Hearts — Play Online Free

How to play Hearts

This page has everything you need to start playing. For the full rules, with worked examples and the variations people argue about, see our complete Hearts rules guide.

Hearts is the classic trick-taking game where you try not to win tricks — or at least not the ones with points in them. It is played by four players, each on their own, with a standard 52-card deck. Here you play Hearts online against three computer players: Rose on your left, June across from you and Hank on your right.

The goal

Every heart you take costs you 1 point and the Queen of Spades costs 13. Points are bad. When someone reaches 100 points at the end of a round, the game is over and the player with the lowest score wins. For a shorter game, choose 50 points in Settings.

The deal

All 52 cards are dealt, so each player holds 13. Aces are high, and there is no trump suit — the only thing that matters in a trick is the suit that was led.

Playing the tricks

1. The 2 of clubs leads. Whoever holds the 2♣ must lead it to the first trick.
2. Follow suit. Each player in turn plays one card. You must play a card of the suit that was led if you have one. If you don't, you may play any card — this is your chance to get rid of hearts or the Queen of Spades.
3. Highest card of the led suit wins. The trick goes to whoever played the highest card in the suit that was led. Off-suit cards never win, however high they are. The winner leads the next trick.
4. No points on the first trick. Nobody may throw a heart or the Queen of Spades on the opening trick, unless their hand holds nothing else.
5. Breaking hearts. You may not lead a heart until someone has played a heart on an earlier trick — this is called breaking hearts. The only exception is a hand that holds nothing but hearts.

After all 13 tricks, everyone adds up the points in the tricks they won, and the next round is dealt.

Passing cards

Before each round's first trick, every player chooses three cards from their hand and passes them face down to another player. The direction rotates every round:

Everyone chooses before anyone looks at what they received. In BieGames Hearts, tap three cards to select them and press Pass. The three cards you receive glow green so you can see what you were given.

What to pass

• The Queen of Spades, if you hold it with only one or two other spades. With four or more spades you can usually keep her safely.
• The Ace and King of Spades when you are short in spades. They are magnets for the Queen.
• High hearts, such as the Ace, King or Queen of hearts.
• A whole short suit. Passing your only two diamonds leaves you void, so you can throw away hearts the first time diamonds are led.

Keep low spades and low cards in general — the 2s, 3s and 4s are your best friends in Hearts.

Hearts scoring

There are 26 penalty points in every round. Scores carry over from round to round, and the game ends after the round in which a player reaches the target (100 by default). The lowest total wins. If two players tie for the lowest score at that point, BieGames keeps dealing until there is a single winner.

The Jack of Diamonds rule is a popular house variation you can switch on in Settings: whoever wins the J♦ takes 10 points off their score, which gives everyone a reason to win a diamond trick or two.

Shooting the moon

There is one way to turn the scoring upside down. If a single player takes all 13 hearts and the Queen of Spades in the same round, they have "shot the moon." Instead of taking 26 points, the shooter scores nothing and every other player gets 26 points. If you prefer, Settings lets you play the other common version, where the shooter subtracts 26 from their own score and nobody else changes.

Shooting the moon is risky. If you take every heart but one, you keep all 25 of those points. Good moon hands usually have long, strong hearts with the Ace and King, high cards in the other suits, and few small cards that could lose control.

When you notice that one player has taken every point so far, it is time to block: win a single trick with a heart in it, even if it costs you a point or two, and the moon shot is over. The computer players at Normal and Hard watch for this too.

Our guide to shooting the moon in Hearts goes deeper: which hands can do it, how to play them, and how to spot a moon shot early.

Hearts strategy tips

1. Get void early. Running out of a suit lets you discard hearts and the Queen when that suit is led. Passing a short suit is the fastest way to get there.
2. Duck under the winning card. When following suit, play the highest card that still loses to the card currently winning the trick. You keep your low cards for later and shed a dangerous high one.
3. Smoke out the Queen. If you don't hold the Q♠ and have only low spades, lead them. The player with the Queen will eventually have to play her or keep high spades that win tricks.
4. Don't lead the Ace or King of Spades while the Queen is still out — you might be handed 13 points on your own trick.
5. Count cards. Keep track of how many cards of each suit have been played and who has shown out of a suit. Late in a round, that tells you which of your cards are safe.
6. Mind the scoreboard. Points you give to the player with the lowest score help you more than points given to someone far behind.
7. Choose your level. Easy computer players play by simple habits, Normal players use solid strategy, and Hard players track every card and look ahead — and will try to shoot the moon when they get the chance.
8. Use the Hint button while you learn. It suggests which cards to pass and which card to play, without making the move for you.

Popular Hearts variations

• Omnibus Hearts — the Jack (or sometimes the 10) of Diamonds is worth −10 points. Turn on the Jack of Diamonds rule in Settings to play it.
• Black Maria — a British cousin where the Ace and King of Spades are penalty cards too, worth 7 and 10 points.
• Spot Hearts — each heart counts its face value, so the Ace of hearts alone costs 14 points.
• Old Moon or New Moon — the two ways to score a moon shot: everyone else adds 26, or the shooter subtracts 26. Both are available in Settings.
• Queen breaks hearts — some tables treat playing the Queen of Spades as breaking hearts. BieGames uses the standard rule, where only a heart breaks hearts.

If you'd like to try the same tricks with partners and bidding, Spades is the natural next game. Our Spades vs Hearts guide explains how the two compare.