Hearts online
Dodge the hearts and the queen of spades, or take every one of them and shoot the moon. Play three computer players, or pass one device around four people. Lowest score wins.
How to play hearts
Hearts is a trick-taking game for four players, each playing for themselves, with a standard 52-card deck. Points are bad: you want to take as few as you can.
- The deal and the pass. Everyone gets 13 cards, then passes three to another player: to the left, then the right, then across, then no passing, and round again.
- The first trick. Whoever has the two of clubs leads it. You must follow suit if you can, and nobody may throw a heart or the queen of spades on the first trick.
- Playing tricks. The highest card of the suit led takes the trick, and its winner leads next. There is no trump.
- Breaking hearts. You can’t lead a heart until a heart has been played on a trick, unless you have only hearts left.
- Points. Each heart you take is 1 point and the queen of spades is 13.
- Shooting the moon. Take all 13 hearts and the queen, and you score 0 while everyone else scores 26.
The full rules, with how the game ends, are on the hearts rules page.
Hearts scoring at a glance
| Card you take | Points |
|---|
| Each heart | 1 |
| Queen of spades | 13 |
| Every other card | 0 |
| All 26 points (shooting the moon) | 0 for you, 26 for everyone else |
The game ends when someone reaches 100 points at the end of a hand, and the lowest score wins.
Questions
Is this hearts game free?
Yes. You can play hearts here free, in your browser, with nothing to download and no sign-up needed to start.
Can I play hearts against the computer?
Yes. You play three computer players at the level you pick: Beginner, Casual, Skilled or Expert.
Can I play with friends?
Four people can play on one phone or tablet, passing it around; your cards are hidden between turns. Online games with friends by link are coming soon.
Does the queen of spades break hearts?
Not here. Hearts are broken only when a heart is played. Some people count the queen too; we keep to hearts alone.
What happens when someone shoots the moon?
They score 0 for the hand and every other player scores 26. Some people let the shooter take 26 off their own score instead; we always add 26 to the others.
Can I make the cards bigger?
Yes. Use the Text size buttons (A, A+, A++, A+++) above the table: the cards grow with the text. Display settings also has a four-colour deck, high contrast and slower animations.
More card games
Prefer a partner game? Try euchre. For two players, there’s cribbage, and for a lighter game, crazy eights.