The Card Table

Hearts lobby

Open tables on the left · create on the right. Host a few with different house rules — start the first that fills; the rest auto-cancel. Dump hearts, dodge the Queen, climb the board.

Players 4–8

Open tables

When tables appear, click a row to preview. Create lives on the right.

Tables are empty

Be the first dealer — set up a game in the Create a table panel on the right.

Watch · recent games

No recent Hearts matches yet. Live tables appear while cards are out; finished games show here for replay.

Create a table

No open tables yet — host one here. The first you Start keeps going; extra open tables you host cancel automatically. Public unless you check Private.

Display name Seats (table size) Need 4 joined to start (full table by default for the size you pick).

Mode

Selected: Standard Hearts

Your favorites

Save & reuse custom tables

Tune the rules below, name this setup, and hit Save as new. Load it anytime for a new table.

Favorite name

Score mode Initial points Everyone starts here (default 70) Game ends at or below When anyone hits this (default 0), highest score wins Pass direction Walks every other player (left, right, two seats…), then a hold hand. Cycle length grows with table size (4p = 4 hands; 6p = 6; 8p = 8). Cards to pass Moon scoring Starter card J♦ Bonus Optional prize card (same idea as the Omnibus gametype). Capturing it scores +10 on the board. J♥ Bonus (+points, optional) Leave 0 for classic 26-point hands (13♥ + Q♠). Prefer J♦ Bonus above for a single jack prize. Q♠ points

Match type

Rated table Updates ELO, streaks, and achievements. Uncheck for casual / party practice (no ladder impact). Private (invite only) Hidden from the public lobby list. Default is public so anyone can join open seats. Rematch series (best of) Wins stick across rematches at this table until someone clinches the series.

Passing

Skip no-pass (hold) rounds Never play a hand without passing. After the last seat pass, the cycle restarts (or keep always-left / always-right if already selected).

Hold is last in the cycle (after you’ve passed to everyone once). No cards move that hand.

Tutorial

How to play

Avoid penalty cards. Take as few points as you can — unless you’re shooting the moon. Lowest score when someone hits the end target wins.

1
Deal & pass
Everyone gets a full hand (deck size scales with seat count). Most hands start with a pass — give three cards left, right, across, or hold (depends on the hand / house rules). Then the round begins.
2
Tricks
Play in turns. Follow suit if you can. Highest card of the led suit wins the trick and leads the next. You usually can’t lead hearts until they’re broken (someone has already dumped a heart).
3
Scoring
Each heart is typically 1 point; the Queen of Spades is 13. Take a trick with those cards and you add them to your score. Lower is better — unless you take every point card (shoot the moon).
4
Moon & variants
Shoot the moon: take all hearts and the Queen — everyone else eats the points (or you drop 26, depending on rules). Hosts can flip presets like Omnibus (Jack of Diamonds bonus), Black Maria, Spot face values, rated vs casual, and 4–8 seats.
5
End of match
Hands keep dealing until someone reaches the target score (often 100). Lowest total wins the table, ELO updates on rated games, and you can watch or replay from the Watch panel.

Strategy tips

Pass with a plan — dump the Queen, high spades, or long void-makers. Don’t gift someone a moon setup by accident.
Count the Queen — know when she’s out. Duck early if you’re void in spades; force her out if you hold the Ace/King safely.
Break hearts on purpose when you need to bleed points into other seats — or keep them sealed if you’re sitting pretty.
Short suits win tricks later — voiding a suit lets you slough hearts (or the Queen) when someone else leads it.
Watch the scores — near the end target, “safe” plays change. Sometimes you take a few points now to avoid handing the leader a free win.
Moon or bust only when the table is committed. Half a moon is just a bad dump — commit early or bail to damage control.