Question 1

How do you play Omnibus Hearts?

Accepted Answer

Four players, thirteen cards each, and no trump suit. Before each hand you pass 3 cards to another player. The two of clubs leads the first trick. Follow suit if you can. The highest card of the suit led takes the trick — and you do not want it, because every heart costs a point and the queen of spades costs thirteen. Lowest total when somebody reaches 100 wins.

Question 2

Is this free? Do I need an account?

Accepted Answer

Free, no account, no download. Three bot opponents, entirely in your browser.

Question 3

What else is this game called?

Accepted Answer

Hearts with the Jack, Omnibus. Black Lady and Black Maria both refer to the queen of spades, which is the card the whole game is arranged around.

Question 4

Which cards cost points?

Accepted Answer

Every heart is one point, and the queen of spades is thirteen — so there are 26 points in every hand. Nothing else scores at all.

Question 5

Why must the two of clubs go first?

Accepted Answer

It fixes the start of every hand, so nobody gets an advantage from choosing the opening lead. Whoever holds it must play it, and it is the only legal card for them on that trick.

Question 6

Why can I not play a heart on the first trick?

Accepted Answer

No points may fall on the first trick, so hearts and the queen are both barred — even if you are void in clubs and would otherwise be free to discard. It stops the queen being dumped before anyone has any information.

Question 7

What does "hearts are broken" mean?

Accepted Answer

Hearts cannot be *led* until somebody has played one on a trick where they could not follow suit. Once that has happened they are broken and may be led freely. You can always play a heart when following suit — that half is not restricted, and it is the part most implementations get wrong.

Question 8

What if I only have hearts left?

Accepted Answer

Then you may lead them, broken or not. The rule prevents choosing to lead hearts early, not being forced to.

Question 9

What is shooting the moon?

Accepted Answer

Taking every single point in the hand — all thirteen hearts and the queen. Instead of 26 points, you score nothing and everyone else scores 26. It is the rule that makes the endgame worth playing, because a player who has already taken a lot might be going for it.

Question 10

How do I stop somebody shooting the moon?

Accepted Answer

Take one point. That is the whole defence, and it has to be done early — once one player has taken most of the hearts, the cards to stop them may all be gone. If a player is winning every trick and the hearts are falling on them, take the next one you can even if it costs you.

Question 11

Should I try to shoot the moon?

Accepted Answer

Rarely, and only from a hand that can. You need a long strong suit and control — high cards in the suits everyone else will lead. Attempting it and failing usually means taking twenty of the 26 points, which is the worst hand you can have.

Question 12

Which cards should I pass?

Accepted Answer

The queen of spades if you cannot protect her, and high spades — the ace and king — if you hold fewer than three or four low spades to duck with. After that, empty a suit if you can: being void lets you throw the queen away later. Passing your lowest cards feels safe and is the classic beginner mistake.

Question 13

Why does everyone keep leading spades?

Accepted Answer

To flush out the queen. Leading low spades forces whoever has her to shed low spades of their own, and once they run out she has to fall on a trick they are taking. If you hold the queen, low spades are your protection — never pass them away.

Question 14

Should I hold the ace of spades?

Accepted Answer

Only with cover. The ace and king are the two cards the queen lands on, so holding either without several low spades beneath them is how you eat thirteen points. With four or five low spades they are fine, because you can duck until the queen is gone.

Question 15

How good are the opponents?

Accepted Answer

There are three levels, above the table. Easy plays like someone who has not noticed the objective is inverted — it leads high and takes tricks it should duck. Medium ducks but does not watch the queen. Hard tracks the queen and will hand it to you. Measured over 300 hands, a strong player takes about 1.8 points a hand against Easy and about 6.8 against Hard, where 6.5 is the even split.

Question 16

Do the bots cheat?

Accepted Answer

No. They see their own hand and the cards on the table, exactly as you do. The deal is fixed by the game number before anything is played and nothing is re-dealt based on how you are doing.

Question 17

How long does a game take?

Accepted Answer

Usually six to eight hands, so fifteen to twenty minutes. Each hand is thirteen tricks.

Question 18

What is the difference between the versions here?

Accepted Answer

Hearts — The standard game — avoid the hearts and the queen of spades. Omnibus Hearts — The jack of diamonds is worth minus ten, so there is something to chase. Hearts (No Passing) — No passing phase. You play the hand you were dealt, every hand. Spot Hearts — Hearts only — the queen of spades is just a spade. Thirteen points a hand. Quick Hearts — First to fifty. Two or three hands rather than six. All five are the same engine with different settings.

Question 19

Can I play on a phone?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Your hand is sorted by suit and lives in its own scroller under your thumb, every point-carrying card wears its value as a badge, and the three cards you are passed are highlighted when they arrive — otherwise they simply appear somewhere among thirteen and you have to hunt for them.

Question 20

Why do some cards have a number on them?

Accepted Answer

Because the queen of spades looks exactly like the queen of clubs, and in this game one of them costs thirteen points. The badge is what the card is worth to whoever takes the trick.

Question 21

Can I replay the same deal?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Every game has a number and the same number always deals the same cards, so you can hand somebody the link and compare.

Question 22

Where does Hearts come from?

Accepted Answer

It descends from a family of European "reverse" games where the object is to avoid tricks rather than win them, and took its modern shape in America in the late nineteenth century. The queen of spades arrived later, with Black Lady around 1900, and is what turned a gentle avoidance game into one with a knife in it.