Hearts: Rules and How to Play
Hearts is a card game for 3 to 5 players that takes about 20 minutes. Avoid taking hearts and the queen of spades — the lowest score wins. Free. In-browser. No account.
Objective
Hearts is a trick-taking card game, classically for four players (three to five here), in which you try not to win certain cards. Every heart you take costs you one point and the queen of spades costs thirteen. Scores add up over several deals; when someone reaches 100, the player with the lowest score wins.
Setup
- Three to five players and a 52-card deck. No jokers.
- Everyone gets the same number of cards. With three players the two of diamonds comes out; with five, the two of diamonds and the two of clubs. A party can switch to a face-down kitty instead of taking cards out.
- Before play, choose three cards from your hand and pass them on. The direction changes each deal: left, right, across, then no passing (with four players). With three or five players there is no seat directly across, so it goes left, right, then no passing.
- Everyone chooses at the same time, and you only see what you were given once everyone has passed.
How to play
- Whoever holds the two of clubs leads it (the three of clubs with five players).
- Play then goes round, one card each. If you hold the suit that was led you must follow it; otherwise you may play anything.
- Once everyone has played, the highest card of the suit led takes the trick and leads the next one. Two is lowest and the ace is highest.
- You cannot lead a heart until somebody has played one — unless hearts are all you hold.
- On the very first trick you cannot play a heart or the queen of spades, unless your whole hand is hearts and the queen of spades.
Winning and scoring
- Every heart you take is one point and the queen of spades is thirteen, so each deal hands out 26 points in total.
- Take all 26 yourself and you shoot the moon: you score nothing and everyone else takes 26.
- The game ends with the deal in which somebody reaches 100. The lowest score wins.
- If two or more players are tied for the lowest score, deals continue until one player is clearly lowest.
Common variants
- Shooting the moon: here the other players each take 26. A common alternative lets the shooter subtract 26 from their own score instead.
- Omnibus Hearts: the jack of diamonds is worth minus 10 to whoever takes it. It is off by default; switch on "Jack of diamonds is −10" to play it.
- Passing: the left, right, across, hold cycle is the most common, but some groups always pass left, and some play without passing. Passing can be switched off here.
- Leading: in older rules the player to the dealer's left leads any card to the first trick instead of the two of clubs, and some groups allow hearts to be led at any time.
- Black Maria: in this British relative, usually for three players, the king and ace of spades also cost points (10 and 7) alongside the queen's 13.
- Game length: 100 is the usual target. A table can play to 50 for a shorter game.
Defaults on this site
| Item | Default on this site |
|---|---|
| Players | 3–5 players (set automatically by the party size) |
| Turn time limit | None by default (the host can set 30 or 60 seconds) |
| If someone drops mid-game | Reopening on the same device returns you to your seat. If you do not return, the CPU plays in your place. |
| Draws | In ranked play, a draw counts as halfway between a win and a loss for your rating. |
| Source of the rules | Based on the standard reference rules |
Rules supervised by Qdan, Inc. (based on the standard reference rules)
House rules
Defaults follow the standard reference rules. The party can change these.
| Name | Description | Default | Changeable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Game ends at | The game ends with the deal in which somebody reaches this score. | 100 | Yes |
| Pass three cardsPass three cardsPassing lets you get rid of dangerous cards such as the queen of spades or high hearts, or empty a suit. With four players the direction cycles left, right, across, then no pass; with three or five it cycles left, right, no pass. Turn it off to play the hand you are dealt, which gives luck a bigger say. | Pass three cards at the start of each deal. The direction changes each deal. | On | Yes |
| No points on the first trickNo points on the first trickThe first trick is hard to predict, so this stops anyone being handed points before play has really started. When on, you cannot throw a heart or the queen of spades on the first trick even if you are out of the suit led (unless you hold nothing else). Turn it off to allow point cards from the very first trick. | Stops hearts and the queen of spades being played to the first trick. | On | Yes |
| Shooting the moonShooting the moonShooting the moon means taking all 13 hearts and the queen of spades yourself. It can turn a game around, but if anyone else takes even one, you are stuck with a big score. When on, you sometimes have to take a point card on purpose just to stop a player who is collecting them. | Take all 26 points and you score nothing while everyone else takes 26. | On | Yes |
| Odd cards with three or five playersOdd cards with three or five players"Take cards out" removes the ♦2 with three players, and the ♦2 and ♣2 with five, so everyone gets the same number of cards (with five, the ♣3 leads). With a kitty nothing is removed; whoever wins the first trick also takes the face-down cards, and any hearts or the queen of spades among them count. Taking cards out is the more common choice. | What happens to the cards that will not deal out evenly. With a kitty, nothing is taken out: three players get 17 cards each and five get 10, and the odd one or two are placed face down. Whoever takes the first trick takes them, and they count towards that player's score. If the two of clubs is in the kitty, the lowest club still in play leads. | Take cards out | Yes |
| Jack of diamonds is −10Jack of diamonds is −10Taking the jack of diamonds lowers your score, so there is now one card you actually want to win. It adds play around capturing it with a high diamond, or keeping others from getting it. Best for players who already know the basic game. | Whoever takes the jack of diamonds has ten points taken off. This still applies when someone shoots the moon: the shooter scores −10 if they took it, and another player who took it scores 26 − 10 = 16. | Off | Yes |
Terms
- Trick
- One card from every player. The highest card of the suit led takes it.
- Lead
- Playing the first card of a trick. Whoever takes a trick leads the next one.
- Breaking hearts
- The first time anyone plays a heart. Until then, no one may lead one.
- Shooting the moon
- Taking all 26 points in a deal. You score nothing and everyone else takes 26.
- Passing
- Giving three cards from your hand to another player at the start of a deal.
FAQ
How is the score counted?
Every heart you take is one point and the queen of spades is thirteen, so each deal hands out 26. The lowest score wins, so the aim is to take as little as possible.
When can I play a heart?
Once somebody has played one — hearts are then broken and anyone may lead them. Until then you may only play a heart when you cannot follow the suit led, or when hearts are all you hold.
What if I take all the points?
That is shooting the moon: you score nothing and everyone else takes 26. A party can turn it off.
What comes out of the deck with three or five players?
The two of diamonds with three players, and the two of diamonds and the two of clubs with five, so the deck deals out evenly. No heart ever comes out, so a deal is always worth 26. A party can choose a face-down kitty instead: nothing is taken out, and whoever takes the first trick takes the odd cards.
What if there is a tie at the end?
If two or more players are tied for the lowest score, the game does not end there. Deals continue — passing direction and deal number carry on as usual — until one player is clearly lowest.
How does the passing direction change?
With four players it goes left, right, across, then no passing, one step per deal. Three and five players have no seat directly across, so it goes left, right, then no passing.
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Last updated 2026-09-20 · Run by Qdan, Inc.