Hearts
Past dailiesAvoid taking hearts and the queen of spades, or take every one of them to shoot the moon. The lowest score wins when someone reaches 50.
How to play Hearts
How to play
You play with West, North and East. Before each hand, pass three cards: to the left, then to the right, then across, then keep your cards on every fourth hand. The two of clubs leads the first trick. Everyone must follow the suit that was led if they can; the highest card of that suit wins the trick and leads the next one.
Scoring
Each heart you take costs 1 point and the queen of spades costs 13. Take all 26 points in one hand and you shoot the moon: you score nothing and everyone else takes 26. When someone reaches 50, the player with the lowest score wins.
Rules worth knowing
You can't lead hearts until a heart has been played on another suit, unless you have nothing else. On the first trick nobody may play a heart or the queen of spades unless they have no other choice.
Controls
Tap a card to lift it and tap it again to play, or drag it to the middle. With a mouse, a click plays the card. Cards you can't play are dimmed. With a keyboard, use the arrow keys and Enter.
Questions
What is shooting the moon in Hearts?
Taking all thirteen hearts and the queen of spades in a single hand. Instead of scoring 26 points yourself, every other player takes 26. It's risky: if anyone takes even one heart, you keep the points you took.
When are hearts broken?
Hearts are broken once someone plays a heart on a trick of another suit because they had no card of that suit. Until then you can't lead a heart, unless your hand holds nothing but hearts.
Which cards should I pass in Hearts?
Good candidates are the queen, king and ace of spades if you hold few low spades, high hearts, and the last cards of a short suit, so you can discard on that suit later. The hint button suggests three cards and says why.
Do the computer players cheat?
No. Each computer player decides using only its own hand and what everyone can see on the table: the cards played so far, who could not follow suit, and the cards it passed. The Hard players think further ahead by trying out many possible layouts of the unseen cards.
How long is a game?
A game ends when someone reaches 50 points, which usually takes five to seven hands, or about ten minutes.