How to Play Hearts
Hearts is a classic 4-player trick-taking card game where penalty points are the enemy. You play against three AI opponents across multiple rounds until someone reaches 100 points — the player with the lowest score wins. Each heart card scores 1 penalty point; the dreaded Queen of Spades scores a massive 13 penalty points. Your mission is to avoid taking any of these 14 penalty cards — or, if you dare, take every single one of them and reverse the scoreboard entirely.
Round Structure
Most rounds begin with a passing phase before any cards are played. The pass direction cycles across rounds: the first round passes 3 cards to the player on your left, the second round passes right, the third passes across to the player opposite you, and the fourth round has no passing at all. After that the cycle repeats. The passing phase is your most important strategic decision — it sets up your hand for the entire round.
Once cards are passed, the play phase begins. The player holding the 2 of Clubs must lead it to open the first trick of every round. Play proceeds clockwise: each player must follow the led suit if possible. If you cannot follow suit, you may play any card — including a heart or the Queen of Spades, subject to the hearts-broken rule on the very first trick. The player who plays the highest card of the led suit wins the trick and leads the next one. After all 13 tricks are played the round ends and penalty points are tallied.
The game ends the moment any player's cumulative score reaches 100 points. The player with the lowest total wins.
The Hearts Broken Rule
Hearts may not be led until they are "broken." Hearts become broken the moment any heart or the Queen of Spades is discarded on a trick. Until that happens, you cannot open a trick by playing a heart even if hearts are the only lead option — in that case you must play something else. On the very first trick of a round, hearts and the Queen of Spades cannot be discarded even if you cannot follow the led suit, unless hearts or the Queen are literally all you hold. This rule prevents the round from becoming immediately hostile and gives every player a chance to void a suit early.
Shooting the Moon
Shooting the moon is the boldest play in Hearts. If a single player takes ALL 13 hearts AND the Queen of Spades in one round — collecting all 14 penalty cards — that player scores 0 for the round and every opponent receives +26 instead. This can instantly transform a losing position into a dominant one. The risk is enormous: failing to collect even a single heart means you score those points normally, often handing your opponents an easy round. Attempting the moon is only advisable when your hand is stacked with high cards in multiple suits and you have control of the passing phase.
Strategy Tips
- Unload the Queen of Spades immediately during the passing phase if you lack the Ace or King of Spades to protect it. A bare Queen of Spades in your hand is the single most dangerous card in the game.
- Void a suit strategically. Passing away all cards in one suit lets you dump dangerous cards the moment that suit is led. Common targets for voiding are spades (to dump the Queen) or hearts (to discard freely).
- Low spades protect the Queen. If you hold the Queen of Spades, keeping the 2 or 3 of spades lets you follow a spade lead without ever being forced to drop her. She only becomes unavoidable when she is your last spade and someone leads spades.
- Count hearts. As hearts are discarded in tricks, track how many are still in play. Once most hearts are gone, leading a heart to break up dangerous hands is safe.
- Watch the AI discard patterns. When an AI cannot follow suit, notice what it throws away — on Normal and Hard it sheds the Queen of Spades first, then its highest heart. A suit an AI has stopped following is a suit it will keep dumping points into, so stop leading that suit once you have the lead.
- Don't win early tricks unnecessarily. Winning the first two or three tricks hands you the lead on a board where hearts haven't been broken, forcing you to lead non-hearts and potentially giving opponents time to void suits.
Scoring and the Leaderboard
After the game ends, your leaderboard score is calculated as 100 minus your final penalty total. A player who finishes with 8 penalty points earns a leaderboard score of 92 — high scores reflect skilled avoidance of penalty cards across the entire game. Shooting the moon successfully at any point in the game dramatically compresses your score and gives you a significant leaderboard advantage. Your personal best is saved locally so you can track improvement across sessions.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I shoot the moon in Hearts?
Shooting the moon means taking ALL 13 hearts plus the Queen of Spades in a single round — all 14 point cards, worth 26 points. When you succeed, your score stays at 0 for that round and each opponent receives +26 points instead. It requires winning every single trick that contains a heart or the Queen of Spades. The AI opponents won't cooperate, so timing your high spades and leading to exhaust opponents' spades is key.
When can I play a heart card?
Hearts are "broken" — legal to lead — once a heart or the Queen of Spades has been discarded in any previous trick. Until hearts are broken you cannot lead with a heart on your turn, but you can always discard a heart on any trick where you cannot follow suit. On the very first trick hearts and the Queen of Spades cannot be played even as discards, unless that is literally all you hold.
What is the Queen of Spades worth?
The Queen of Spades scores 13 penalty points — the same as all 13 hearts combined. Avoiding it is as important as avoiding hearts. The AI opponents will try to dump the Queen of Spades onto you when they cannot follow suit, so watch for spade leads when you hold the Queen.
How does the card-passing phase work?
Before each round's play begins, every player selects 3 cards to pass to a neighbor. The pass direction cycles each round: round 1 passes left, round 2 passes right, round 3 passes across, and round 4 has no passing at all. Then the cycle repeats. Click 3 cards in your hand to highlight them, then click the Pass button.
How is the leaderboard score calculated?
Your leaderboard score equals 100 minus your final cumulative point total. Lower Hearts scores are better, so a player who finishes with 12 points earns a leaderboard score of 88. Shooting the moon, which keeps your score near 0, is the fastest path to a high leaderboard score.
Who leads the first trick?
The player holding the 2 of Clubs must lead it to start the first trick of every round. This is the only mandatory opening play in Hearts. Whoever wins that first trick then leads the second trick, and so on.
How does the AI play its cards?
The three AI opponents use rule-based strategy. During the passing phase they shed their most dangerous cards — the Queen of Spades first, then high hearts and high spades. On Normal and Hard they try to lose each trick by playing just below the winning card's rank, and when they cannot follow suit they dump the Queen of Spades or their highest heart. Hard also leads its lowest card from its shortest non-heart suit to void itself early, and when it plays last to a trick carrying no penalty cards it wins with its highest card to keep the lead. Easy simply plays its highest legal card every time. None of them intentionally attempt to shoot the moon.
