What is Omnibus Hearts?
Omnibus Hearts asks a sly question: what happens to a game about avoiding tricks when one trick becomes a prize? The answer is a richer, more aggressive version of the classic.
The Jack of Diamonds bonus
Everything from classic Hearts carries over: pass three cards, the 2 of clubs leads, hearts cost 1 point each and the Queen of Spades costs 13, game to 100, lowest score wins. The one change is the Jack of Diamonds - capture it and 10 points are subtracted from your score. A perfect Omnibus hand is minus 10; a disastrous one is 26.
How it changes strategy
In classic Hearts you can play pure defense. In Omnibus, ducking everything means handing an opponent a free 10-point bonus, so passivity has a price. High diamonds suddenly matter: an Ace or King of diamonds is your tool for winning the trick the Jack falls on. But hunting the bonus means winning tricks, and winning tricks is how you catch penalties - that tension is the whole variant.
Who should play it
Omnibus is the natural second step once the classic game feels comfortable - the same rules with one more thing to think about, rather than a new game to learn. If you want difficulty from the scoring instead, try Spot Hearts, or go straight to the deep end with Black Maria. All the variants are compared in how many types of Hearts.
Related questions
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.
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.
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.