Pass three cards
Before most rounds, choose three cards to pass. The direction rotates left, right, across, then no passing.
Trick-taking classic · 4 players
Hearts
Keep your score low, pass your danger cards, and never get caught holding the queen.
N
North13 cards · 0 pts
W
West13 cards · 0 pts
E
East13 cards · 0 pts
♡ Hearts unbroken
Y
You13 cards · 0 pts
Round complete
Round complete
01 How to play
Avoid points.
Break hearts.
Hearts is a trick-taking game where the lowest score wins. Every penalty card you collect brings you closer to 100.
Open with 2♣
The player holding the Two of Clubs leads the first trick. Everyone must follow the led suit whenever possible.
Break hearts
You cannot lead a Heart until someone has discarded one on another suit, unless your hand contains only Hearts.
Avoid penalties
Each Heart is worth 1 point. The Queen of Spades is worth 13. No penalty cards may be played on the first trick.
Shoot the moon
Collect all 26 penalty points and your opponents receive 26 points each while you receive none.
Win the match
When any player reaches 100 points, the match ends. The player with the lowest total score wins.
02 History & variants
The art of avoiding points.
From Hearts to Black Lady
Hearts emerged in the United States in the late nineteenth century from older European avoidance games. Early rules penalised the heart suit alone. Around the turn of the twentieth century, Black Lady added the Queen of Spades as a heavy penalty card, producing the form most players now recognise simply as Hearts.
A flexible avoidance game
Black Maria changes the dangerous spade cards, while Omnibus Hearts introduces a positive card that can reduce a score. Passing direction, the first-trick restrictions and the reward for shooting the moon also vary. For three or five players, one or more cards may be removed so that everyone receives the same hand size.