Hearts

What it is

Hearts is a trick-taking card game for four, and here you play against three computer players. The aim is the opposite of most card games: you want to take as few points as you can. Every heart is worth 1 point, the queen of spades is worth 13, and every other card is worth nothing. Each hand holds 26 points in all. The game ends when someone's total reaches the target, and the lowest total wins.

You can play to 50 points for a shorter game or to 100 for a full one, and you choose Easy, Medium or Hard. The computer players follow the same rules you do.

How to play

Every player is dealt 13 cards. Before play, each player passes three cards face down to another player. The direction changes from hand to hand: left, then right, then across the table, then no pass, and then it starts again. On a phone you tap three cards and press the pass button.

The player who holds the two of clubs leads it to open the hand. Play goes clockwise. Each player must follow the suit that was led if they can. If they cannot, they may play any card. The highest card of the suit led wins the trick, and the winner leads the next one. Cards below the ace count in order from two up to king, with the ace highest.

Two rules keep the first tricks calm. On the first trick you cannot play a heart or the queen of spades unless you hold nothing else that you may play. And a heart cannot lead until a heart has been played in an earlier trick (hearts are "broken"), unless you hold only hearts.

When all 13 tricks are done, each player adds up the points in the cards they won.

Card	Points
Each heart	1
Queen of spades	13
Every other card	0

If one player wins every heart and the queen of spades, that is all 26 points. That player then scores 0 for the hand and each of the other three players scores 26. The game calls it "all points" and shows it in the score sheet. Taking all the points is hard to do and costs you a lot when it fails, so it is worth trying only when your cards are very strong.

On a phone your hand sits in two rows, and each card is at least 44 pixels wide to tap. A first tap lifts a card and a second tap plays it; you can change this in Settings. On a computer you can play from the keyboard: the arrow keys move along your hand, Enter or Space lifts or plays a card, the number keys pick a card, P passes the chosen cards, H gives a hint, U undoes and L shows the last trick.

Hint tells you a card to play, or three cards to pass, with one short reason, so you can learn why as you play. Undo takes back your last card once in each hand. Last trick shows the cards of the trick before this one and who took it. The score sheet lists every hand of the game so far.

Suits differ in shape as well as colour. If you want more colour, switch on four-colour suits in Settings: spades black, hearts red, diamonds blue and clubs green. If your device asks for reduced motion, cards move without sliding.

The game saves after every card. Close the page in the middle of a hand, even in the middle of a trick, and you come back to the same cards and the same score.

Passing guide

• The queen of spades costs 13 points. Pass it, unless you hold plenty of low spades to guard it.
• The ace and king of spades often end up taking the queen of spades, so they are good cards to pass too.
• High hearts are points waiting to be taken. Passing one or two lowers your risk.
• Passing every card of one suit leaves you with none of it, so on later tricks you can throw away a dangerous card instead of following suit. Clubs and diamonds are the easiest suits to empty.
• While you are choosing cards to pass, Hint shows three cards with a reason. Read the reason and compare it with your own choice.
• With a very strong hand, you can keep your high cards and try for all the points, but it is a risk worth taking only rarely.

Tips

• In the early tricks, play your high cards in suits where nobody is likely to be dropping points on you.
• Keep count of the queen of spades. When it is still out, a low spade is a safe lead and the ace or king of spades is a risk.
• When you can follow suit, a card that stays below the highest one on the table lets someone else take the trick.
• When you cannot follow suit, give away the queen of spades first, then your highest hearts.
• If someone has taken every point so far in a hand, think about taking a point or two to stop them scoring all 26.
• Use a hint when you are unsure, then read its reason. The same reasons come up again and again.
• Try a level for a few games before you move up.

Questions people ask

Does the computer cheat? No. The computer players follow the same rules you do.

Can I play with other people? Not here. Hearts is a game for one person against three computer players.

What does "all points" mean? One player took every heart and the queen of spades in the same hand. That player scores 0 for the hand and each of the other three scores 26.

What if two players are tied at the end? If the lowest total is shared when someone reaches the target, the game goes on for another hand until one player has the lowest total on their own.

Why can't I play a heart? A heart cannot lead until hearts have been broken, and hearts or the queen of spades cannot be played on the first trick unless you hold nothing else you may play. The game tells you which rule applies when you try.

Why does the game start with the two of clubs? It is a rule of Hearts. Whoever holds the two of clubs must lead it to open every hand.

What does Undo do? It takes back your last card, once in each hand, so you can try a different play.

Do I need an account? No. Your results, settings and the game in progress are saved on your device only.

Can I play offline? The game needs no network once it has loaded.