Hearts Card Game: Play Hearts Online Free
Avoid hearts or shoot the moon · Works on mobile & desktop · No download
Hearts is the classic trick taking card game where you want the lowest score. Play the Hearts card game online against three computer players: pass three cards, follow suit, dodge hearts and keep away from the Queen of Spades. Take every point in a round and you shoot the moon. If you like card games with a partner, try Spades.
Hearts is free to play on PlayQuestHQ with no download and no sign-up. It works on phones, tablets, laptops and desktop computers.
Avoid taking hearts (1 point each) and the Queen of Spades (13 points). Pass 3 cards, follow suit when you can, and the lowest score wins when someone reaches the limit. Take all 26 points to shoot the moon.
How to Play Hearts
- Choose to play to 100 or 50 points.
- Pick 3 cards to pass, then press Pass. The direction changes each round: left, right, across, then no pass.
- The player with the 2 of clubs leads the first trick. Follow suit if you can.
- The highest card of the suit that was led wins the trick and leads next.
- Each heart is 1 point and the Queen of Spades is 13. When someone reaches the limit, the lowest score wins.
Controls
Click a card in your hand to play it. Cards you cannot play are shaded. Click three cards and then Pass at the start of a round.
Tap a card to play it. On small screens your hand shows in two rows so every card is easy to tap.
Tips to Win
- Pass the Queen, King and Ace of Spades if you have few spades.
- Get rid of a whole suit early so you can throw hearts on other tricks.
- Play your high cards early in a suit, before hearts are being thrown.
- Watch the points each player has taken before you try to stop a moon shot.
Hearts Rules
Hearts uses a standard 52 card deck and four players, 13 cards each. The 2 of clubs leads the first trick. You must follow the suit that was led if you can. If you cannot, you may play any card. The highest card of the led suit wins the trick. There are no trump cards.
Hearts Card Game Scoring
- Each heart you take: 1 point.
- The Queen of Spades: 13 points.
- Shoot the moon (all 26 points): you score 0 and everyone else scores 26.
- The game ends when a player reaches 100 (or 50). The lowest score wins.
Passing Cards in Hearts
Before each round you pass three cards: to the left in round 1, to the right in round 2, across in round 3, and no passing in round 4. Then the pattern repeats. Passing is your chance to give away dangerous high cards.
The Queen of Spades Explained
The Queen of Spades is the most dangerous card in Hearts, worth 13 points on her own. That is the same as all 13 hearts in the deck combined, so one bad trick can undo a careful round.
The Queen scores only when you take the trick she is played on, and that shapes every spade trick until she appears. The Ace and King of spades put their holders at risk: play one on a spade trick and another player can drop the Queen on it, and the points in that trick are yours.
- Pass the Queen away when you hold fewer than four spades, because a spade lead can force her out early.
- Keep low spades in your hand, because they let you follow a spade lead without winning the trick.
- Watch for the Ace and King of spades: once both have been played, the Queen can no longer land on a high card.
Passing Strategy: Which Cards to Give Away
The three cards you pass decide how safe your round will be, and the first job is removing danger. Pass the Queen of Spades, or the Ace and King of spades, whenever your own spades are short.
The pass changes direction every round: left, then right, then across, then one round with no pass at all. Every fourth round you must play the hand you are dealt, so the other three passes are your chances to fix it.
- Shorten a suit on purpose: pass away your last cards in a suit and later tricks in that suit let you throw hearts or the Queen instead of following.
- Keep your low cards, above all low spades, because low cards let you duck under a trick instead of winning it.
- Pass high cards in a short suit before low cards in a long one, because the short suit is the one you are trying to empty.
Good to Know
What does shooting the moon mean in Hearts?
Shooting the moon means taking all 13 hearts and the Queen of Spades in one round. Instead of scoring 26 points, you score 0 and each of the other three players adds 26 points. It is the biggest swing in the game, so players watch the points taken and try to stop a moon attempt before it completes.
When can you lead hearts in Hearts?
You can lead a heart only after hearts have been broken, or when your hand holds nothing but hearts. Hearts are broken when a player who cannot follow suit plays a heart on an earlier trick. Until that moment, the winner of each trick must lead a card from another suit.
Can you play points on the first trick in Hearts?
No, you cannot play a heart or the Queen of Spades on the first trick unless you have no other card available. The first trick is led with the 2 of clubs, and this rule keeps the opening trick free of penalty cards.
How many points is the Queen of Spades worth in Hearts?
The Queen of Spades is worth 13 points, the same as all 13 hearts in the deck added together. That one card is why players pass the Queen away when their spades are short and watch every spade trick until she has been played.
How many players are in a game of Hearts?
A game of Hearts has four players, and on this page you play against three computer players. There are no partners and no teams: each player keeps a separate score, and the lowest score wins when someone reaches the target of 50 or 100 points.
Is my Hearts progress saved?
No. Each game starts fresh when you open the page, and nothing is uploaded or stored.