Hearts is a trick-taking game for four. It also works for two, three or five. Every heart you take costs a point, and the queen of spades costs 13. The lowest score wins.
With the queen of spades in play, it's also called Black Lady. It's the version that came with Windows for years.
The video covers the rules, then plays one full hand, trick by trick.
At a glance
- Players: 4 is standard. It also works for 2, 3 or 5.
- Deck: One standard 52-card deck, no jokers
- Time: 30 to 60 minutes for a game to 100
- Goal: The lowest score when someone reaches 100
The cards above are from The Trout Edition.
Setup
Shuffle and deal the whole deck, one card at a time, clockwise. With four players, each gets 13.
Look at your hand and choose three cards to pass. Pass them face down, then pick up the three passed to you.
The pass changes each hand: to the left, to the right, across the table, then no pass. Then the cycle starts again.
How to play
Whoever holds the 2 of clubs leads it to the first trick.
Play goes clockwise. Each player adds one card to the trick. You must follow the suit that was led if you can.
If you can't follow suit, play any card. There are no trumps.
The highest card of the suit led wins the trick. Its winner leads the next one.
Aces are high, then king, queen, jack and 10 down to 2.
Leading hearts
Hearts can't be led until a heart or the queen of spades is played. Playing the first one is called breaking hearts.
The queen of spades can be led at any time.
On the first trick, no one may play a heart or the queen of spades.
Scoring
| Card you take | Points |
|---|---|
| Each heart | 1 |
| Queen of spades | 13 |
| Every other card | 0 |
After each hand, count the points in the tricks you took. Every hand adds up to 26 in all.
In the trick above, clubs were led. A player out of clubs threw on the queen of spades. The king took the trick and 13 points.
Shooting the moon
Take all 13 hearts and the queen of spades in one hand. You score 0, and every other player scores 26.
It's a gamble. Miss a single heart and you take 25 points yourself.
How to win
Keep a running score. The game ends when someone reaches 100 at the end of a hand.
The player with the lowest score wins.
Tips
- Think about passing the queen of spades. A high spade with no low ones to protect it is risky too.
- Get rid of a whole suit early. Then you can throw away hearts when it's led.
- Keep low hearts. They let you duck under a trick later.
- Watch the scores. When you can, give points to the player with the lowest score.
Variations
- Moon down. When you shoot the moon, take 26 off your own score instead.
- Jack of diamonds. Whoever takes the jack of diamonds scores minus 10. This is often called Omnibus Hearts.
- Two players. Take out the 3s, 5s, 7s, 9s, jacks and kings, leaving 28 cards. Deal 13 each and two face down to one side. Pass one card, then hold, in turn. The lowest club leads. The queen of spades counts 7, and a moon gives the other player 14. Play to 50, and the lower score wins.
- Three players. Take out the 2 of diamonds and deal 17 each. Pass to the left, then the right, then hold.
- Five players. Take out the 2 of clubs and the 2 of diamonds, and deal 10 each. The 3 of clubs leads. Pass to the left, then the right, then hold.
- A shorter game. Play to 50 instead of 100.
History and where it's played
Hearts took shape in America in the late 1800s, though its roots are older. An 1887 Hoyle said Americans had been playing it for about five years and guessed at a German origin. Its likely ancestor is Reversis, a European game in which you try to avoid tricks. France had Reversis by 1601, though historian David Parlett thinks it more probably began in Italy.
The queen of spades joined as a penalty card in 1909, in a version called Black Lady, which is what most Americans now mean by Hearts. Shooting the moon came later and is first recorded in Britain in 1939, as Hitting the Moon. Britain's favorite version is Black Maria, which adds more penalty cards in spades.
Many players met the game on a screen. Microsoft put it in its first network-ready Windows as The Microsoft Hearts Network, to show off new networking technology, and it stayed in Windows through Windows 7.
Where these rules come from
These rules follow Bicycle's Hearts, checked against Pagat. For five players, Bicycle takes out only the 2 of clubs. That leaves 51 cards, which don't split five ways. Fieldmark follows Pagat and takes out the 2 of diamonds too, so everyone gets 10. The two-player game comes from Pagat's Hearts variations. The history draws on Wikipedia's Hearts article, David Parlett's Reversis history and Wikipedia's Microsoft Hearts article.
Common questions
Can I lead the queen of spades?
Yes. It can be led at any time, before or after hearts are broken.
Can you pass the queen of spades?
Yes. Any three cards can be passed, the queen included.
Is the queen of spades a heart?
No. It's a spade and follows spades. It scores 13, and playing it breaks hearts.
What if I only have hearts left?
Then you may lead a heart, even if hearts aren't broken yet.
Do I have to play the queen of spades when I can't follow suit?
No. You can hold it for later.
Are there trumps?
No. Only the suit that was led can win the trick.
Can two people play Hearts?
Yes, with a 28-card deck. See Two players under Variations.
What if someone reaches 100 during a hand?
Finish the hand. The game ends after it, and the lowest total wins.
What happens in a tie at the end?
The rules don't say. Agree before you start: share the win, or play another hand.
More games
Six-Card Golf is a draw-and-discard game for two to four. War is a game of pure luck for two.
Cheat sheet
Download the Hearts cheat sheet, a one-page PDF to print.