Hearts Variants

Omnibus, Spot Hearts, Black Maria — the family of penalties, and what this table plays.

Every Hearts table agrees the hearts hurt; after that, the house rules multiply. These are the variants players ask about, and exactly which rules apply here.

The variant family

Variant	The twist
Omnibus Hearts	The Jack of Diamonds is worth −10 — a card you WANT to win. Changes ducking maths completely.
Spot Hearts	Each heart costs its face value (2♥ = 2 … A♥ = 14), 95 points a hand instead of 26.
Black Maria	British cousin: A♠ and K♠ also carry penalties (7 and 10) beside the Queen's 13.
3-player Hearts	Remove the 2♦ and deal 17 each; the pass cycles left, right, hold.
"Queen breaks hearts"	A common house rule where dropping Q♠ opens heart leads.
Moon choice	Some tables let the shooter choose +26 to others or −26 to self every time.

What this table plays

Classic 4-player Hearts, 52 cards, no partners, no Jack of Diamonds bonus.
Passing runs left, right, across, then a hold hand, repeating.
The 2♣ leads the first trick; no points may be played on it.
Hearts must be broken before they can be led — and Q♠ does not break them.
Moon: the other three players take +26 — unless that would end the game in the shooter's favour anyway, in which case the shooter takes −26.
First player to reach 100 ends the match; lowest score wins.

Small glossary

Breaking hearts: The first heart discarded on another suit — from then on hearts may be led.
The Lady / Black Maria: The Queen of spades, 13 points to whoever wins her.
Shooting the moon: Taking all 26 points in one hand, turning them against the field.
Ducking: Deliberately losing a trick by playing under the winning card.
Hold hand: The fourth hand in the cycle, played with no pass.

Keep reading

How to Play Hearts — the complete rules.
Hearts Strategy — passing, the Queen and the moon.
Hearts Scoring — points, the Queen and the moon.
Shooting the Moon — how to do it and how to stop it.
Hearts for 3 Players — three-handed rules, 5 and 6 too.

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