Hearts Trivia Quiz Questions and Answers

Trivia quiz with answers about the card game Hearts

Hearts Trivia Quiz Questions and Answers

What is “hearts”?
A: Hearts is an "evasion-type" trick-taking playing card game for four players, although variations can accommodate between three and six players.

The game is also known as Black Lady, Black Maria, Black Widow, and Slippery Bitch, though any of these may refer to what?
A: The similar but differently-scored game Black Lady.

The game is a member of what family of trick-taking games?
A: Whist (which also includes Bridge and Spades), but the game is unique among Whist variants in that it is an evasion-type game; players avoid winning certain penalty cards in tricks, usually by avoiding winning tricks altogether.

The game of Hearts as currently known originated with a family of related games called what?
A: Reversis, which became popular around 1750 in Spain.

In this game, a penalty point was awarded for each trick won, plus additional points for capturing what?
A: J♥ or Q♥.

A similar game called "Four Jacks" centered on what?
A: Avoiding any trick containing a Jack, which were worth one penalty point, and J♠ worth two.

Over time, additional penalty cards were added to Reversis, and around 1850, the game gave way to what?
A: A simple variant of Hearts, where each heart was worth 1 point.

The Q♠ (sometimes referred to as "Calamity Jane") was introduced in a variant called Black Maria which then became known as what?
A: The standard Hearts game, and soon thereafter, the idea of "shooting the moon" was introduced to the game to add depth to the gameplay.

In the 1920s, the J♦ variation (ten positive points) was introduced, and some time later the scoring was reversed so that what?
A: Penalty points were expressed as positive instead of negative.

What are more recent additions?
A: Passing cards, breaking hearts, leading 2♣, and "shooting the foot", whereby a player attempts to shoot the moon, but succeeds in taking the Queen and all but one heart.

The game has become popular in live play among grade school students in what country?
A: Canada, and has increased in popularity through Internet gaming sites.

In many parts of the world it became known through what?
A: The Microsoft version of the game packaged with most 1990s versions of its Windows operating system, beginning in version 3.11.

What is the overall objective of the game?
A: To be the player with the fewest points by the end of the game.

How many cards are dealt to each player?
A: Thirteen.

When there are only three players, 2♦is removed from the deck before play commences, and each player receives how many cards?
A: 17.

In another alternative, a randomly chosen card is set aside face down at the beginning of play (the "Kitty"); this card goes to whom?
A: Whoever takes the first Heart or, alternatively, the first trick.

When there are five players, 2♣ is removed as well as 2♦, and each player receives how many cards?
A: 10.

Alternatively, three Jokers (usually the two from one deck plus one from a similar deck) can be added, and each player receives how many cards?
A: 11.

In another alternative, two randomly chosen cards are set aside face down at the beginning of play; these cards go to whoever takes what?
A: The first heart.

When there are six players, two jokers are inserted and each player receives how many cards?
A: Nine.

When there are more than six players, two decks may be used, with cards removed or jokers added to ensure what?
A: An even deal.

The basic game of Hearts does not include what?
A: Card passing, but the most common variants do.

Before each hand begins, each player chooses three cards, and does what with them?
A: Passes them to another player.

What is the main objective of passing?
A: To try to become "short" or "void" in a suit, and thus able to play off-suit when that suit is led; or to rid one's hand of "dangerous" cards that will likely force that player to take a trick containing penalty points, such as the Ace, King, or Queen of any suit (especially spades and hearts).

There are many variations on passing; the most common does what?
A: Rotates passing through four deals; on the first deal, players pass to the left, the second deal to the right, the third across the table.

On the fourth deal no cards are passed; the cycle of four deals is then what?
A: Repeated.

When there are more than four players, only how many cards can be passed?
A: Two.

The dealer chooses the number of cards to be passed and what?
A: The direction of passing.

Players pass in what cycle?
A: One player to the left, two players to the left, three players to the left, etc.

This method accommodates how many players?
A: Any number.

Additionally, if the cycle ends with a "no pass" round, one player (the one to the first dealer's right) will always pass to whom?
A: To the dealer; this can assist in remembering where to pass cards.

The game is played like most other what?
A: Trick-taking games.

The first trick is led by whom?
A: The player to the left of the dealer.

Each other player, in clockwise order, then does what?
A: Plays a card from their hand.

Players must follow what?
A: They must follow suit; that is, play a card of the same suit as the lead card, if they are able.

If they are not able to do so, they can play what?
A: Any card (an action known as "sloughing" or "discarding"), including a penalty heart or Q♠.

The trick and any penalty points it contains are won by the player who played what?
A: The highest-value card of the suit that was led.

That player then becomes the lead player for the next trick, and play continues until what?
A: Until all players have exhausted their hands.