Hearts scoring rules

In standard Hearts, the goal is the lowest total score. You get penalty points by winning tricks that contain hearts or the Queen of Spades.

Points table

Card or setPointsNotes
Each Heart113 hearts exist, so 13 points are available there.
Queen of Spades13The biggest single penalty card.
All penalty cards26This is the full moon-shot total.

How points are assigned

You do not score points just for playing a penalty card. The points go to the player who wins the trick that contains those cards.

When the game ends

Most online implementations end the game when someone reaches or exceeds 100. At that point, the player with the lowest total wins.

If one player takes all 26 penalty points in a hand, that is shooting the moon and the scoring flips.

Related Hearts FAQ pages

Need a quick definition first? See the Hearts glossary.

Back to the table: Play Hearts Online.