Passing
After the deal you pass three cards — left, right, across, then a hold hand — before play begins. Use it to dump dangerous high spades and long suits.
Hearts is a trick-taking game for four where you want the fewest points. Every heart costs one point and the queen of spades costs a brutal thirteen.
After the deal you pass three cards — left, right, across, then a hold hand — before play begins. Use it to dump dangerous high spades and long suits.
The two of clubs leads the first trick. You must follow suit if you can, and hearts cannot be led until someone has been forced to discard one.
Each heart is one point, the queen of spades is thirteen. Play continues until a player reaches 100 points, and the lowest total wins.
Take every single point card in a hand and the 26 points go to everyone else instead of you — the game's biggest swing.
Each heart taken is 1 point and the queen of spades is 13, so a full hand is worth 26 points. Points are bad: the game ends when any player reaches 100 and the lowest score wins. Shoot the moon by taking all 26 and every other player takes 26 instead — or, in some houses, you subtract 26 from your own total.
The standard rotation is pass three left, three right, three across, then a hold hand with no passing. Common variations include the jack of diamonds scoring minus 10, 'no tricks' bonuses, and Black Maria where the queen must be discarded at the first chance.
You cannot play a heart or the queen of spades on the very first trick unless that is all you hold. Hearts cannot be led until a heart has been discarded on another suit. The two of clubs always leads the opening trick.
Same table, no loading screens — pick your next hand.