Take My Heart(s)! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Player 3

In Hearts, you want the lowest score possible. Usually, a threshold will be established, such as the number 100. When someone goes above 100, the game immediately ends, and the player with the lowest score wins.

Answer: Immediately

Because I have the 2 of clubs, I am required to immediately play it, as the first card to be played of that trick. In any game of Hearts, when a new round begins, the first trick absolutely must begin with the 2 of clubs. It doesn't matter who has it, this will always be the very first card played, no matter what, to start the first trick of a round.

Answer: Ace of clubs

As someone has played the 2 of clubs, it can only possibly mean that it is the first trick of the round, as that is when the 2 of clubs must be played. In the very first trick, you are not allowed to use any cards which would result in someone receiving any points. This means all hearts cards plus the queen of spades are completely ineligible for use on the very first trick.

Answer: Jack of spades

It is impermissible to play any card during the first trick which would result in someone gaining any points. For the first trick and the first trick only, all hearts cards and the queen of spades may not be used. The jack of spades cannot earn or lose any points though, so if I truly do not have any clubs cards for the first trick and must break suit, the jack of spades would be a playable card.

It is very rare for a player to have zero clubs cards on the very first trick, but it is possible.

Answer: Ten of hearts

Both the king and ace of spades would be terrible ideas, as these two cards are of higher value than the queen, and would immediately result in me "winning" the queen of spades. As the queen gives thirteen points, and you want a low score, you really do not want to win this card.

The ten of hearts is not a spades card. By playing it, I have broken suit and cannot "win" the trick. In this situation, because the other two players played spades cards with lower value than the queen, it's the person playing the queen of spades who has just set themselves back.

However, if the king or ace of spades are in my hand and I do not have a spades card that can undercut the queen, I would be forced to play the king or ace and accept the tremendous annoyance of thirteen points. You can only break suit if you are out of cards that match the suit.

Answer: Nobody

Every fourth round, the Passing Phase is skipped entirely, and players retain the hand that they have been dealt. This will persist until the end of the game.

Generally, the first round will see players pass 2-3 cards clockwise. The second round would be the player positioned directly in front of you. Then, the third round would feature counter-clockwise passing. That said, this is not required as per any official ruleset, so the orientation of passing may change from setting to setting. What will remain consistent though, is the lack of passing every fourth round.

Answer: Jack

Other than the jack, diamonds cards do not hold any special value. Under the Omnibus rules, winning the jack will reduce a player's score by ten. If using this ruleset, the player should attempt to engineer a situation in which they win this card. This could be as simple as waiting for the other three players to use lower valued diamond cards, so that you can play the jack to beat them all.

Another strategy could be holding onto the jack as long as possible, waiting until nobody has any diamonds cards, intentionally winning a trick, and then immediately playing the jack on the next trick.

Answer: 5 of spades

Because the lead was of the spades suit, I must follow suit if I can. Player 3 used a diamonds card because they were unable to follow suit. But in terms of what I should do, Player 3 isn't relevant to me at the moment because they were unable to follow suit, rendering them unable to win the trick. My attention would be on Player 1, and if I do not want to be impacted by hearts being broken, I must undercut Player 1. Since they played a 10 of spades, I would want to play anywhere between 2-9 to undercut them.

The "face" cards, which are the jack, king and queen, as well as the ace, have higher value than 10.

Answer: 4 of spades

If I play a spades card with a higher value than 5, I risk having hearts get broken by the other players, which would cause me to gain a point. Things could get seriously risky if I play the ace or king though, as Players 2 or 3 could easily play the queen of spades to saddle me with an unsightly thirteen points. By undercutting the 5 of spades with a 4, I cannot possibly gain any points that trick.

Answer: Me

In this scenario, it is the final trick, so each player only has one card remaining. I play a diamonds card, but nobody else has a diamonds card, immediately dooming me to "winning" the trick. In this situation it would be especially nasty, as I ended up taking both a hearts card and the queen of spades, inflating my score by fourteen. Player 3's card isn't of special note, as it did not follow the suit of my card, nor is it a hearts card or the queen of spades.