Pass three of your worst cards, then try not to take any hearts or the Queen of Spades. Lowest score wins.
Want to win more often? Read the Hearts strategy guide →
How to play Hearts
You play against three computer players: Ava, Ben and Cleo. Each hand, everyone gets 13 cards. The goal is to take as few points as you can.
Passing
- Before each hand, pick three cards to pass. Tap them, then tap Pass.
- You pass to the left on the first hand, to the right on the second, across on the third, and keep your cards on the fourth.
Playing
- Whoever has the 2 of clubs leads it to the first trick.
- Everyone plays one card in turn, clockwise. You must follow suit if you can. If you can't, play anything.
- The highest card of the suit that was led takes the trick, and that player leads the next one. Aces are high.
- No hearts or Queen of Spades on the first trick, unless you have nothing else.
- Hearts can't be led until one has been played.
Scoring
- Each heart you take is 1 point. The Queen of Spades is 13.
- Take all 26 points in one hand and you shoot the moon: you score nothing and everyone else scores 26.
- The game ends when someone reaches 100 (or 50). The lowest score wins.
Cards you can't play right now are dimmed, so you'll never play a card by mistake.
A little history
Hearts comes from a family of old European "avoidance" games, where the aim is not to win tricks but to stay clear of the bad cards. Its ancestor Reversis was played in Spain and France from the sixteenth century. Hearts itself appeared in America in the 1880s, and the Queen of Spades, nicknamed the Black Lady or Black Maria, was added a little later to make it more dangerous.
Millions of people learned the game from the copy that came with Windows from the 1990s on. Passing cards and shooting the moon were both well known long before then.
Hearts FAQ
How many points is the Queen of Spades worth?
13. Every heart is worth 1, so there are 26 points in each hand. Every other card is worth nothing.
What is shooting the moon?
Taking all 13 hearts and the Queen of Spades in one hand. Instead of scoring 26 yourself, every other player scores 26.
When can I lead hearts?
Once a heart has been played on an earlier trick, which is called breaking hearts. Until then you can only lead a heart if your hand is nothing but hearts.
Can I play a point card on the first trick?
No. The first trick is led with the 2 of clubs, and no one may play a heart or the Queen of Spades on it, unless they have no other choice.
Which way do the cards get passed?
Left on the first hand, right on the second, across on the third, and no passing on the fourth. Then it starts again.
When does the game end?
When someone reaches 100 points at the end of a hand, or 50 if you pick the shorter game. The player with the lowest score wins.
What happens if I leave in the middle of a game?
The game is kept in your browser, so it carries on where you left off next time you open Hearts.
Ready for more? The Hearts strategy guide → covers what to do in every phase of a game.