Hearts Card Game

How to play Hearts Card Game​?

Purpose of the game

Players must try to score the lowest number of points at the end of the game (1 point for a heart and 13 points for a queen of spades). If a player gets all the points of the game (i.e. Shoot the Moon or Running), they will score 0 points and all opponents will score 26 points.

Basic rules of the game

The Number of players: 3 to 7, but the standard play is 4 players.
Cards: Standard 52-card deck (remove the joker cards). Each player has the same number of cards until there are no more cards left. In each suit, the order of size is from Ace (largest) to 2 (smallest).

How the game is played

  1. Deal phase. On the first turn, the player holding the hand of the two of Clubs (2♣) plays that two of Clubs (2♣) as the first card. On the other turn, the collector of the previous turn deals the first card.
  2. Calling phase. In the clockwise direction, each of the other players shows a hand on the table as a follow-up card. The following card should be in the same suit as the first card. If the player does not have a card in that suit, then he needs to play a card of any other suit.
  3. The closing phase. Compare the first card of the 4 cards on the table with all the cards of the same suit as the first card, and the player with the largest number of cards becomes the collector of the round. The order of cards from smallest to largest is 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, and A. Cards of different suits are not compared and are considered as small cards. The collector collects all 4 cards on the table and keeps them for counting points, but they are not used as hand cards and should not be confused with hand cards.
  4. Scoring. Each heart card (♥) is 1 point and the queen of spades (♠) is 13 points. These 14 cards are called score cards. No other cards are scored.

Special rules

  1. The first turn: A player may not play a score card on the first turn of each round unless that player has no other cards in hand.
  2. Broken: A player may not play a Spade (♥) as the first card unless someone has played a Spade (♥) before this turn or the player has no other cards in his hand. There is no restriction on calling. 
  3. Collect All: If someone collects all the score tiles during the scoring phase of each round, that person will receive 0 points for the round and everyone else will receive 26 points.

How to win Hearts Card Game​?

  1. Avoid getting a one-round hand containing a Queen of Hearts or Spades. Collect such cards only when you are ready to “Collect All” or to prevent others from “Collect All”. 　　
  2. To “Collect All” is to collect all Hearts and Queens of Spades. When this happens, you get 0 points and the rest of the players get 26 points. If your hand contains a large number of high value Hearts and Spades, you have the highest chance of successfully “Collect All”.
  3. The game starts with passing cards to your opponents. Try to pass a big card to someone else, such as Aces or Face Cards. If your opponent has a card of each suit, the sooner you play a big card, the better. No points are scored for cards without hearts or spade queens. 　　
  4. Remember what cards other players played. Pay special attention to whether other players are playing the Queen of Spades and Hearts.
  5. Try to pass the 2 of Clubs to someone else when you pass the cards. So that you can throw away a major card in the first turn of play. 　　
  6. Make a certain suit without a card as soon as possible. This allows you to throw out the Queen of Spades, Hearts ,or other big cards when other players play cards of this suit. 　
  7. About Shoot the Moon
    a. In the beginning rounds, if you can’t play a Heart, then play a small card.
    b. Keep the big cards, especially the big card of Hearts.
    c. Once you are allowed to bid Hearts, take Hearts and deal them. Get the most points possible early in the game. Once the opponents recognize this intention, they will try their best to stop it.
    d. Rounds with no points can be given to others to take. Keep the big cards that are used for scoring.
    e. Long suits are also useful. If there are 6 cards of the same suit and they contain majors, dealing cards of this suit will almost guarantee a successful ending.