Hearts
Hearts is a stitch -based American card game that is mainly known in German-speaking countries as Microsoft Network Hearts or the Microsoft Network with Hearts , because some versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system come with the Microsoft Windows operating system as a multiplayer card game. Also freeware and shareware programs, some with rule variations or higher skill level available. In a broader sense, it is one of the many different whist variants .
For the rules of the classic variant, see Black Cat .
Rules of the game
Goal of the game
The aim of the game is to have as few points as possible in the account when one of the other players has reached or exceeded 100 points .
Playing cards and number of players
Hearts is played with four players and 52 playing cards (clubs, spades, hearts, diamonds; 2–10, jack / pawn, queen, king, ace; no jokers).
The course of the game
The cards are shuffled and distributed evenly to all players. Everyone now has 13 cards in hand that only they can see.
At the beginning of the first game, each participant chooses three of his cards, which he hands over to his fellow player on the left. The latter takes the cards in hand. After the all-round exchange everyone has exactly 13 cards again. In the next game the cards go from each player to the right, in the next game two players sitting opposite each other change three cards, before the game afterwards there is no exchange at all. Then it starts all over again.
The player who has the two of clubs in hand opens the game by playing it: he places the card face up in the middle of the round.
His left neighbor discards the next card. However, this card must normally have the same suit (clubs, spades, hearts or diamonds) as the one already lying on the table. If, for example, there is a club, the player whose turn it is but has no club in hand may discard any card. It should also be noted that neither a heart card nor the queen of spades can be thrown in the first trick , unless the player has only hearts or only hearts and the queen of spades in hand. In this case it is said that the player "bleeds on the first trick".
When all four players have placed a card, the pile is returned to the player who placed the card with the highest value. Whoever did not serve (i.e. had to discard a card of a different color) cannot move the stack. The order of the valencies is: 2–10, jack, queen, king, ace.
The player who has drawn in the previous pile of four opens the new trick with any card. The trick can only be started with a heart card if, in the same game, hearts have already been discarded for lack of the matching color or if the player only has hearts in hand. If a first card has been played in the trick, all other players take turns in clockwise order. From the second trick onwards, all cards can be discarded - including hearts and the queen of spades.
The game is over when all cards have been discarded.
evaluation
After a game, the points of each player are counted: A heart on his stack means one point, the queen of spades gives 13 points.
If a player has 26 points on his stack after a game - that is , he has collected all hearts and the queen of spades - then he has shot down the moon or made a march through or landed a direct hit; and the three players receive 26 points each, but he himself does not.
The scores are added up for each player from game to game. The game is played until at least one player has reached at least 100 points. This can be the case after four and no later than 16 games.
When a series of games is over, the one with the fewest points wins . The player with the most points takes last place. If several teammates have achieved the same number of points, they jointly occupy the better place. The highest number of points with which you can be a winner is 103, a single victory is possible with a maximum of 102 points. The highest score that can be achieved is 125.
variants
Black Maria
In Black Maria , also known as Green Minna , in addition to the hearts (-1 minus point each) and queen of spades (- 13), the king of spades with 10 and the ace of clubs with 7 minus points apply.
"New Moon"
After a walk through the player - instead of giving all players 26 points ("Old Moon") - deduct 26 points from himself. In this variation, the walk-through is upgraded in that it can never immediately cause the player to lose the game round. According to the classic rules, this is the case if the march brings one or two opponents to 100 or more points, but the leader or leaders had more than 26 points less than the marching player before the march.
Another effect of the "New Moon" variant is that the playing time is theoretically unlimited.
In addition, the game can be played with small changes with 3, 5 or 6 players. Due to the changed hand distribution, different game strategies are required and thus make the game more interesting.
3-player variant
The game is played with one hand without jokers and without 2s ( clubs , spades, hearts, diamonds; 3–10, jack, queen, king, ace). Each player receives 16 cards.
At the beginning of the first game, each participant chooses three of his cards, which he hands over to his fellow player on the left. The latter takes the cards in hand. After the all-round exchange everyone has exactly 16 cards again. In the next game, the cards go to the right of each player. Before the game afterwards there is no exchange at all. Then it starts all over again.
The player with the three of clubs opens the game. Otherwise the game is played as normal.
Since there are only 12 hearts, the Queen of Spades is only worth 12 points. If a player has 24 points on his stack after a game, all other players get 24 points each or decide that he himself gets −24 points and all other players 0 points each. Occasionally only a two (or three) is taken out, giving each player 17 cards.
5-player variant
The game is played with a hand without jokers and without 2 of spades and 2 of diamonds . Each player receives 10 cards.
At the beginning of the first game, each participant chooses three of his cards, which he hands over to his fellow player on the left. The latter takes the cards in hand. After the all-round exchange everyone has exactly 10 cards again. In the next game the cards go two spaces to the left, then three, four and finally five spaces (so nothing is exchanged). Then it starts all over again.
The player with the two of clubs opens the game. Otherwise the game is played as normal.
The Queen of Spades is worth 13 points as there are 13 hearts in play.
6-player variant
The game is played with one hand without jokers and without 2s ( clubs , spades, hearts, diamonds; 3–10, jack, queen, king, ace). Each player receives 8 cards.
At the beginning of the first game, each participant chooses three of his cards, which he hands over to his fellow player on the left. The latter takes the cards in hand. After the all-round exchange everyone has exactly 8 cards again. In the next game the cards go two places to the left, then three, four, five and finally six places (so nothing is exchanged). Then it starts all over again.
The player with the three of clubs opens the game. Otherwise the game is played as normal.
Since there are only 12 hearts, the Queen of Spades is only worth 12 points. If a player has 24 points on his stack after a game, all other players receive 24 points each or he decides to receive −24 points himself (if the number of points remains the same for the other players).
Jack of Diamonds
In some variants the jack of diamonds is worth −10 points, i.e. H. 10 points will be deducted from the account. This gives the diamond cards (especially jack, queen, king, ace) an important strategic role. In addition, with this variant it is more difficult to march through (shoot the moon), since in addition to the hearts and the queen of spades, the jack of diamonds also has to be grabbed. Often, however, the game is played in such a way that you do not need to catch the jack of diamonds for a march through.
Shoot down the sun
If a player gets not only all the points, but even all the tricks, he shoots the sun. The player who shoots the sun does not get any points; all players receive 52 points each. In the variants with 3 or 6 players, 48 points are distributed each. In a game based on the "New Moon" variant, the player can subtract the points from himself as in a normal march through and leave the opponent's score unchanged.
Other variants
- Instead of ending the game at 100 points, another number of points (usually divisible by 50) can be agreed.
- A player who exactly reaches 100 points (or the agreed final number of points) may deduct 50 or 100 credit points from his score .
- Point cards may also be discarded in the first trick.
Hearts in literature
In Stephen King's novella “Hearts in Atlantis” from the Atlantis collection of novels , the card game plays a central role, whereby King assumes that the rules of the game are known. In the love story, which takes place in the 1960s and also includes a confrontation with the protests against the Vietnam War, the first-person narrator tries to overcome his gambling addiction.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Parlett (2008), p. 139
literature
- Parlett, David (2008). The Penguin Book of Card Games , Penguin, London. ISBN 978-0-141-03787-5
Web links
- Cardgame collection A card game collection including Hearts for Unix ( Linux ) (English)