Hearts is the trick-taking card game where the goal is the opposite of almost every other card game — the lowest score wins. Avoid picking up Hearts cards and the Queen of Spades, or risk them all in one bold move called Shooting the Moon.
You’re playing against three AI opponents. No download, no sign-up, no registration. Open the page and the game loads in seconds.
A Game with a Long History
Hearts traces back to Reversis, an 18th-century Spanish and Italian trick-avoidance game where collecting certain cards cost you points. The game reached America in the 1880s — the 1887 Standard Hoyle called it “a pleasant game, highly provocative of laughter.” The Queen of Spades wasn’t even part of the original rules; she was added as a 13-point penalty card in 1909, in a variant known as Black Lady.
The Shoot the Moon rule came later still, first appearing in a British variant called “Hitting the Moon” in 1939. Then in 1992, Microsoft bundled Hearts with Windows 3.1 — originally to teach office workers how to use a mouse and network with other computers. It turned out people just loved the game. Hearts shipped on every version of Windows through Windows 7, making it one of the most-played card games in the world without anyone ever buying a deck.
The Objective — Lowest Score Wins
Every Heart card you collect is worth 1 point. The Queen of Spades is worth 13 points. There are 26 penalty points available per round and you want as few of them as possible.
The game ends when any player reaches 100 points. At that point, whoever has the lowest score wins. You’re not racing to collect cards — you’re trying to avoid them.
How a Round Is Played
Each of the four players is dealt 13 cards. Before any tricks are played, every player passes three cards to an opponent — and receives three in return. The direction changes each round:
- Round 1 — Pass three cards to the player on your left
- Round 2 — Pass three cards to the player on your right
- Round 3 — Pass three cards to the player directly across from you
- Round 4 — No cards are passed (hold your hand)
- Round 5 onward — The cycle repeats from the left
A yellow arrow in the game shows you which direction to pass. After passing, the player holding the 2 of Clubs plays it first — every single round, no exceptions.
From there, players take turns playing cards clockwise. You must follow suit — if Clubs is led, you must play a Club if you have one. If you can’t follow suit, you can play any card, including Hearts or the Queen of Spades.
The player who plays the highest card in the led suit wins the trick and leads the next one.
The Two Rules That Catch New Players
No Hearts on the first trick. In the very first trick of each round, you cannot play a Heart or the Queen of Spades, even if you can’t follow suit. The first trick is always “clean.”
You can’t lead with Hearts until Hearts is broken. “Breaking Hearts” happens the moment any player discards a Heart card on a trick they couldn’t follow suit. Until that happens, you cannot start a trick with a Heart. The only exception: if your entire hand is Hearts, you can lead them regardless.
Shoot the Moon — The Biggest Move in the Game
Here’s where Hearts gets interesting. If one player collects all 13 Hearts and the Queen of Spades in a single round, the scoring flips completely. That player scores 0 points and every other player receives 26 points.
This is Shooting the Moon. It’s an all-or-nothing play — if you collect 12 Hearts and someone else holds the last one, there’s no “partial credit.” You take the points for every penalty card you collected, and your opponents take only what they gathered.
When should you try it? When you’re holding most of the high Hearts (10, J, Q, K, A) and at least one long suit you can control to win tricks at will. It’s rare, it’s risky, and it completely reverses the standings when it lands.
How to Control the Game — Passing Strategy
The passing phase is your biggest lever. Three cards every round is enough to completely reshape your hand — or bury someone else with a problem.
Cards to pass first:
- Queen of Spades — Unless you hold four or more Spades to protect yourself, pass her. Getting stuck with 13 points from one card early is brutal.
- Ace and King of Spades — These cards win tricks. If you already passed the Queen to someone, you don’t want to accidentally capture her with your own high Spade.
- High Hearts — Ace, King, Queen of Hearts force you to win heart-heavy tricks. Pass them unless you’re planning to Shoot the Moon.
