Hearts: the classic card game vs three computers
In this Hearts card game you want as few points as possible: every heart costs one point and the Queen of Spades costs 13. But take all 26 and the tables turn. You sit at the bottom; the three computers play left, across and right.
Source: pagat.com: Hearts – card game rules (John McLeod). Updated: .
How it is calculated
Hearts rules in a nutshell
Hearts is played by four people with a 52-card deck, 13 cards each. There are no trumps, and the goal is the opposite of most trick-taking games: avoid collecting penalty points.
- Passing: before each hand you pass three cards – to the left in hand 1, then to the right, then across, and no passing every fourth hand.
- Leading: whoever holds the 2 of clubs leads it to the first trick. Everyone must follow suit; if you can’t, you may discard any card.
- Tricks: the highest card of the suit led wins (aces high). The winner leads the next trick.
- Breaking hearts: hearts can’t be led until a heart has been discarded – unless you have nothing but hearts. On the first trick, hearts and the Queen of Spades are off-limits.
Scoring and game end
- Each heart in your tricks: 1 penalty point. The Queen of Spades: 13. That makes 26 per hand.
- Shooting the moon: take all 26 and you score 0 while everyone else gets 26.
- The game ends as soon as someone reaches 100 points (or 50 in the short version). Lowest score wins.
The three computer levels
- Easy plays any legal card and passes random cards.
- Medium ducks under the highest card when following suit, dumps the Queen of Spades and high hearts when void, and passes its highest cards.
- Hard tracks whether the Queen of Spades has fallen, flushes her out with low spades, voids suits when passing and blocks players heading for the moon.
The computer only sees its own cards and the tricks played – no cheating.
Tips
- Pass the Queen, Ace and King of Spades if you’re short in spades – with lots of low spades, though, you can hold the Queen safely.
- Void a suit by passing all cards of a short suit: you can then discard dangerous cards when it’s led.
- Lead low cards early, while nobody is void yet.
Sharing and privacy
Cards are shuffled with the browser’s random number generator. “Share result” sends your final score with a link to the same deals – whoever finishes with fewer points wins the challenge. Settings and statistics (games, wins, best win per level) are kept in your browser’s localStorage (key hearts) and never sent to a server.
More card games: Solitaire and FreeCell.
Speed, hand-by-hand scores and resuming
Speed sets how quickly the computers play their cards and how long a finished trick stays on the table: Slow for counting along, Fast for experienced players. Show hand-by-hand scores opens a table after the first hand with the penalty points of all four players for every hand – a moon shot shows up there as 0 and three times 26. The game in progress is stored on this device: after reloading the page you continue with the same cards and the same score.
Frequently asked questions
How do you play the Hearts card game?
Four players play tricks with no trumps. Hearts and the Queen of Spades in your tricks give penalty points. When someone reaches 100, the player with the fewest points wins.
What are the basic Hearts card game rules?
Pass three cards before each hand, the 2 of clubs leads, follow suit, and don’t lead hearts until one has been discarded. Hearts count 1 point, the Queen of Spades 13.
Can I play classic Hearts free online?
Yes, right here in your browser – free, no sign-up and no download, on phones and computers, against three computer players.
What is shooting the moon in Hearts?
If one player takes every heart and the Queen of Spades in a hand, they score 0 and every other player gets 26 points.
What’s a good Hearts strategy?
Pass high spades when you’re short in spades, try to void a suit, and lead low cards early. Discard the Queen of Spades as soon as you can’t follow suit.
Sources and legal basis
- pagat.com: Hearts – card game rules (John McLeod)
- MDN: Crypto.getRandomValues() (Mischen)
- MDN: Window.localStorage
As of: · Editorial policy
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