Hearts
Avoid taking hearts and the Queen of Spades — unless you can take them ALL.
Setup
Deal all cards evenly (remove some low cards if not divisible by 4). Pass 3 cards left before each round.
How to Play
- Lead any card. Others must follow suit if possible.
- Highest card of the led suit takes the trick.
- Hearts are worth 1pt each. Queen of Spades is worth 13pts.
- Shooting the Moon: take ALL hearts and the Queen to give 26pts to everyone else.
How to Win
Lowest score when any player reaches 100 points.
The Queen of Spades is lethal — track who has it. If going for Shoot the Moon, commit early.
Is Hearts Right for You?
Hearts is the classic trick-taking game for four players who enjoy a mix of careful play and gleeful sabotage — because here you are trying to avoid taking points, not win them. It is a brilliant family and gathering game: easy to learn, genuinely strategic, and full of dramatic swings when someone goes for the moon.
Maybe skip it if: It is at its best with exactly four; the three- and five-player adaptations work but feel compromised. Players who dislike being targeted may bristle at how often the table dumps the Queen of Spades on the leader.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Forgetting you cannot lead hearts until they have been 'broken' (played on an off-suit trick).
- Holding the Queen of Spades too long hoping to dump it, then being forced to eat it yourself.
- Passing away your low spades and keeping the Queen — you usually want low spades to duck under her.
- Not watching for an opponent shooting the moon and failing to stop them by taking a single heart.
Strategy Tips
- Pass dangerous high cards (Ace and King of Spades, high hearts) unless you are deliberately collecting to shoot the moon.
- Keep low spades to safely duck under the Queen of Spades rather than being forced to win her.
- Void yourself in a suit early so you can discard the Queen or a high heart when that suit is led.
- Watch the discards: if one player keeps taking hearts, deny their moon shot by grabbing a single heart yourself.
Popular Variations
Shooting the Moon
Standard in most games: take ALL the hearts and the Queen of Spades and, instead of 26 points, every opponent takes 26. A high-risk swing play.
The Jack of Diamonds (Omnibus Hearts)
A popular variation where the Jack of Diamonds is worth minus 10, rewarding aggression and complicating the avoid-points math.
Three- and five-player Hearts
Remove a card or two so the deck deals evenly; the core rules stay the same but the count plays slightly differently.
Our Take
Hearts is one of the all-time great four-player card games — simple enough for a family Christmas, sharp enough to reward years of play. The avoid-the-points twist and the ever-present threat of someone shooting the moon make every hand tense. If you only learn one trick-taking game, make it this one.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many players do you need for Hearts?
Four is the ideal and standard count. Three- and five-player versions exist (you remove a card or two for an even deal) but four is where the game shines.
What does 'shooting the moon' mean in Hearts?
If a single player takes every heart plus the Queen of Spades in a hand, instead of scoring 26 penalty points they score zero and each opponent takes 26. It is a bold, game-swinging gamble.
What is the Queen of Spades worth in Hearts?
Thirteen penalty points — making her by far the most dangerous single card, since each heart is only worth one.