Post by npmarley on Jun 21, 2018 2:18:41 GMT
The original Hearts is a trick-taking game usually played with four players competing against each other to see who has the lowest score after a player reaches 100 points (or 50 for a short game).
Whoever has the 2 of clubs leads the first play and play progresses clockwise until all players have played a card. All other players must play a card in the same suit as what the lead player played if possible. If they do not have a card in the matching suit, they may play any card in their hand and that card will be considered a losing card regardless of its rank. Whoever played the highest ranked card of the lead suit collects the trick and leads the next round with play again proceeding clockwise. Hearts may not be the lead suit until at least one person has played a Heart or the Queen of Spades in a round.
Here's where it gets tricky. Because the object of the game is to collect as few Hearts (and the Queen of Spades) as possible. Each Heart is worth 1 point, the Queen of Spades is worth a whopping 13, and the goal of the game is to have the lowest score.
Of course, there's the extremely difficult maneuver called Shooting the Moon where a player gets all 13 hearts and the Queen of Spades, which means all of their opponents get 26 points instead of them.
So, how does Hearts (and Clouds) differ? Well, for one thing there's a whole second suit to avoid. For this game you will be using the eight suits of sixteen plus Hunters and Travelers for a total of 136 cards (you may, if you wish, leave out the Hunters and Travelers for a deck of 128). You will deal 34 cards to each player in a 4-player game. If you have 3 or 5 players, remove the 0 of Knives (or the 0 of Diamonds if you prefer) and deal out 45 or 27 cards to each player respectively. Whoever has the 0 of Planets (or the 0 of Clubs if you're a traditionalist) will lead the first round.
Like in the original, Hearts and Clouds may not be used to lead a round until at least one player has played them previously (known as 'breaking' the suit). For a twist, you cannot play Clouds as the lead suit if only Hearts has been broken and vice-versa. Also, if you lead with a Traveler of Hunter, you must declare which of their two suits is the lead suit.
Variant: You can also remove the Hunters and Travelers for a 128-card deck. In a 4-player game each player will have 32 cards. You will need to remove the 0 of Knives and Diamonds for a 3-player game (each player will have 42 cards) and also the 0 of Clubs or Planets (whichever doesn't lead the first round) in a 5-player game (each player will have 25 cards).
Cards are ranked as follows (copied from my More War post):
0 < A < 2 < 3 < 4 < 5 < 6 < 7 < 8 < 9 < 10 < 11 < B < T < J < H < Q < K < A
Travelers slip in between Beasts and Jacks while the Hunters go between Jacks and Queens. However, if you prefer, you can move them down so Travelers are between elevens and Beasts and Hunters between Beasts and Jacks. Up to you.
But wait, I hear you say. Why is the Ace listed twice? Good question. With the introduction of zeroes, the Ace can occupy two spaces in the ranks of cards, the '1' between zeroes and twos, or greater than the King. So when is it which rank? Well, when it's just number cards, the Ace has a value of '1'. But when any face card is played, then the Ace outranks them all.
Travelers slip in between Beasts and Jacks while the Hunters go between Jacks and Queens. However, if you prefer, you can move them down so Travelers are between elevens and Beasts and Hunters between Beasts and Jacks. Up to you.
But wait, I hear you say. Why is the Ace listed twice? Good question. With the introduction of zeroes, the Ace can occupy two spaces in the ranks of cards, the '1' between zeroes and twos, or greater than the King. So when is it which rank? Well, when it's just number cards, the Ace has a value of '1'. But when any face card is played, then the Ace outranks them all.
(/copied) The Ace being possibly two different ranks makes things a little more interesting.
What also makes things interesting are the Hunters and Travelers. They can be follow for either one of their two suits and when doing so are considered to be part of that suit for the remainder of the round.
More interesting is how things are scored. At the end of each round of play (all tricks have been taken):
Hearts are still worth 1 point apiece, as are Clouds, for a total of 32 points.
The Queen of Spades and the Queen of Acorns are worth 16 points each, for a total of 32 points.
The Heart/Could Traveler and Hunter are worth 2 points apiece, for a total of 4 points.
The number of points to inflict on players each round is a whopping 68 (64 if not playing with Travelers and Hunters), so play goes until someone has 250 or more (120 for a shorter game).
Special scoring rules are as follows:
Shoot the Moon: Get all 16 Hearts and the Queen of Spades - you do not score these cards and all other players gain 32 points.
Shoot from the Moon: Get all 16 Clouds and the Queen of Acorns - you do not score these cards and all other players gain 32 points.
Moonwalk: Get both the Heart/Cloud Traveler and Hunter - you do not score these cards and all other players gain 4 points.
To the Moon and Back: Get all 16 Hearts, all 16 Clouds, the Heart/Cloud Traveler and Hunter (if playing with Travelers and Hunters), the Queen of Spades, and the Queen of Acorns - you do not score these cards and all other players gain 68 points (64 if not playing with Travelers and Hunters).