Hearts

What is Hearts?

Hearts is a four-player trick-taking game in which you do not want tricks, you want to avoid points. Every heart you take costs a point and the queen of spades thirteen. The game spread around the world with the office computer and has stayed one of the most played card games.

Here you play against three computer opponents, on three levels. The game goes hand after hand until someone reaches 100 points, and the lowest score wins. Every day brings a Daily game, the same for everyone.

How to play Hearts

Everyone is dealt thirteen cards from the 52-card pack.

• Passing. Before each hand you pick three cards and pass them left, right or across, in turn. Every fourth hand is played without passing. The cards you receive stay marked.
• Tricks. Whoever holds the 2 of clubs leads. Follow the suit led if you can; if not, play anything. The highest card of the suit led takes the trick.
• Hearts. You cannot lead hearts until a heart has been played, unless you have nothing else. No hearts and no queen of spades go on the first trick.
• Points. Each heart you take is a point and the queen of spades 13. Whoever takes all 26 points scores zero, and everyone else 26.
• The end. The game ends when someone reaches 100 points. Your score is your total, lower is better.

Tips and strategy

1. Pass the queen of spades. If you hold the queen of spades and few low spades, pass her on. The ace and king of spades are dangerous too while she is still out.
2. Empty a suit. Once you are out of a suit, you can throw the queen and your high hearts whenever that suit is led.
3. Play under the trick. Play the highest card that still loses the trick, and keep your low cards for later.
4. Take the clean tricks. If you are last on a trick with no points, take it with a high card: it costs nothing and gets rid of the card.
5. Stop the moon. If an opponent has taken every point so far, take at least one heart so they cannot hand you 26.

Frequently asked questions

Is Hearts free?

Yes. Like every game on Play, it runs free in your browser, with no download and no account.

Why can I not play a certain card?

Either you have to follow the suit led, or it is the first trick and no points may go on it, or you are trying to lead a heart before any has been played.

What does shooting the moon mean?

It means taking every heart and the queen of spades in one hand. Then you score zero, and each of the others scores 26.

How do the levels differ?

On Easy the computer passes its high cards without thinking and throws cards at random. On Medium it plays under the trick and sheds the queen of spades; on Hard it counts cards and smokes the queen out.

What is the Daily game?

Every day everyone plays the same hands against the same opponents on Medium, so scores compare directly on the leaderboard.