10 Games Like Hearts to Play Free Online (2026)

Hearts is a trick-taking card game from the late 19th century. The goal is the opposite of most trick-taking games — you want to take as few hearts (and the Queen of Spades) as possible. Microsoft bundled it with Windows starting in 1992, which made it a fixture on office PCs for years. Here are 12 free browser card games, starting with Hearts’ closest trick-taking cousins and moving on to other card classics.

Short answer: the closest games like Hearts are Spades and Euchre. Both keep the follow-suit trick play; the twist is that you now try to win tricks instead of dodging them. If you liked the passing and hand-reading side of Hearts, Gin Rummy and Cribbage are the next stop. The solitaire and casino games further down are for when you want cards without opponents.

Play it now: Hearts free in your browser, against three computer players. No download needed.

Key takeaways

Spades and Euchre are the nearest relatives: same follow-suit tricks, but with trump suits and partners.
Gin Rummy and Cribbage are two-player games against the computer that reward the same card memory Hearts does.
Klondike, FreeCell, Spider and Pyramid Solitaire cover solo play when you want no opponents at all.

Trick-taking games closest to Hearts

1. Spades

The closest relative on this list. Same 52-card deck, same follow-suit trick-taking, but spades are always trump and you bid how many tricks you will take, playing in partnerships. Play Spades.

In our version you and your partner (the seat across the table) play against West and East. Spades can’t be led until they are broken, which will feel familiar from hearts breaking. A made bid scores 10 per trick, and extra tricks count as bags: collect 10 bags and your team loses 100 points. You can play to 500 or a shorter 250, and switch blind nil on or off. Our how to play Spades guide covers bidding in more detail.

2. Euchre

Fast partnership trick-taker played with a short deck. Pick trump, then win at least three of five tricks. Hands are quick, so it suits short sessions. Play Euchre.

You partner with North against West and East, and the first team to 10 points wins. The left bower (the jack of the same colour as trump) counts as trump, which is the rule that catches most Hearts players out. A player can also go alone, and there is a “stick the dealer” toggle that forces the dealer to name trump when everyone else passes.

Two-player card games against the computer

3. Gin Rummy

No tricks here: you draw and discard to build melds, sets of the same rank or runs in one suit. Card memory carries over from Hearts: what your opponent picks up tells you what to hold. Play Gin Rummy.

Our version plays you against the computer, first to 100 points. Your hand is sorted for you into melds (green) and deadwood (amber). You can knock when your deadwood is 10 or less, or go gin with zero for a 25-point bonus. Knock too early and the computer can undercut you, which also scores a bonus. New to it? Start with our Gin Rummy rules guide.

4. Cribbage

Two-player six-card cribbage to 121. You give two cards to the crib, then play cards in turn without passing a count of 31, scoring fifteens, pairs, runs, 31 and the go. Play Cribbage.

Choosing your crib discards feels a lot like choosing your three-card pass in Hearts: you give away cards knowing they might help someone else. The game counts the hands and the crib for you after each deal, so you can learn the scoring as you go.

5. Crazy Eights

Shed-hand card game. Same follow-the-suit-or-rank habit, but the goal is to empty your hand rather than dodge points. Play Crazy Eights.

You and the computer start with eight cards each. Match the top card by suit or rank. Eights are wild and let you pick the next suit, a 2 makes the next player draw two (unless they stack another 2), and an ace skips a turn.

Solitaire games for solo play

6. Klondike Solitaire

The Windows-default Solitaire. Drag-and-drop, undo, hint, auto-foundation. Play Klondike Solitaire.

Choose Draw 1 for a gentler game or Draw 3 for the classic challenge. Double-click a card to send it to its foundation.

7. FreeCell

Solitaire variant with 4 free cells. Almost every game is solvable. Play FreeCell.

All cards are dealt face up, so it is pure planning with no hidden information.

8. Spider Solitaire

Build descending sequences in one suit; complete K-A in suit to clear it. Play Spider Solitaire.

Pick 1 suit (easy), 2 suits or 4 suits (hard). Every column needs at least one card before you can deal a new row from the stock.

9. Pyramid Solitaire

Pair cards summing to 13 to remove them. Play Pyramid Solitaire.

