How to play › BOARD & CARDS
BROKEN HEARTS
Broken Hearts is the classic four-seat trick-taking game, played in the Lantern Room above the old ferry office against three regulars: careful Rosa Quill, card-counting Professor Vane and Jax Tamber, who always gambles on the moon.
PLAY NOW ▶The goal
Take as few points as possible. Every heart you win in a trick costs 1 point and the queen of spades costs 13. When anyone's total reaches 100 the game ends, and the lowest total wins.
How a hand plays
Each hand starts with a pass: you choose three cards to give away, to the left, then the right, then across, then a hand with no pass, and round again. Whoever holds the two of clubs leads the first trick. You must follow the suit that was led if you can; the highest card of that suit wins the trick and leads the next one.
No hearts and no queen of spades may be played on the first trick, and hearts cannot be led until one has been played (hearts are then "broken"). If you manage to take all 26 points in one hand, you shoot the moon: everyone else takes 26 instead. The game saves between tricks, so you can stop at any time.
Controls
| Keyboard | Pad | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Left / Right | Stick / d-pad | Pick a card |
| Z / Space | A | Play the card, or mark it to pass |
| Up | Stick / d-pad | Pass the three marked cards |
| X | B | Clear marks, or look at the last trick |
| C | C | Score sheet |
| Q / E | L / R | Jump between suits |
On a phone or tablet, tap a card to pick it and tap it again to play it. The on-screen joystick and buttons work as well.
Gamepad: the stick or d-pad moves and the buttons follow the Pad column (Start is START). Esc, P or Back pauses, and the HOW TO PLAY button over the game shows the basics any time.
Modes
- NEW GAME and CONTINUE GAME: a full game to 100 against the three regulars.
- TODAY'S DEAL: the daily, below.
- HOW TO PLAY: three short pages on the deal, the tricks and the points.
The opponents play to the arcade's difficulty setting. EASY plays loosely. HARD keeps track of who has run out of which suit, tries to smoke out the queen, and blocks attempts to shoot the moon, including yours.
Mastery stars
Each star pays tickets the first time you earn it.
- Bronze: Table Winner: win a game at the Lantern Room table.
- Silver: Shot the Moon: take every heart and the queen of spades in one hand.
- Gold: The House Champion: win a game against HARD opponents.
Daily challenge
Yes. TODAY'S DEAL is four hands with the same cards for everyone. Your result is the number of points you took, so lower is better.
Beginner tips
- Pass away the dangerous cards: high spades (the ace and king can be forced to catch the queen) and high hearts are the usual candidates.
- Try to empty a suit when you pass. Once you have none of a suit, you can throw hearts or the queen whenever that suit is led.
- Watch the score sheet (C). Aim your hearts at whoever is leading, and keep an eye on anyone collecting every heart: they may be shooting the moon.
- If one player has taken most of the hearts, keeping a single heart back to win one trick yourself is enough to stop a moon.
- Only try to shoot the moon with a strong hand full of high cards in several suits. A failed attempt usually means a lot of points.