Hearts FAQ
The questions people ask most about Hearts - the rules, the queen of spades, shooting the moon, and how this site works. Here's the short answer to each; click through for the full explanation with examples. Looking for the rules of a specific variant? Head to the Rules hub.
Common Hearts questions
Where does Hearts come from?
Hearts grew out of Reversis, a European card game from the 1600s in which players tried to avoid winning tricks. The modern American game took shape in the 1880s, the Queen of Spades penalty was added around 1900, and Microsoft shipping Hearts with Windows in 1992 introduced it to hundreds of millions of players.
How do you play Hearts?
Hearts is a four-player trick-taking game using a standard 52-card deck, 13 cards each. After passing three cards, the player holding the 2 of clubs leads it, everyone must follow suit if they can, and the highest card of the led suit takes the trick. You want to avoid taking hearts (1 point each) and the Queen of Spades (13). Lowest total score wins.
What is the goal of Hearts?
The goal of Hearts is to finish with the lowest score. You avoid capturing hearts, worth 1 point each, and the Queen of Spades, worth 13. When any player reaches 100 points the game ends and the lowest total wins. The one twist: capture all 26 points in a hand and you 'shoot the moon,' giving 26 to everyone else instead.
How is Hearts scored?
Each heart you capture costs 1 point and the Queen of Spades costs 13, so every hand distributes exactly 26 points. Scores accumulate hand after hand, and when a player reaches 100 the game ends with the lowest total winning. Shooting the moon - capturing all 26 - gives you zero and your opponents 26 each.
What is the Queen of Spades worth in Hearts?
The Queen of Spades costs 13 points, the same as every heart in the deck combined. She is half of the 26 points dealt out each hand, which is why avoiding her - or aiming her at an opponent - is the single biggest moment of most hands.
What does 'breaking hearts' mean?
Hearts are 'broken' the first time someone plays a heart during a hand, which happens when a player has no cards in the suit that was led and discards a heart instead. Until hearts are broken, no one may lead a heart - unless a player has nothing but hearts left in hand.
Who leads first in Hearts?
The player holding the 2 of clubs leads first, and must lead that exact card. Everyone follows with a club if they can, the highest club takes the trick, and its winner leads the next trick. Because no penalty cards may be played on the first trick, the opening is always safe.
How does passing work in Hearts?
Before play begins, each player picks three cards and passes them face down to another player. The direction rotates every hand: pass left, then right, then across, then a 'hold' hand with no passing at all - and the cycle repeats. You receive three cards from the mirror direction.
What cards should you pass in Hearts?
Pass your most dangerous cards: the Queen of Spades if you have few spades to hide her behind, the Ace or King of Spades when unprotected, and high hearts. Emptying a short club or diamond suit to create a void is often even stronger. Keep low cards - they are your escape routes.
What is shooting the moon in Hearts?
Shooting the moon means capturing every penalty card in a single hand - all 13 hearts plus the Queen of Spades, 26 points in total. Instead of taking those points, you score zero and each opponent is charged 26. It is the most dramatic single swing in the game.
Should you try to shoot the moon?
Rarely, and only when the hand truly qualifies: long and high in hearts, top cards in the other suits, and no low stragglers you can't control. A failed attempt usually means taking most of the 26 points yourself, so the price of being wrong is enormous.
Is Hearts luck or skill?
Both, but skill dominates over time. The deal you receive is luck, yet passing decisions, counting the cards that have fallen, and timing your high cards are pure skill. Over a full game of many hands - and especially across many games - the stronger player wins far more often.
How do you win at Hearts?
Win by passing your dangerous cards wisely, creating a void suit so you can discard freely, and counting spades so you know when the Queen will fall. Duck tricks late in each hand, keep low cards as exits, and never let an opponent sneak a moon past you.
Can you play points on the first trick in Hearts?
No. Under standard rules - the rules used here - no penalty cards may be played on the first trick: no hearts, and no Queen of Spades. Even a player with no clubs must discard something harmless. That makes the opening trick, led by the 2 of clubs, completely safe.
What happens at 100 points in Hearts?
When any player's total reaches or passes 100 at the end of a hand, the game is over, and the player with the lowest total wins. Reaching 100 doesn't stop play mid-hand - the hand finishes first, then scores are checked.
How long does a game of Hearts take?
A single hand takes about 2 to 5 minutes online, and a full game to 100 points usually needs 6 to 12 hands - roughly 15 to 30 minutes against AI opponents, since they play instantly. The daily challenge is one hand, perfect for a short break.
What is a good Hearts score?
Each hand deals out 26 points among four players, so the average share is 6.5. Averaging under 5 points per hand is good, under 3 is excellent, and a zero hand is perfect. Over a full game, winning totals often land somewhere between 30 and 60 when an opponent crosses 100.
How do you get better at Hearts?
Improve by counting the cards that matter - spades and hearts - passing with a clear plan instead of just dumping high cards, and keeping low cards as exits for the endgame. Then review your painful hands: almost every big score traces back to one avoidable decision.
What is the hardest Hearts variant?
Black Maria, the British variant, is widely considered the hardest: the Ace, King and Queen of Spades are all penalty cards, so each hand carries 43 points, and you must pass three cards right every hand. Spot Hearts is the heaviest on arithmetic, and Omnibus adds a tricky bonus card to fight over.
What is Omnibus Hearts?
Omnibus Hearts is classic Hearts with one addition: the Jack of Diamonds is worth minus 10 points to the player who captures it. All the usual rules apply - hearts cost 1, the Queen of Spades costs 13 - but now there is one trick each hand actually worth winning.
What is Spot Hearts?
Spot Hearts is a variant where every heart costs its pip value: number cards at face value, Jack 11, Queen 12, King 13 and Ace 14, so the hearts alone total 104 points. The Queen of Spades jumps to 25, making 129 points per hand, and the game plays to 500 instead of 100.
What is Black Maria?
Black Maria is the British version of Hearts, named after the Queen of Spades herself. Three spades carry penalties - the Ace costs 7, the King 10 and the Queen 13 - on top of the 13 hearts, making 43 points per hand. Passing is always three cards to the right.
How many types of Hearts are there?
Dozens of Hearts variants have been documented, all built on the same idea: avoid penalty cards, lowest score wins. The best known are classic American Hearts, Omnibus (with the Jack of Diamonds bonus), Spot Hearts (pip-value scoring) and Britain's Black Maria - all four of which you can play here.
Is Hearts good for your brain?
Hearts gives your brain a genuine workout: you hold the fallen cards in memory, plan the pass and the endgame, weigh risks trick by trick, and read three opponents at once. It is not a proven medical treatment for anything, but it is rich, engaging mental exercise.
Is Hearts.now free?
Completely. Classic Hearts and every variant, the daily challenge, the leaderboard and head-to-head multiplayer are all free to play in your browser, with no download and no signup. An optional Google sign-in only adds cross-device stat syncing.
Does Hearts work on mobile?
Yes. Hearts.now is built for touch: tap a card to play it, with the table sized to your screen. It runs in your mobile browser with no app to download, and you can add it to your home screen to play like an app.
What is the Daily Challenge?
The daily challenge is a single hand of Hearts dealt identically to every player in the world that day. You play the one hand, and the fewer points you take, the higher you rank on the daily leaderboard. Same cards for everyone - so the ranking is pure skill.
How does multiplayer Hearts work?
Multiplayer is a head-to-head race: you and your opponent each play the identical deal at your own table, against identical AI opponents. Whoever finishes the hand with fewer points wins. Same cards, same conditions - the only difference is the decisions.