A free hearts card game against three opponents

Broken Hearts is the traditional hearts card game, and it comes free in Games by Zaweba for Windows. You play against three computer players, try to avoid taking hearts and the queen of spades, and the lowest score wins once someone reaches 100. It runs offline, with no adverts and no account.

Hearts is a trick-taking game, but it turns the usual aim upside down. Rather than winning tricks, you want to avoid winning the wrong ones. That makes it a game of careful discards and quiet timing, and it's ideal for playing alone because the three computer players fill the other seats.

How a hand of Broken Hearts works

Each hand starts with a pass: you choose three cards to hand to another player. Then thirteen tricks are played. You must follow suit if you can. The two of clubs leads the first trick, and hearts can't be led until one has been thrown on another trick.

Scoring is simple. Each heart you take costs you 1 point and the queen of spades costs 13. There's one big exception. If you manage to take every heart and the queen as well, you shoot the moon, which turns the whole thing round in your favour. When a player reaches 100, the game ends and the lowest score wins.

Playing it on your PC

Open Games by Zaweba and find Broken Hearts on the Cards shelf, or press Ctrl+F and type a few letters of the name. The game opens on a title card with its rules and controls. Everything is done with the mouse: click cards to choose them for passing, then click a card to play it.

Esc pauses the game and F1 explains the rules again if you need them. If you leave the window, say to answer a message, the game pauses itself. The library keeps your plays, wins and best score on the game's tile, so you can see how you're getting on over time.

Getting better at hearts

The pass is your first and best chance to shape the hand. High hearts and the queen of spades are dangerous to hold, and so are the ace and king of spades, because they can be forced to win a trick containing the queen. Passing away a whole suit can also help, since being out of a suit means you can throw unwanted cards when it's led.

Count the cards as they fall. Keeping track of which hearts are out, and whether the queen has gone, tells you when it's safe to lead high and when you need to duck under.

Watch for a player collecting all the points. If one opponent has taken several hearts and nobody else has any, they might be going for the moon. Taking a single heart yourself can spoil it, and that one point is far cheaper than letting them shoot.

Don't be greedy with the moon yourself. It's a thrilling play when it comes off, but a failed attempt leaves you holding a lot of points.

Other card games in the same app

If you enjoy hearts, the Cards shelf has 13 games in all. Wild Eights also puts you up against three computer players: match the suit or the number, call a new suit with a wild eight, and be first to empty your hand. Knock Rummy is a two-player game of sets and runs against the computer. For something on your own, there are patience games such as Classic Patience, Open Cells and Spinner Patience.

Games by Zaweba is one app with 82 original games, so Broken Hearts sits alongside board games, puzzles, sport and a retro arcade shelf. Star it on its tile and it'll be on your Favourites shelf the next time you want a hand.