Hearts

Dodge the points, dump the Black Lady, and learn to shoot the moon

Hearts — the classic four-player trick-taking game where the goal is NOT to win, but to avoid taking points. Every heart you collect costs you a point, and the dreaded Queen of Spades costs thirteen. This epoch builds you from a complete beginner into a sharp Hearts player: the deal and the pre-hand pass, how trick-taking works without a trump suit, the point cards and how the game ends, the bold all-or-nothing play of shooting the moon, the two-of-clubs opening and first-trick rules, voiding suits so you can slough off points, hunting down the Queen of Spades ('the Black Lady'), counting cards and controlling the endgame, and the major variants like Black Maria, Omnibus Hearts, and Cancellation Hearts. A game of evasion, timing, and quiet cunning — descended from old games like Reversis and carried to millions of desktops by Microsoft Windows.