Aces count 1, jacks 11 and queens 12, and a king (13) removes itself. Only exposed cards can be paired, and a counter shows how many more times you can cycle through the stock.

Casino and luck games

10. Video Poker

Jacks or Better. Hold cards; draw replacements; win by hand. Play Video Poker.

You start with 100 play credits and bet 1 to 5 per hand. A royal flush pays a bonus on the maximum bet. No real money is involved.

11. Blackjack

Beat the dealer to 21. Hit, stand, double down, split pairs. Play Blackjack.

The dealer stands on 17 and a blackjack pays 3:2. You play with 1,000 play chips, topped back up if you run out.

12. War

Card-comparison game. Higher rank wins both. Pure luck, no strategy, which makes it a good wind-down after a tense Hearts hand. Play War.

Games like Hearts compared

Game	Type	Who you play	What carries over from Hearts
Spades	Trick-taking	You and a CPU partner vs two CPUs	Following suit, a suit that must be broken, counting cards
Euchre	Trick-taking	You and a CPU partner vs two CPUs	Following suit, reading who is void in a suit
Gin Rummy	Draw and discard	One CPU opponent	Remembering which cards are gone
Cribbage	Pegging and counting	One CPU opponent	Giving away cards (the crib) without helping the other side
Crazy Eights	Shedding	One CPU opponent	Matching suit, managing a hand
Solitaire games	Patience	Solo	Planning several moves ahead
Video Poker, Blackjack, War	Casino and luck	The house or a CPU	Not much: these are for a lighter break

What’s the goal in Hearts?

Take as FEW points as possible. Every heart = 1 point. Queen of Spades = 13 points (nicknamed the “Black Maria” or “Black Lady”). The game usually ends when someone reaches 100 points. The player with the LOWEST score wins.

There’s also “shooting the moon” — taking ALL the hearts and the Queen of Spades. If you do, everyone else gets 26 points and you get 0. High-risk strategy.

How to pick your next card game

You love the trick play itself: go to Spades. Bidding gives every hand a target, and the bags rule punishes overtricks the way Hearts punishes stray points.
You want shorter hands: Euchre deals five cards each, so a hand is over in a few minutes.
You enjoy the pass and the guessing: try Cribbage or Gin Rummy. Both are about what you keep, what you give away and what your opponent is collecting.
You want something calm: FreeCell or Klondike, with no opponent and an undo button.

Whichever you pick, the Hearts habits that matter most still apply: track the high cards that have been played, notice when a player stops following a suit, and plan your discards. Our Hearts strategy guide goes deeper on passing and on dodging the queen.

Can you play Hearts on this site?

Yes. Our Hearts game deals you in against three computer players, with the standard pass rotation (left, right, across, no pass), hearts breaking, and shooting the moon. Microsoft dropped Hearts from Windows after Windows 7, so a browser version is now the simplest way to play on a PC. When you want a different kind of break, the Chrome Dino game is one click away.

The holder of the 2 of clubs leads the first trick, and no points can be dropped on that trick unless you have nothing else. Legal cards glow, so you can’t play out of turn or revoke by accident. A “Last trick” button shows the previous four cards. Your games, wins and best winning score are kept in your browser.

Frequently asked questions

What card game is most like Hearts?

Spades. It uses the same 52-card deck and the same follow-suit trick play, and spades have to be broken before they can be led, much like hearts. The big differences are that spades are trump, you bid for tricks, and you play with a partner.

Can I play Hearts against the computer for free?

Yes. Our Hearts game seats you against three computer players in your browser, with nothing to download and no account. It uses the standard four-hand pass rotation and ends when someone reaches 100 points.

What is the difference between Hearts and Spades?

In Hearts you play alone and try to avoid points, and there is no trump suit. In Spades you play in partnerships, spades are always trump, and you try to win exactly the number of tricks your team bid.

Are there two-player games like Hearts?

Standard Hearts is a four-player game. For a one-on-one card game against the computer, try Gin Rummy, Cribbage or Crazy Eights on this site.

For more options, see our roundup of the best free card games online, or take a break with the T-Rex Runner on our homepage.

12 Games Like Hearts — Free Card Games to Play Online