Talk:Hearts

Page Format

I think this page needs a lot of work. It seems to be a bit rudimentary. An example page that I think we should attempt to mimic is the Spades page.

The Strategy section needs the most work, and I think we need to add an Etiquette section, as someone else mentioned below. I think it would make sense to include some of the details that the spades page includes as well. Perhaps a quick summary at the top of the page, followed by some background on the game, how it's played, etc. -- Hikthur 06:24, 15 August 2007 (PDT)

You should feel free to work on the page as part of "we" :) It could use some illustrative screenshots or something as well. --Guppymomma 07:42, 15 August 2007 (PDT)

I plan on it, actually. Just putting for the idea to start. :) --Hikthur 03:12, 16 August 2007 (PDT)

Here is my initial suggestion, change the long winded summary to a very quick one, an example of which I have indented here:

Hearts is one of three card games available at the parlor games table. It is a trick taking game for four players. It is free to play two days a week.

Then create a new section, called "Gameplay" that adresses how the game is played.

Hearts is a trick-taking game for four players. It is played up to a designated score, which can be 50, 100 or 200 points. When one player reaches that score, the game ends, and the person with the lowest score wins.

The rules are quite simple. The game is divided in to rounds, called "hands," each of which is a complete set of 13 "tricks." A trick is a set of four cards, one played by each player. In each hand, the players are all dealt 13 cards. Players then pass three (or no) cards to another player, who is decided by the rules of the game. Typically the game is played with the rule "Pass Left, Right, Center, Hold," where players pass three cards to the person on their left during the first hand, then to the person on their right in the second hand, then to the person across from them in the third hand, and then finally they do not pass any cards in the fourth hand. In this rule system, players would then pass to their left again on the fifth hand.

Once the passing is complete, the person with the two of clubs "leads". This person plays the two of clubs, and then the person to their left plays a card, followed by the person to their left, etc. Players must follow suit, which means if clubs is lead, then players must play a club if they have one. If they don't, they can play any card they want. Once all players have played a card, the trick is complete, and the person with the highest ranking card in the original suit wins it. They now lead the next trick, choosing any card they wish -- except a heart. Hearts must be "broken" to be lead. To break the suit, someone must first discard a heart on to a trick, or the person whose turn it is to lead must have no other cards they can play.

The objective is to get as few points as possible. Points are gained by winning tricks that have either hearts or the queen of spades in them. Each heart is worth one point and the queen of spades is worth 13 points, for a maximum of 26 points per trick. There is an exception though, if a single player takes every single heart and the queen of spades they have "Shot the Moon," and they receive zero points, while every other player receives 26.

I haven't linked to other pages yet, and the grammar is a bit spotty, so this isn't exactly ready to be pushed out to the main page, as I would like comments and possible edits on what I've got here so far. Cheers --Hikthur 03:36, 16 August 2007 (PDT)

During my attempt to translate this article for the german wiki I noticed (like people before me) that the explanation of the rules needs really some work. I think the version by Hiktur, while not perfect is much better and could be a good starting point. The introduction as it is now doesn't even mention things like 'following suit' or 'taking tricks'. But then again the offical documentation is very strong in this area, so perhaps the introduction could be considerably shortened, and the link to the offical documentation made more visible by including it in the introduction. --Alfwyn 15:06, 21 February 2008 (PST)

Etiquette

In the article on poker there is an etiquette section. I think it would be useful to have one here. Clearly one cannot discuss one own hand, and any tells about the game are unacceptable, but there may still be points of contention. Specifically the acceptability of discussing (in the game chat so all players can see) the possibility of an opponent shooting the moon (even only on receipt of low cards in the pass). Being a bridge player I am used to such things not being discussed but it seem fairly common in Puzzle Pirates and I wonder if this is recognised and deemed acceptable. Since I am unsure what is acceptable I feel unable to write this section, but would very much appreciate one being written.

Page reformat & etiquette

I've tried to address all of the above points when reworking this page, but since I'm not a Hearts player (at heart!) the coverage might be a bit patchy still. I've followed the layout in the Poker article for the most part. Cheers Hikthur for your paragraphs on gameplay, they were immensely useful! It's about time they saw their way into the article I think :) --Therobotdude 12:25, 24 September 2013 (PDT)