
How To Play Hearts
Brief Hearts Overview
Championship Hearts All-Stars is one of DreamQuest Software's most popular game titles. Get your own copy today and join the fun!
For a complete introduction on how to play Championship Hearts All-Stars, please use our interactive Hearts 101 tutorial, accessible from the game's Help menu. Simply click the "Menu" button in the lower left corner, select Help, and then select Hearts Tutorial.
Hearts is a trick-based card game for 4 players. The object of the game is to be the player with the fewest points. Here is a simplified idea of how the game is played:
- Each round of four hands start with players passing three cards to an opponent. First hand passes to the player on the left, next hand to the right, then across and then not at all.
- The player holding the 2 of Clubs will begin play by leading with a suit.
- Each player in turn lays one card down on the table. The four cards together are called a "trick."
- The person who played the highest card takes the trick. The cards are ranked in the usual order, with 2 being lowest and Ace being highest.
- If there are any "point cards" in the trick, then the player who took the trick gets those points. Each Heart card is worth one point, and the Queen of Spades is worth a whopping 13 points! There is no trump suit.
- When one player's score goes above 100 points, the game ends, and the one player with the least amount of points is declared the winner!
Hearts Rules and Strategy
The deal:
You will deal and play in a clockwise manner. The dealer deals out the entire deck, one card at a time, until each of the 4 players has 13 cards.
The pass:
Each player selects three cards to pass to the player to their left. (Usually you should pass high cards that might win tricks and cause you to collect points.) For the start of the second hand, the cards will be passed to the player on your right. On the third hand, cards will be passed to the player directly across from you. No cards are to be passed for the fourth hand. Passing continues in this four-hand pattern (left, right, across, none) until the game ends.
The trick:
The player holding the 2 of Clubs will begin play by "leading" (playing the first card of the trick). The suit of the card led is called the "led suit." Each player in turn then plays one card, and the four cards played each round are together called a "trick."
The play:
You must always play a card of the led suit if you have the suit in your hand. If you run out of that suit, you may play any card. Hearts can never be led until they are "broken" by someone playing a Heart or the Queen of Spades during a trick (which means they do not have the led suit in their hand).
Taking the trick:
The player who plays the highest card in the trick matching the "led suit" (the suit of the first card played) wins the trick. (For instance, if Player1 played a 2 of Clubs, Player2 played a King of Diamonds, Player3 played a 6 of Clubs, and Player4 played an Ace of Spades, Player3 would actually take the trick!) The point value of all the cards in that trick are then added to the player's score who took the cards. Remember, each Heart card is worth one point, and the Queen of Spades is worth 13 points. The winner of the trick then leads a card, and play continues.
Scoring:
After everyone's cards are gone, each player adds up his or her points. The objective in Hearts is to be the player with the least amount of points... unless you can get all the point cards in the whole hand! If you can do this, you can choose to either subtract 26 points from your score or add 26 points to each other player's score! Winning all the point cards in a hand is called "Shooting the Moon."
The rest of the story:
Cards are then shuffled and dealt again (dealer responsibilities pass in a clockwise manner), and play continues. Remember which way you're supposed to pass your cards, since it changes every hand!
Winning:
The game ends when one player's score reaches or exceeds 100 points. At this point, the player with the least amount of points wins!
More Hearts Resources
- Now download a free 3-game trial of Championship Hearts All-Stars to test your knowledge. Take advantage of our easy interactive tutorial, or play a real game. (Choose from five difficulty levels through the Settings menu.) Access the tutorial by simply clicking the Tutorial button on the first game screen you see.
- For more information about Championship Hearts All-Stars, please visit our Championship Hearts All-Stars Information Page
- For expert tips and techniques, please visit our Hearts Tips page.
View rules for other Championship All-Stars titles here:









