Four players, 13 cards each. You want to avoid points: each heart you win is 1 point, the Queen of Spades is 13. When someone reaches 100, the lowest score wins.
Teach it in a minute
- The goal: Avoid points. Each heart you win is 1 point and the Queen of Spades is 13. Lowest score wins.
- Your turn: Play one card. Follow the suit led if you can; if you can't, play anything.
- How a hand goes: Pass three cards, then the player with the 2♣ leads. Thirteen tricks; the highest card of the suit led wins each one.
- What people get wrong: You can't lead hearts until a heart has been played on another suit.
- First-game tip: Pass away your high hearts and the Queen of Spades, and play just under the winning card when you can.
Tricks
A trick is one round where each player plays one card. The highest card of the suit that was led wins it, along with any points inside.
Passing
Before each hand you choose 3 cards to pass: to the left, then the right, then across, then no pass, and repeat. You receive 3 cards at the same time; they're outlined in your hand.
Playing
- Whoever has the 2♣ must lead it.
- You must follow the suit led if you can. If you can't, you may play anything: a good time to throw away high hearts or the Queen of Spades.
- No hearts or Queen of Spades on the first trick, unless you have nothing else.
- Hearts can't be led until a heart has been played on another suit ("broken").
Cards you can't play right now are greyed out.
Scoring
- 1 point per heart in the tricks you win, 13 for the Queen of Spades.
- Shooting the moon: win every heart and the Queen of Spades, and you score 0 while everyone else gets 26.
Why it works like this
- You pass three cards before playing. It lets you fix a bad hand, and it means you know three cards someone else holds.
- The 2♣ leads first, and no points on the first trick. Nobody can be dumped on before the game has started.
- Hearts can't be led until broken. Otherwise the first player could force points on everyone straight away.
- Shooting the moon. It gives a player stuck with lots of hearts a bold way out, so you can't just dump points on one person.
Common questions
- Can I play with friends? Yes. Press Play with friends to make a room, then send the link. The table has four seats; computer players fill any empty seat, and a friend who arrives later can take one over. Each player has their own coach, which only sees their own cards.
- Can the coach help at a real game? At home, yes: press Real table and tap in your cards, your pass and each card played. Only where everyone is happy with it.
- Do I want to win tricks? Only ones with no points in them.
- Why can't I lead a heart? Hearts aren't broken yet.
- What's ducking? Playing a card just below the winning one, so someone else takes the trick.
The quickest way to learn is to play a hand: the coach explains each rule the moment it matters. Start a game of Hearts →