Hearts
Trick-taking, with teeth.
The card game where winning a trick can be the worst thing that happens to you. Dodge the hearts, fear the Queen of Spades, and keep your friends close.
- Free practice
- No sign-up
- Play in your browser
Join a Game Room
HeartsGot a room code?
- Players
- Four
- You need
- A 52-card deck
- Style
- Trick-taking
- Goal
- Lowest score
What is Hearts?
Win tricks. Just not those ones.
Hearts is a trick-taking game where everyone plays for themselves. There are no teams and no trump suit. Each player plays one card to each trick, following the suit that was led if they can, and the highest card of that suit takes the trick.
Most cards are harmless. Every heart you take costs you a point, and the Queen of Spades costs thirteen. The lowest score wins, unless someone pulls off the boldest move in the game and takes every single one.
Watch first
Learn to play Hearts
The practice table
Try itLearn it one trick at a time.
Play our Classic rules against three friendly bots. Playable cards light up, and the coach explains what to pass, when to duck, and when to dump the Queen.
- Pick for me chooses a smart pass when you are not sure.
- Quick game ends at 50. Full game ends at 100.
- No account, no host, no pressure.
Scoring chart
| Card | Looks like | Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Each heart | 1 | |
| Queen of Spades | 13 | |
| Every other card | 0 | |
| Shoot the Moon: take all 13 hearts and the Queen | You 0, rest 26 |
A little history
From the 1880s to your table.
Hearts was recorded in the United States in the late nineteenth century and grew into a whole family of related games. The version most Americans know is a close cousin of Black Lady, and other versions travel under other names.
That family tree is why your group might pass, lead, or score a little differently from the next. We teach one Classic version and show it before every game, so nobody argues about the rules mid-hand.
Fun facts
- Every hand holds exactly 26 points: 13 hearts at one point each, plus the Queen of Spades at thirteen.
- You can shoot the moon without winning another trick. All you need are 14 cards: every heart and the Queen of Spades.
- The pass rotates left, right, across, then none, so every fourth hand you keep exactly what you were dealt.
- In the Black Lady family of games, the Queen of Spades is the Black Lady herself.
- Hearts came with Windows for Workgroups 3.1 in 1992, one of the first computer games many people played over an office network.
Why people love it
Every card is a decision.
Winning is the trap.
Taking a trick feels great until you see what is in it. The whole game flips the usual instinct.
One card flips the hand.
A single discard can dump the Queen on someone else. Everyone watches every trick.
The pass starts the mind games.
Before a card is played, you choose three to send away and wonder what is coming back.
Shooting the Moon.
Take every heart and the Queen, and everyone else eats 26 points. Pure, glorious chaos.
How to play
Pass. Follow. Dodge.
Setup
- Players: four, each playing for themselves.
- Deck: a standard 52-card deck, 13 cards each.
- Card rank: Ace high down to 2. There is no trump suit.
- Passing: three cards each hand: to the left, then right, then across, then a hand with no pass. Repeat.
Winning
When anyone reaches 100 points at the end of a hand, the game ends. The lowest total wins. If the lowest score is tied, play another hand.
- 1
Pass three cards
Pick three cards to pass before you see what is coming your way.
- 2
The 2 of Clubs leads
Whoever holds the 2 of Clubs plays it to start the first trick.
- 3
Follow suit if you can
Play a card of the suit that was led. If you have none, you can play anything, which is your chance to dump trouble.
- 4
High card takes the trick
The highest card of the suit led wins all four cards, and that player leads next.
- 5
Hearts must be broken
You cannot lead a heart until one has been played on an earlier trick, unless hearts are all you have.
- 6
Count the damage
After 13 tricks, add up the hearts and the Queen in the tricks you took.
Hearts comes in many family versions. These are the Classic rules we're building from. A few details, like what can be played on the first trick, are still being finalized. Printable rules card →
Lessons
Learn it in a few minutes.
7 quick lessons, one idea each. Make the call, see why it works, and move on. Your progress is saved in this browser.
Follow suit
West led the 7 of Clubs. Which card must you play?
North
WestLed
East
YouYour hand
Scoring
Low score wins.
At the end of each hand, count the penalty cards in the tricks you took. There are 26 points in every hand.
| Card | Looks like | Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Each heart | 1 | |
| Queen of Spades | 13 | |
| Every other card | 0 | |
| Shoot the Moon: take all 13 hearts and the Queen | You 0, rest 26 |
Shoot the Moon and you score nothing for the hand while every other player takes 26.
Strategy
Play it smart. Then play it feral.
Tip 1
Pass the danger.
The Ace and King of Spades are magnets for the Queen. If you do not hold many low spades, pass them on.
Tip 2
Make a void.
Pass away every card of a short suit. When that suit is led, you can discard a heart or the Queen instead.
Tip 3
Guard the Queen.
Stuck with the Queen of Spades? Low spades are her bodyguards. Hold them so you are not forced to play her.
Tip 4
Duck, do not win.
Play the highest card that still loses the trick, and save your low cards for when you really need to get out.
Tip 5
Watch for the moon.
If one player is taking every heart, take one yourself. It costs you a point and saves you 26.
What would you do?
One decision. Every day.
A new Hearts puzzle every day, the same for everyone. Solve it, then send it to the group chat and see who gets it right.
Want more? See today's puzzles for every game →
Your path to game night
Learn it here. Play it with friends.
Finish the lessons or win a practice game and you're ready to sit down at a real Hearts table with your people.
The Feral Worlds community
Play-testing Hearts? Tell us in Discord.
Found a bug, a rule that feels off, or a house rule your family swears by? Our Discord is where we collect play-test feedback, and where game nights are starting to happen.
Glossary
Talk like a regular.
- Trick
- One card from each player. The highest card of the suit led wins it.
- Lead
- The first card played to a trick. Its suit is the one everyone must follow.
- Follow suit
- Play a card of the suit that was led whenever you can.
- Void
- Having no cards left in a suit, so you can play anything when it is led.
- Duck
- Play a card that loses the trick on purpose.
- Breaking hearts
- The first heart played in a hand. Until then, you cannot lead hearts.
- Penalty cards
- Hearts (1 point each) and the Queen of Spades (13 points).
- The pass
- Three cards you send to another player before each hand: left, right, across, then none.
- Shoot the Moon
- Take all 13 hearts and the Queen of Spades in one hand. You don’t need every trick, just those 14 cards. Instead of 26 points, you score 0 and everyone else takes 26.
The Feral twist
Still under the hat.
Every game can be played Classic. In Feral mode, the host writes the house rules: the pass, the Queen's price, the moon. We'll show you what Hearts can do when it's ready.
In the Card Games pack
Hearts opens the pack.
More card games will join it, and owning the pack means every new one is yours too.
$9.95, one time, to host every game in it. Playing is always free. Packs go on sale when the full game launches.
Hearts is in development
Save me a seat.
Hear when you can host Hearts night with friends, and when the Feral twist comes out from under the hat.