The object of Hearts

The object of Hearts is to have the lowest score at the end of the game.

To play Hearts

1. To connect to a game that is already being played over a network, click I want to connect to another game. To start a new game over a network, click I want to be dealer, and then wait for other players to join the game. To play by yourself against your computer, click I want to be dealer, and then press F2.
2. Choose three cards to pass to an opponent (except for every fourth hand, when no cards are passed). To select a card to pass, click it. To cancel the selection of a card, click it again.
3. The player who has the two of clubs starts the play by leading with it.
4. Each player, moving clockwise, clicks a card to play. You must play a card in the same suit. If you do not have one, you can play any card, except that you cannot play a heart or the queen of spades on the first trick.

Note

The person who plays the highest card of the same suit as the first card played takes the trick. That player starts the next trick by clicking a card to lead. You cannot lead with a heart until a heart has been played on a previous trick.

To score Hearts

• At the end of each hand, you get one point for each heart in your hand and 13 points for the queen of spades. The game continues until one player gets 100 points or more, or until the dealer quits the game.
• If you win all the hearts and the queen of spades in one hand (called Shooting the Moon), then you get zero points and each other player is penalized 26 points.

Strategies and tips

• Avoid taking a trick containing hearts or the queen of spades. The only time you will want to take such tricks is when you are trying to Shoot the Moon or trying to prevent someone else from successfully Shooting the Moon.
• On hands that begin by passing cards to an opponent, pass cards with high values, such as aces or face cards.
• Play your highest cards early in the game, while your opponents are likely to have some cards in each suit and will have to play those cards instead of hearts. Tricks that do not contain any hearts or the queen of spades do not add to your score.
• Keep track of which cards have been played, particularly whether the queen of spades has been played and whether hearts have been broken (that is, whether a heart has been discarded on an earlier trick).

Glossary

• trick: The cards you collect when you play the highest card that is the same suit as the first card played in a round
• Shooting the moon: To win all the hearts and the queen of spades in one hand. When that happens, you get zero points and each other player is penalized 26 points. Your chances of successfully Shooting the Moon are best if your hand contains a large number of high-value hearts and spades