Third hand – Pass the cards to the player across the table.Second hand – Pass the cards to the player on the right.First hand – Pass the cards to the player on the left.In a four-player game, the passing rotation is as follows: The passing rotation varies from hand to hand. All players must choose and pass their three cards before receiving and looking at the cards they receive from their opponent. In the case of a tie, an additional hand is played to determine a single winner.Īt the start of each hand, after cards are dealt, each player looks at their cards and chooses three of them to pass to another player. If at the end of any hand one or more players has exceeded the game-ending score, the game immediately ends and the player with the lowest score is the winner. The cards are then shuffled and dealt for the next hand. Players mark their individual scores on a score sheet and sum the total from any previous rounds. This is called “shooting the moon” or a “slam.” If a player manages to take all 13 hearts and the queen of spades in one hand, they score zero points and each of their opponents scores 26 points.

If Donna had 2 heart cards, she would score 2 points. The queen of spades is worth 13 points.įor example, if Mark had 4 hearts cards and the queen of spades, he would score 17 points.When players have no more cards left, the hand ends and players calculate their scores.Įach player adds up the points from all the cards in the tricks they won. If a player's hand consists of only hearts, they may lead any heart even if hearts have not previously been broken. (This is known as “breaking hearts.”) The queen does not have to be played at the first opportunity and can be led at any time. Hearts may not be led until a heart has been played in a previous trick or the queen of spades has been led. They then lead the next trick by placing a card from their hand onto the table, and play continues in this manner. The winner of the trick collects the cards from the center of the table and places them face down in front of themselves. Once all players have played a card, the player who played the highest card of the suit led wins the trick.įor example, if Jim leads with a 6 of spades, Christine plays a 5 of spades, Donna plays a 10 of clubs, and Mark plays a 9 of spades, Mark would win the trick. In the first trick, if a player has no clubs in hand then they may NOT play a heart or the queen of spades.) (There is one exception to this rule however. If a player cannot follow suit because they have no cards of that suit in their hand, they may play any other card. (If the 2 of clubs has been removed from the game, the player holding the 3 of clubs leads.)Įach player then in turn also plays one card from their hand, face-up, onto the center of the table, following the same suit as the lead card if possible.įor example if the lead player plays a 6 of spades, each subsequent player must play a spade card if possible. For the first trick, the player holding the 2 of clubs plays it onto the table, thus making the opening lead. Each player will receive 7 cards each hand.īegin each hand by dealing all the cards face down, one at a time to each player, in a clockwise manner around the table.Īfter all the cards have been dealt, the lead player plays a card face-up onto the center of the table. In a seven-player game, remove the 2 and 3 of diamonds and the 3 of clubs.Each player will receive 8 cards each hand. In a six-player game, remove the 2 and 3 of diamonds and the 3 and 4 of clubs.Each player will receive 10 cards each hand. In a five-player game, remove the 2 of diamonds and the 2 of clubs.Each player will receive 13 cards each hand. In a four-player game, don't remove any cards.Each player will receive 17 cards each hand. In a three-player game, remove the 2 of diamonds.There is no trump suit.ģ to 7 (or 6 to 11 if playing Cancellation Hearts)īefore the game begins, players should agree on a game-ending score (usually 100 points) so that once one player reaches or exceeds that score, the game ends.ĭepending on the number of players, certain cards should be removed from the game so that each player receives an equal number of cards each hand. Cards are ranked from ace (high) to 2 (low). The player with the lowest score at the end of the game wins.Ī standard 52-card deck of playing cards. This rules summary includes a detailed description of all the basic elements of Hearts and also a number of optional rules variations. A classic trick-taking card game that truly shines with 4 players.

Hearts card game rules with queeens