Hearts, the classic card game
Hearts is the trick-taking card game where the aim is to take as little as possible. You play against three computer players, one on each side of the table, and every heart you take costs you a point. The Queen of Spades costs thirteen. When someone reaches 100 points the game ends, and the player with the lowest score wins. It is the game that came with Windows for twenty years, here with large, clear cards that read well on a tablet or a phone. There is nothing to sign up for and nothing to install, and your game is saved in this browser if you need to stop halfway.
How to play
Each hand, all 52 cards are dealt, 13 to each player. The full rules, with pictures and tips.
- Passing. Before each hand you choose three cards to pass: to the left on the first hand, to the right on the second, across the table on the third, and on the fourth hand nobody passes. Then the pattern starts again.
- Leading. Whoever holds the 2 of Clubs plays it to start the first trick.
- Following suit. Everyone plays one card in turn, going round to the left. If you have a card of the suit that was led, you must play one. If you have none, you may play anything, which is your chance to get rid of the Queen of Spades or a high heart.
- Taking tricks. The highest card of the suit led takes all four cards, and that player leads the next trick. Aces are high.
- Breaking hearts. Nobody may lead a heart until a heart has been played on an earlier trick, unless they hold nothing but hearts. And on the very first trick, nobody may play a heart or the Queen of Spades unless they have no other choice.
- Scoring. At the end of the hand, each heart you took is 1 point and the Queen of Spades is 13.
Shooting the moon
There is one way to turn a bad hand into a brilliant one. If you take every heart and the Queen of Spades, all 26 points, you score nothing for that hand and every other player scores 26. It is risky, because one heart taken by anybody else ruins it, but there are few better feelings in card games. Now and then a computer player ends up with all 26 as well, so keep an eye on who is collecting the hearts.
Controls
Tap or click a card to choose it for passing, and tap it again to put it back; when three are chosen, press Pass. During play, tap or click a card to play it. Cards you are not allowed to play are shaded, and if you tap one anyway, the game tells you why. With a keyboard, Tab and the arrow keys move between your cards and Enter plays one. H asks for a hint, U takes back your last card and N starts a new game.
Hint suggests a card, or three cards to pass, with one plain sentence that says why: stay under the winning card, get rid of the Queen while you can, lead low. Undo takes back your last card within the hand, as many times as you like. The score sheet under the table keeps every hand, and shows who shot the moon.
Fair computer players
The three computer players see only their own cards and the cards already played, just as you do. They never look at your hand or at each other’s. They play a steady, sensible game: they get rid of the Queen of Spades when they can, keep under the winning card, lead spades to force the Queen out, and pass their most dangerous cards. Most games are close, and a careful player wins a good share of them.
A few tips
- Pass the Queen of Spades unless you hold plenty of low spades to hide her behind. The Ace and King of Spades are dangerous too: they can win the trick the Queen lands on.
- Try to run out of a suit, clubs or diamonds, early. Once you have none, every trick in that suit is a chance to give away points.
- Keep your low cards. A 2 or a 3 lets you stay under the winning card late in the hand, when the tricks are full of hearts.
- Count the spades. Once the Queen has been played, the Ace and King of Spades are safe to play.
For the full rules, scoring and more ways to win, read how to play Hearts. Fancy a game on your own? Try Klondike Solitaire, FreeCell or Spider Solitaire.