Hearts score keeper
A trick-taking game you are trying to LOSE, for 3–6 players.
Free · nothing to install · 3 to 6 players
What it works out for you
Each hand you enter points taken; it does the arithmetic and keeps the running totals. It runs to 100 — lowest score wins. You enter what happened; the arithmetic, the running totals and the standings are the app's problem, not yours.
- The deck — A standard 52 cards. Every heart is worth one penalty point and the queen of spades is worth 13, so there are 26 points in every hand.
- The goal — Take as few points as possible. The lowest score wins, which is the opposite of most games and catches people out for the first hand or two.
- The pass — Before each hand you pass three cards — left, then right, then across, then a hand where nobody passes at all, and repeat.
- The play — Whoever holds the 2♣ leads it. You must follow suit if you can. Hearts cannot be led until one has been played on another suit.
- Shooting the moon — Take all 26 points and the hand flips: you score nothing and everyone else takes 26. Miss by a single point and you simply take 25, which is the worst hand in the game.
- Ending — Hands are dealt until somebody crosses the target — 100 by default. The player with the LOWEST score then wins. A tie at the bottom keeps the game going.
The bit that goes wrong on paper
Every hand of Hearts is worth exactly twenty-six points, so the arithmetic checks itself — right up until somebody shoots the moon, and the whole thing inverts. Twenty-six goes to everybody else, or comes off the shooter's score, and which of those your table plays is a decision somebody has to remember four hands later.
That is the moment scores get argued about, and it is the moment a scorekeeper earns its keep: it knows the convention you chose at the start, applies it, and still adds to twenty-six afterwards.
What you enter each hand
- Points taken — Enter the penalty points each player collected: one for every heart and thirteen for the queen of spades, so twenty-six in total. Take all twenty-six yourself and the hand flips — you score nothing and everyone else takes the lot.
In any order, from whichever phone is nearest. Nobody has to wait for anybody.
The ways your table plays it
Nobody plays a card game exactly as the book has it, so the settings are on the setup screen rather than assumed:
- Game ends at — 50 points, 100 points, 200 points
- Shooting the moon — Everyone else takes 26, You subtract 26
- Jack of diamonds scores −10 — A common house rule: taking the jack of diamonds takes ten points OFF your score.
One phone, or a phone each
Score Keeper — one person keeps score for everybody, the way a pad of paper works. Nobody else needs a phone, or an account, or to do anything at all.
Group Scoring — everyone joins from their own phone with a four-character code, and each person enters their own. Every screen stays in step, so nobody is asking what the score is.
You can mix the two at one table: some people on their own phones, the rest entered by whoever is keeping score.
What it remembers
Every hand of every game, so you can look back at what happened rather than taking somebody's word for it. For Hearts that includes clean hands, hands and moons, alongside the scores themselves — and a leaderboard across everybody you have played with.
Questions people ask
Is this Hearts score keeper free?
Yes. It is free to use, there are no adverts, and there is nothing to pay for later. You do not need an account either — you can start a game of Hearts and keep score straight away.
Do I need to install an app?
No. It runs in the browser you already have, on a phone, a tablet or a laptop. Add it to your home screen if you like and it behaves like an app, but there is nothing to download and nothing to update.
Does everyone need a phone to play Hearts?
No. One person can keep score for the whole table, the way a pad of paper works — everybody else just plays. If you would rather each keep your own, everyone joins with a four-character code and every screen stays in step. You can mix the two at one table.
How many people can play Hearts?
3 to 6 players. The app deals the right number of cards for the count and rotates the deal for you.
Does it know how Hearts is scored?
Yes — that is the whole point of it. Each hand you enter points taken; it does the arithmetic and keeps the running totals. It runs to 100 — lowest score wins. It also handles the ways tables differ: game ends at, shooting the moon, jack of diamonds scores −10.
Does it keep our scores after the game?
Yes. Every hand of every game is kept, so you can look back at what actually happened, and there is a leaderboard across everybody you have played with. Playing as a guest keeps the history on that device; making an account keeps it anywhere you sign in.
Does it work without a connection?
Not at the moment — it needs a connection to keep the scoreboard in step across devices and to save the game. Worth knowing if you are playing somewhere with no signal.
Not sure of the rules? How Hearts is scored, explained plainly · score keepers for every game