Hearts Help

The Object of the Game
Starting the Game
Playing the Game
Strategy and Tips
Scoring the Game

The Object of the Game

The object of the game of Hearts is to have the lowest score at the end of the game. To determine how to figure your score, see Scoring the Game.

Starting the Game

You can start the game three different ways, by choosing one of the following options that appears when the game begins.

1. Play against the computer, which will play the other three hands.
2. Choose to be the dealer. One other player will be able to connect to you using infrared, while the computer will play the other two hands.
3. Connect to another Hearts game on another mobile device using infrared.

See Also
Playing the Game

Playing the Game

- Select three cards to pass to an opponent (except for every fourth start, when no cards are initially passed). To select a card to pass, tap it. To cancel the selection, tap the card again.
- The player holding the two of clubs goes first. Play then proceeds clockwise.
- Tap a card to play it. You must play a card in the same suit as the card that was led if you have it.
- If you do not have a card in the suit that was led, you can play any card, except that you cannot play a heart or the Queen of Spades on the first trick.
- The person who plays the highest card of the same suit as the leading card (Ace high) takes the trick and leads the next trick.
- You cannot lead with a heart until at least one heart has been played before ("Hearts have been broken").
- Once all of the point cards (hearts and the Queen of Spades) are taken, the rest of the hand is played out automatically.

See Also
Strategy and Tips

Strategy and Tips

- Avoid taking tricks that contain hearts or the Queen of Spades. The only time you want to take such a trick is when you are trying to "Shoot the Moon", or trying to prevent someone else from doing so.
- When passing, give your highest cards (like Aces and face cards) to the other players.
- Play your highest cards early in the game, when opponents are likely to have cards in each suit, and will have to play the same suit instead of hearts. Tricks that do not have hearts or the Queen of Spades do not add points to your score.
- Keep track of which cards have been played, especially hearts and the Queen of Spades.

Scoring the Game

- At the end of each hand, count one point for each heart in your hand and 13 points for the Queen of Spades. The game continues until one player gets 100 points or more, or until the dealer leaves the game.
- However, if you win all the hearts plus the Queen of Spades in one hand (called "Shooting the Moon"), then you get 0 points and each other player is penalized 26 points.