When I was in college, my friends and I discovered the card game Hearts.  Frequently, we would still be playing well into the wee hours of the morning before finally declaring a  winner in our marathon tournaments (er…study sessions, Dad…study sessions).  In a nutshell, the object of Hearts is to score as few points as possible, while trying to force points on your opponents.  The first person to score 100 points loses the game.  A point is scored if you win any of the 13 hearts in the deck, and thirteen points for the Queen of Spades.  It is a relatively easy game to learn, but with a great deal of strategy, it can be a complicated game to win.

Installation and Registration: The game downloads packaged in a zip file.  Unzip the contents and click on the setup file.  This will install the game on your PocketPC via ActiveSync.  Once the game is installed, you can play 15 complete games before you must register it. 

The Basic Rules: As I mentioned, Hearts is an easy game to play, but it is filled with subtle and complex strategy which can only be learned by playing…a lot.  The game is played by four players, each of whom are dealt 13 cards.  Gameplay consists or rounds, called "tricks."  The winner of the last trick begins the next trick by playing any card from his hand (you can only begin or "lead" with a trick a heart if hearts have already been played).  The other three players must then play a card of the same suit (or any card if you have nothing in that suit).  The strategy comes into play by trying to force the other players to win tricks in which hearts have been played, causing them to earn points.  One point is earned for each heart, thirteen for the Queen of Spades.  Keep careful watch of who has earned points, however.  If one player wins all thirteen hearts and the Queen of Spades, they have Shot the Moon.  When you Shoots the Moon, you will earn zero points for the hand, but all of the other players will earn 26 points each.  The first player to reach 100 loses the game.  To win, try to have the lowest score when anyone else reaches 100.

Graphics and Animation: The graphics and animation in this game significantly enhance gameplay.  The cards are well drawn, and smoothly move from your hand to the playing area.  One thing I noticed here, however, is that gameplay can proceed slowly as each player takes a turn.  It would be nice if the options menu would allow you to control the speed of the computer during gameplay.  Another nice touch is the scoreboard, which displays both the score for that round, and each player’s total score in the game.

Characters: Each of your three opponents are represented on the screen by a character.  There are eight different characters, each with a unique personality.  These characters react to various plays, both visually and verbally (a setting in the general options menu allows you to control the level of trash talk in each game).  By default, certain characters are associated with each of the five skill levels, however, you can manually assign characters to any game.  Additionally, each character is partial to certain tricks or strategies.  Once you have learned the basic rules of the game, enhance your experience by learning how to defeat each of the various characters in the game.

Tutorial: One of the things that should make this an extremely attractive game of Hearts for beginners is the Tutorial and other helpful tips.  The tutorial is a fully interactive, animated lesson which walks you through each stage of a hand of Hearts.  It shows you which cards to play (and why), how scoring works, and other important aspects of the game.  To accomplish this, it alternates between a game of Hearts, highlighting the moves you should make, and a lesson which explains the moves you just performed.  If that is not enough, there is also a hint button which shows you the best card to play at any time during the game. 

Play Online: In addition to playing against the computer, Championship Hearts also allows you to play against other players online.  Try to find other players of your skill level and have fun!

Menus and Option: The options in this game allow you to control virtually every aspect of the look and feel of the game.  You can determine which variations of the rules will be followed, control how much trash talking the computer characters will use, and even decide what information will be shown on the screen (for example, if you don’t like the characters faces, turn them off).  Additionally, the menus allow you to seek helpful tips and hints at any time during a game,

Difficulty Settings:  One of the things I like about this game is the difficulty settings.  There are five levels of difficulty, ranging from beginner to master.  As you proceed through the higher levels, your opponents will get craftier, utilize more advanced tricks, and generally force more points on you if you are not careful.  This makes the game attractive to both beginners who want to learn the game, and experienced players who can relate to late night (or all night) tournaments.

Conclusion: Well, I think I will end where I began.  I love Hearts.  It is one of my favorite card games.  To this day, I still smile when I think of some of the late night/early morning fun we had with just a deck of cards in a lonely dorm hallway at 2:00 in the morning (again Dad, studying).  I am happy to say that Championship Hearts is as much fun as I remember this game.  It made me feel like I was back in college sitting in the dimly lit and badly carpeted hallway (Floor Two South in Stanton Hall), taunting my friends with the Queen of Spades, and Shooting the Moon.  This is one of the best Hearts games I have seen for beginners.  The tutorial on it is fantastic and will help any player quickly learn the rules of the game.  Advanced users will also enjoy the slick tricks and cunning play the computer characters utilize, as well as the online play.  Anyone who enjoys playing card games on their computer (and if you read my solitaire review you know how much I like card games) will enjoy playing Championship Hearts.

Vital Statistics:

Title: Championship Hearts

Version: 6.57

Developer: DreamQuest Software

Platform: Pocket PC,

Available From: DreamQuest

                          JAMM store

Price: $19.98

Technorati Tags: Heart – Cards – Games