What you need
- A standard 52-card deck
- Pen and paper, or the free score keeper
Players and time
4 players (3 to 5 also work). About 30 to 45 minutes for a game.
The goal
Finish with the lowest score. Hearts are penalty cards: every heart you take in a trick is worth 1 point against you, and the queen of spades is worth 13. You want to avoid taking those cards, or take all of them in one hand.
The game ends when someone reaches 100 points. The player with the fewest points then wins.
Setup
- Deal the whole deck, one card at a time, so each of four players has 13 cards. Everyone plays for themselves, with no partners.
- With three players, remove the 2 of diamonds and deal 17 cards each. With five players, remove the 2 of diamonds and the 2 of clubs and deal 10 cards each. The 3 of clubs then leads at five players.
- Pass cards before the first trick. Each player chooses three cards from their hand and passes them face down to another player. The direction changes every hand: the first hand left, the second right, the third across the table, and the fourth hand no passing. Then the cycle repeats.
- Each player picks the three cards to pass before looking at the three they receive.
A turn
- The player who holds the 2 of clubs leads it to the first trick.
- Play goes clockwise. Each player must follow suit if they can. A player with no card in the suit led may play any card, with the exceptions below.
- The highest card of the suit led wins the trick, and the winner takes all the cards in it and leads the next trick. Hearts and the queen of spades in the tricks you win count against you.
- On the first trick, if you cannot follow suit you may not play a heart or the queen of spades, unless you hold nothing else.
- You may not lead a heart until hearts have been broken: a heart (or the queen of spades) has been played on an earlier trick. The exception is a hand with only hearts, which may lead a heart at any time.
- After all 13 tricks, each player adds up the penalty cards in the tricks they won and writes the points down. Then the next hand is dealt.
Special cards and combinations
- Hearts broken
- Hearts cannot be led until one has been played. Following Bicycle, the queen of spades also breaks hearts. Pagat lists that as a variation, so ask your group whether the queen counts.
- The queen of spades
- The queen of spades is worth 13 points and can be played at any time, including on the lead. You do not have to play it at the first chance you get.
- Passing
- Pass three cards, face down, in the direction for that hand. In the fourth hand of each cycle, nobody passes. With three or five players the patterns differ, so agree on one before you start.
- Shooting the moon
- If one player takes all 13 hearts and the queen of spades in a single hand, that is shooting the moon. In the usual score keeper setting, the shooter scores 0 for the hand and every other player adds 26 points. The other choice is for the shooter to subtract 26 from their own score, and the score keeper has a setting for that.
Scoring
After each hand, count the penalty cards in the tricks each player won. The points in a hand add up to 26, so you can check your count by adding up everyone's points.
Keep a running total for each player. The score keeper has a field for each player; the points entered for a hand must add up to the hand total (26 by default).
| Card taken | Points |
|---|---|
| Each heart | 1 |
| Queen of spades | 13 |
| Every other card | 0 |
| All penalty cards in one hand | 26 in total |
| Shooting the moon (default) | Shooter 0, every other player +26 |
| Shooting the moon (the other choice) | Shooter -26, others 0 |
Worked example
Ana has 62 points, Ben 48, Cy 71 and Dee 90 before a hand. In this hand Ana takes the queen of spades and two hearts (13 + 2 = 15), Ben takes 4 hearts, Cy takes none and Dee takes 7 hearts. That is 15 + 4 + 0 + 7 = 26. The new totals are Ana 77, Ben 52, Cy 71 and Dee 97. Nobody has 100, so play continues.
In the next hand Ben takes every penalty card and shoots the moon. Ben scores 0 and everyone else adds 26: Ana 103, Cy 97, Dee 123, and Ben stays on 52. Ana and Dee are over 100, so the game ends and Ben has the lowest score and wins. If the group had picked the other choice, Ben would score -26 for the hand and be on 26, and nobody else would score. Ana 77, Cy 71 and Dee 97 would play on.
Keep score with the Hearts score keeper
How to win
The game ends at the end of the first hand in which any player reaches 100 points or more. Whoever has the lowest total then wins, and that need not be the player who passed 100.
If two players tie for the lowest score, they usually play more hands until one is clearly ahead. You can also agree on a shorter game to 50.
Common house rules
These are house rules. They are not part of the official rules, so agree on them before you start.
- Jack of diamonds worth -10 (variation, called Omnibus Hearts) House rule
- Whoever wins the jack of diamonds subtracts 10 from their score. The points in a hand then add up to 16, not 26. In the score keeper, change "Points in one hand" to 16; scores for a hand can be negative. Shooting the moon with the jack varies by group, and the score keeper does not adjust for it, so score that hand by hand.
- Queen of spades does not break hearts (variation) House rule
- Pagat's basic rule is that only a heart breaks hearts, and the queen of spades can be led or played without making hearts available to lead. Agree on this before you start.
- No restriction on the first trick (variation) House rule
- Pagat describes the ban on penalty cards in the first trick as something some groups play. Others play without it.
- Shooting the moon: choosing (variation) House rule
- Pagat's basic rule gives the shooter the choice between subtracting 26 from their own score and adding 26 to every other player. Some groups always subtract 26 from the shooter. Others always add 26 to the rest, and some add to the rest unless it would make another player the winner. The score keeper uses the "add 26 to others" setting by default.
- A different end score (variation) House rule
- Some groups play to 50 for a short game, or to 150 or more for a long one. You can change the number in the score keeper settings. Some also reset an exact score of 100 to 50 or 0, but this is not in the basic rules.
Frequently asked questions
Who leads the first trick in Hearts?
The player who holds the 2 of clubs, after passing. With three players the 2 of diamonds is removed, so the 2 of clubs is still in play. With five players both the 2 of diamonds and the 2 of clubs are removed, and the 3 of clubs leads.
Can you play a heart or the queen of spades on the first trick?
Not under the Bicycle rules: if you cannot follow suit on the first trick, you may not play a heart or the queen of spades, unless you hold nothing else. Pagat describes this as a variation that some groups use. Settle it before the game.
How do you break hearts?
Someone must play a heart on an earlier trick before anyone may lead one. This usually happens when a player who cannot follow suit throws a heart. Under the Bicycle rules, playing the queen of spades also breaks hearts. A player who holds only hearts may lead one at any time.
What happens when you shoot the moon?
You win every heart and the queen of spades in one hand. By default you score 0 for the hand and each other player adds 26 points. Many groups let the shooter choose to subtract 26 from their own score instead. The score keeper does it either way, and the setting is in the score keeper options.
Which way do you pass the cards?
Pass three cards face down. On the first hand pass to the left, on the second to the right, on the third across the table, and on the fourth do not pass. Then repeat the cycle. With three or five players the pattern is different, so agree on one before the game.
How many points end the game?
The game ends at the end of a hand in which a player reaches 100 points or more. The lowest score wins. Some groups play to 50 for a quicker game.
What if two players tie for the lowest score?
The usual answer is to play more hands until one player is ahead. The basic rules say little more than that, so you may agree on another way.
Can you play Hearts with three or five players?
Yes. With three players remove the 2 of diamonds and deal 17 cards each. With five players remove the 2 of diamonds and the 2 of clubs and deal 10 cards each. The score keeper supports three to six players.
Sources
- Pagat: Hearts (Deal, passing, the lead, hearts broken, penalty points, shooting the moon options, playing to 100, ties and the jack of diamonds variation.)
- Bicycle Cards: Hearts (Deal for three to five players, the lead, the first-trick rule, hearts and the queen of spades breaking hearts, penalty points, shooting the moon and playing to 100.)