Cheery Chimp

Hearts is a classic trick-taking card game in which players try to avoid taking certain cards rather than collect them. The game is usually played by four players using a standard 52-card deck. The objective is generally to finish with the fewest points, with the hearts suit and the Queen of Spades carrying penalty points.

Hearts belongs to the large family of trick-taking games that developed in Europe over several centuries. Its immediate ancestors are generally associated with a group of games known as Reversis, which originated in Spain and France. Reversis and related games placed penalties on particular cards and encouraged players to avoid taking undesirable tricks.

Games resembling modern Hearts appeared in the United States during the 19th century. Early versions were sometimes known by names such as Heartsette and Four-Player Hearts. Rules varied considerably, particularly concerning which cards carried penalty points and how cards were passed between players.

The modern game gradually developed its familiar scoring system. Each heart became worth one penalty point, while the Queen of Spades became a particularly dangerous card worth thirteen points. This combination gives a player the possibility of receiving all the penalty cards in a round, a strategy commonly known as shooting the moon.

The card-passing mechanic also became an important part of Hearts. In many modern versions, players pass a specified number of cards to another player before each hand. The direction changes from round to round, and one round may require players to keep their cards rather than pass them. This prevents players from relying on a single strategy for every hand.

Hearts became particularly well known during the computer era. Microsoft included a version of the game with Windows, beginning with Windows for Workgroups 3.1 and later versions of the operating system. The built-in game introduced Hearts to a large audience and helped establish it as a familiar computer card game.

Today, Hearts is played in homes, card clubs, computers, mobile devices, and online. Its unusual objective of deliberately avoiding valuable tricks distinguishes it from many other trick-taking games, while the possibility of reversing the scoring through a successful moon shot adds an element of risk and strategy.