players watch for a moon attempt and try to block it.
How long is a game?
A game ends when someone reaches 100 points at the end of a hand, usually after 6 to 10 hands. Choose “Game to 50” for a game about half as long.
Is my game saved?
Yes. Your game saves after every card on this device, so you can close the page and tap Continue game later. Free, no ads, no account.
More card games and games against the computer: Island Traders, Checkers and Chess.