- 2 of Clubs — Holding the 2 of Clubs means you lead the very first trick. That’s a wasted turn you can’t use to offload dangerous cards. Pass it.
What’s worth keeping:
- Low cards in any suit — Small cards lose tricks safely. They’re exactly what you want to be holding.
- A long suit — If you have six or seven cards in one suit, keep them. You can control when that suit gets led and drain it safely.
- Low Spades — They protect you from accidentally winning the Queen of Spades trick. Don’t give them away.
Strategy Tips to Win More Often
- Get void in a suit early. If you play all your Clubs or Diamonds early, the next time that suit is led you can discard Hearts, the Queen of Spades, or high Spades onto the trick — instead of being forced to follow suit. Voids give you free choices at exactly the moments you need them.
- Watch what’s been played. Keep mental track of which Hearts and especially whether the Queen of Spades has appeared yet. Once she’s gone, Spades become safe to play aggressively. Until then, be careful leading with the Ace or King of Spades.
- Win the first trick on purpose. The first trick cannot contain any penalty cards — so winning it costs you nothing and puts you in control of what gets led next. Use it to start flushing out dangerous suits.
- Don’t lead high cards into an unknown hand. Leading the Ace of Spades might look smart, but it could pull the Queen of Spades out of someone who was happily holding it. Know what’s been played before you try to clear a suit.
Game Controls and Settings
The game lives in the top-right corner of the screen. The three-stripe menu (☰) opens options to start a new game, view the full rules, or adjust audio settings.
Next to it, the gear icon (⚙) opens the customization settings:
- Background — Change the table color or pattern to something you prefer
- Card design — Pick from a range of card deck styles
- Difficulty — Set the AI skill level: Easy, Medium, or Hard. Easy is a good starting point; Hard opponents play conservatively, track cards, and punish aggressive leads.
You can also change your avatar at any time. Click your current avatar above your name at the table and it cycles through available options.
Difficulty Levels Explained
Easy — The AI makes mistakes, passes suboptimally, and doesn’t always protect against your Shoot the Moon attempts. Good for learning the rules without getting crushed.
Medium — Opponents play soundly. They’ll avoid picking up the Queen of Spades, pass dangerous cards intelligently, and notice if you’re building toward a Moon shot. This is where most players spend their time.
Hard — The AI tracks what’s been played, protects good hands carefully, and actively disrupts Moon attempts. If someone is winning comfortably, they’ll feed you points. A genuine challenge.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many players are in Hearts?
Four — you and three AI opponents. Hearts is always a four-player game. Everyone plays independently; there are no teams.
Which cards give you penalty points?
Every Heart card is worth 1 point (13 Hearts = 13 points possible). The Queen of Spades is worth 13 points on her own. There are 26 penalty points available in every round.
What is Shooting the Moon?
If you collect every single Heart card plus the Queen of Spades in one round, you score 0 points and every other player is dealt 26 points instead. It’s the highest-risk, highest-reward play in the game — miss even one Heart and you’re stuck with everything you collected.
What is “breaking Hearts”?
Breaking Hearts is when a Heart card is played on a trick for the first time in a round. Until that happens, you cannot start a trick by leading with a Heart (unless every card in your hand is a Heart). Once Hearts is broken, Hearts can be led freely.
Can I change how many cards I pass?
No — you always pass exactly three cards. The direction changes each round: left, right, across, hold, then repeats. A yellow arrow in the game shows you where to pass.
When does the game end?
The game ends when any player reaches or passes 100 points. At that point, whoever has the lowest total score is the winner.
Can I play on mobile?
Yes. The game is fully responsive and plays on desktop, tablet, and mobile browsers. No app download required.
Is there a way to speed through a round once the points are settled?
Yes. Once all penalty cards have been collected for a round, a yellow checkmark button appears in the bottom-right corner of the game. Tapping it skips straight to the score screen without playing out the remaining penalty-free tricks.
Do I need to create an account?
No. The game runs entirely in your browser. Nothing to install or sign up for.
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