# How to Play Hearts: Passing, Tricks, the Queen of Spades and Shooting the Moon

Learn Hearts for four players: pass three cards, the 2 of clubs leads, follow suit, avoid hearts and the queen of spades, and shoot the moon. Lowest score at 100 wins.

Source: https://pips.club/hearts

- Players: 4 (3 to 5 possible)
- Deck: 52 cards, no jokers
- Type: Trick-taking
- Level: Medium
- Game: Until someone reaches 100

## At a glance

### Dodge the hearts

Hearts is a trick-taking game where you try not to win the wrong cards. Each heart you take is a point against you, the queen of spades 13. Lowest score wins.

## Setup

### Four players, each for themselves

Use a standard 52-card deck without jokers. Four players each play alone. There are no trumps.
With three players, remove the 2 of diamonds. With five, remove the 2 of diamonds and the 2 of clubs, and the 3 of clubs leads the first trick. That way the cards divide evenly.

## The deal

### Thirteen cards each

Deal the whole deck one at a time, clockwise, so everyone has 13 cards.

### Pass three cards

Before play, everyone chooses three cards and passes them face down. First hand to the left, then to the right, then across, then no pass, and round again.
You pass the queen of spades, the ace and king of hearts to West: dangerous cards. At the same time East passes three cards to you: the king of diamonds, the 6 of spades and the jack of hearts.

## A turn

### The 2 of clubs leads

Whoever holds the 2 of clubs leads it to the first trick. Everyone must follow suit. The highest card of the suit led wins the trick, and its winner leads next.
East wins the first trick with the ace of clubs.

### No suit? Throw something away

If you can’t follow suit, play any card. That is your chance to get rid of hearts or the queen of spades, except on the very first trick, unless you have nothing else.

## Special cards

### Hearts must be broken

You may not lead a heart until a heart has been played on another suit: breaking hearts. The only exception: if you hold nothing but hearts, you may lead one.

### The queen of spades

The queen of spades is worth 13 points on her own. Whoever wins the trick she lands in takes her.

## Scoring

### Count the damage

Each heart 1 
Queen of spades 13 
Every hand has 26 points in total. This hand: you 3, West 13, North 2, East 8.

### Shooting the moon

Take every heart and the queen of spades in one hand and you shoot the moon: you score 0 and everyone else gets 26.

## Winning

### Lowest score at 100

Keep playing hands. When someone reaches 100 points, the game ends and the player with the lowest score wins.

## Variants and house rules

- **Omnibus Hearts**: The jack of diamonds is a bonus card: whoever takes it subtracts 10 points.
- **Spot Hearts**: Hearts cost their face value (the 2 costs 2, the ace 14) and the queen of spades 25.
- **Moon option**: A player who shoots the moon may choose to subtract 26 from their own score instead of adding 26 to everyone else’s.
- **Black Maria**: The British version, often for three players, with no rule against leading hearts.

## Tips

- Pass the queen of spades or high spades if you hold few spades to protect them.
- Empty a short suit early, so you can throw away hearts when that suit is led.
- If one player has won every heart so far, take one yourself to stop the moon.

## Quick answers

**How many cards do you pass in Hearts?** Three. To the left on the first hand, then right, then across, then no pass, and round again.

**Who leads first in Hearts?** The player holding the 2 of clubs leads it to the first trick.

**What is shooting the moon in Hearts?** Taking all 13 hearts and the queen of spades in one hand. You score 0 and every other player scores 26.

**How do you win Hearts?** When someone reaches 100 points, the player with the lowest score wins.