Hearts: Tips, Tricks, Cheats

Hearts

Master the classic trick-taking card game Hearts, now available with sophisticated AI opponents and extensive customization options! Dive into this beloved game of strategy and anticipation, where avoiding hearts and the dreaded Queen of Spades is key to victory. Play against three challenging CPU players and refine your skills in a feature-rich environment.

Core Hearts Gameplay:

Hearts is played with a standard deck of 52 cards, where each of four players is dealt 13 cards. The game typically ends when someone reaches or exceeds 100 points (by default), with the player holding the lowest score at that point declared the winner. Each heart card scores one penalty point, and the Queen of Spades carries a hefty 13 penalty points. The player who plays the highest card of the led suit wins the trick and leads the next one.

Key Features for a Tailored Experience:

• AI Opponents: Play against three CPU players with three distinct difficulty levels: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced, ensuring a suitable challenge for everyone.
• In-Game Help: Comprehensive help and gameplay explanations are included to guide new players.
• Extensive Settings: Customize nearly every aspect of your game:
  • Visuals: Adjust card size, choose between a four-color deck or classic deck, select your preferred cards back color, and customize the table color.
  • Audio & Speed: Toggle sound effects and animations, and control the game speed.
  • Display: Show or hide player names on the table cards, and view a detailed scoreboard.
• Achievements & Statistics: Earn experience points through achievements and track your performance with detailed scores for hands, matches, best, and worst outcomes.
• Convenience: Save and load games to continue your session anytime, play in both landscape and vertical orientation, and easily move the app to SD storage.

Customizable Rule Settings:

Adapt the game to your preferred Hearts variant:

• Game Points: Set the winning threshold to 50 or 100 points.
• First Trick Lead: Play with the default "2 of Clubs leads" rule or allow a random player to lead the first hand.
• Penalty Points on First Trick: Decide whether penalty points (hearts and Queen of Spades) can be played on the very first trick.
• Queen of Spades & Hearts Break: Configure whether the Queen of Spades breaks hearts or if it's illegal to lead the Queen of Spades if hearts haven't been broken.
• Shooting the Moon: Choose the consequence for "Shooting the Moon" (taking all hearts and the Queen of Spades) – either all opponents' scores increase by 26 points, or your score is reduced by 26 points.
• Card Passing: Enable or disable the card passing phase at the start of each hand.

Dive into the strategic depth of Hearts and challenge yourself with this classic trick-taking card game!