How is Hearts scored?
Hearts scoring is simple enough to hold in your head, and that simplicity is what makes every decision feel sharp: you always know exactly what a mistake costs.
The point values
Only 14 of the 52 cards carry points: the 13 hearts at 1 point each, and the Queen of Spades at 13. That makes 26 points per hand, and roughly half the danger sits on a single card - which is why so much of the game orbits the Queen of Spades. All other cards, including the other high spades, are worth nothing to capture in the classic game.
The running total
After each hand, your captured points are added to your total. Hands repeat until someone reaches 100 points, and then the lowest total wins - see what happens at 100 points. Zero is a perfect hand, and the average share is 6.5, so anything under that is a win in slow motion. The one reversal is shooting the moon: take all 26 and your opponents are charged 26 each while you take nothing.
How the variants change it
The variants remix these numbers. Omnibus Hearts adds the Jack of Diamonds as a card you want, worth minus 10. Spot Hearts charges each heart its face value for a whopping 129 points per hand, played to 500. Black Maria makes the Ace and King of Spades penalties too. The leaderboard tracks your best results across all of them.
Related questions
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 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.
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.
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.