Open Hearts — Support

How to get help, and answers to what people ask.

Getting help

Questions

How do I play?

Go to play.openhearts.game, or (coming soon) search for “Open Hearts” in the App Store or Google Play.

What are the rules for Hearts?

  1. Four players, thirteen cards each.
  2. Pass three cards: left, right, across, then no pass.
  3. The two of clubs leads. Follow suit if you can.
  4. No points on the first trick, unless you have nothing else.
  5. Hearts can't be led until one has been played.
  6. Each heart is one point; the queen of spades is thirteen.
  7. Take all twenty-six to shoot the moon: everyone else gets them.
  8. Play to fifty or a hundred. Lowest score wins.

For more detail on rules and game history, see Wikipedia.

How do I subscribe?

Tap the Subscribe button under Play live. On the web, payment is on Stripe's page. In the phone apps, it is through the App Store or Google Play, which bill and renew it. Subscribing makes your account: your name, rating and games go with it onto any device you add (up to 5).

How do I cancel?

Open the menu, choose Subscription, then Manage subscription. Other ways, and refunds, are in the terms.

The game's menu with the pointer on Subscription, then the subscription page with the pointer on Manage subscription

How do I add another device?

On a device in your account, open the menu, choose Subscription and tap Add a device, then scan the code with the other device, or tap Send the link instead. A code works once, for ten minutes.

The game's menu with the pointer on Subscription, then the subscription page with the pointer on Add a device

What if I lose my phone, or clear my browser?

If another of your devices is in your account, add the new one from there and drop the lost one. If not, use a backup code: on the new device, open the menu, choose Activate subscription and enter it, and the device joins the same account, with your rating and games. Signed in with Apple or Google? Sign in the same way on the new device instead. Any device in the account can Show backup codes, and a web subscription's were emailed when you subscribed: keep them somewhere safe. Bought in the App Store or Google Play? On the new phone, tap Subscribe, then Restore purchases.

Why does it say Open Hearts is open on another device?

Your account plays live on one device at a time, and the one opened most recently is the one in use. The other steps back: it leaves any table it was at and stops playing live, and you can still play alone on it. Tap Use it here to take the account back. If your account is in a game on the other device, you are asked first, because that game will be lost: a bot finishes your seat, and a rated game counts as one you left.

Can I play with a screen reader, or bigger text?

Yes. Every card, seat, trick and score has a name a screen reader can read. In a browser, press Enable accessibility, the first button a screen reader finds, and use the browser's zoom for bigger text. In the phone apps, turn on VoiceOver (iPhone) or TalkBack (Android); the app follows the phone's text size.

Can I pick the language?

The game follows your device's language. On the web, choose another under Language on the game's About page, or with the language menu at the foot of this site. On a phone, use the phone's own setting for each app: on an iPhone, Settings, then Open Hearts, then Language; on Android 13 and later, Settings, then System, then Languages, then App languages.

How do I know the deal is fair?

Random. At a live table every device shuffles the deck in turn and proves it shuffled honestly, so one honest device is enough for a fair deal. Each hand opens for its own player alone: no other player sees it, and no server does. Alone, every deal comes from your device's secure random generator.

Witnessed. Each hand draws jurors: strangers picked at random from other players online, with no stake in the table. They play any seat a bot holds, and keep pieces of each player's keys, so a hand can finish when someone leaves while nobody alone can open another's cards.

Audited. After each hand every device publishes its secret, so the whole game can be replayed and every shuffle, card and play checked. After a live game, See the whole game does that check for you; after a game alone, Copy record keeps it.

How it all works is in the write-up.

What happens to my data?

Alone, nothing leaves your device. Live play shows your name, picture, account number and results publicly. Nothing is sold or used for ads. More in the privacy policy.