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How to Play Hearts

Avoid the hearts — and beware the Queen of Spades.

👥 4 players · Medium difficulty

Learn four-player Hearts: passing, the opening lead, penalty cards and shooting the moon. See why two hearts and the queen of spades cost 15 points.

Winning a trick can cost you points

2♥8♥Q♠

Across the hand, you capture these two hearts and the queen of spades. Your penalty is 1 + 1 + 13 = 15. The lowest score wins, so taking more tricks is not necessarily better.

Worked example
Cards	Points
2♥ + 8♥	2
Q♠	13
Total	15

Follow suit when possible. Shooting the moon requires all 13 hearts and Q♠, not merely many penalty cards.

Practise this game in your browser

🎯 Objective

Have the lowest score when any player reaches the score limit — 100 unless you change it at setup.

🃏 Hearts Setup & Rules

Use a standard 52-card deck; deal 13 cards to each of 4 players.
Each player passes 3 cards left (first round); direction rotates; fourth round: no pass.
The player holding 2♣ leads the first trick.

▶ How to Play Hearts

The player holding 2♣ must lead it to the first trick.
Follow suit if possible. On the first trick, do not discard a heart or Q♠ unless your hand forces it.
Highest card of the led suit wins the trick. No trump.
Hearts may not be led until "heart break" — a heart has been discarded on a prior trick.
The winner of each trick leads the next.

🎬 Watch: How to Play Hearts

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📖 Detailed Guide

Setting up your table

Hearts is a strict 4-player game — take one seat and fill the other three with AI opponents.
Each player card at the top of the table shows round points and running total, so you always know who's in danger of reaching the limit.
Each round the dealer presses Deal and all 52 cards go out: 13 to each player, fanned at the bottom of your screen.

The pass

Before play, select exactly 3 cards to pass: round 1 passes left, round 2 right, round 3 across, and round 4 keeps all cards (no pass).
Passing well matters more than any single trick: ship out your high spades (A♠, K♠) unless well protected, and dangerous high hearts.
You receive 3 cards in return — check your new hand before planning the round.

Trick play

The player holding the 2♣ leads it to the first trick — the app enforces this automatically.
You must follow the led suit if you can; the app highlights your legal cards. If you're void, discard anything — this is how hearts and the Q♠ get dumped.
There is no trump: the highest card of the led suit wins the trick and leads the next one.
Hearts can't be led until a heart has been discarded on an earlier trick ("breaking hearts"), unless you hold nothing but hearts.
On the very first trick you may not drop a heart or the Q♠ (unless your hand forces it).

Scoring and the Moon

At the end of each hand: every heart taken = 1 point, the Q♠ = 13 points. Points are bad — lowest total wins.
Shooting the Moon: if one player captures ALL 13 hearts and the Q♠, they score 0 and everyone else gets 26.
The game ends when any player reaches the score limit — 100 unless you change it at setup (50 to 200, in steps of 25). Lowest total wins; a tie is shared.

📊 Hearts Scoring

Each ♥ = 1 pt. Q♠ = 13 pts. All others = 0. Lowest score wins. Shoot the Moon: take all 13 hearts AND Q♠ → each other player gets 26 pts.

❓ Hearts — Frequently Asked Questions

How many players do you need for Hearts?

Hearts is played with 4 players. On Vanikar, empty seats can be filled with AI opponents so you can always start a game.

What is the Queen of Spades worth in Hearts?

The Queen of Spades (Q♠) is worth 13 penalty points — as much as all thirteen hearts combined. Avoiding her, or forcing her onto an opponent, is the heart of the game.

What does shooting the moon mean in Hearts?

Shooting the moon means deliberately capturing ALL 13 hearts and the Queen of Spades in one hand. Instead of taking 26 penalty points, you score zero and every other player takes 26.

Can Hearts be played with two players?

Traditional Hearts is a strict four-player game. On Vanikar you can play with fewer humans by filling the remaining seats with AI opponents — two friends plus two AI players works great.