How to play Hearts
- At the start of each hand, pick three cards to pass (to the left, then right, then across, then no pass) and press Pass cards.
- Whoever has the 2 of clubs leads it. Follow the suit that was led if you can; if you can’t, play any card. The highest card of the led suit takes the trick.
- Every heart you take costs a point and the queen of spades costs 13. When someone reaches 100 points, the player with the fewest wins.
Tips for winning Hearts
- Pass the danger. The ace and king of spades are risky because they can catch the queen. Pass them unless you hold several low spades to protect them. High hearts are good to pass too.
- Empty a suit. Passing all your cards of one short suit lets you throw hearts and the queen on other players’ tricks later.
- Play under the winner. When you follow suit, play the highest card you have that’s still lower than the card winning the trick. You keep your low cards for later and take nothing now.
- Watch the queen. Until the queen of spades has gone, be careful leading spades if you hold the ace or king.
- Count the hearts. Keep track of how many hearts have been played, especially if someone might be trying to shoot the moon.
About Hearts
Hearts is a trick-taking game for four players with a standard 52-card deck, where the aim is to take as few points as possible. It’s sometimes called Black Lady after the queen of spades, and it became widely known as one of the games that came with Windows. Here you play against three computer players, West, North and East, with the classic passing and scoring rules, and the scores of a game in progress are saved on this device.