Manual:
Menus: The menus in Hearts should be pretty self-explanatory. Before exiting the program, users are asked if they want to save their player. A player's game statistics and options are stored in this file. Players that have a file are automatically saved thereafter before quitting. The player menus are filled with the names of the plugin CPU's found in the folder "Data/CPU Players" (the default is Stan, short for Standard). The same idea goes for the Card Design folder as well. Drop your favorite pictures/images in that folder to have them show up in the Card Design menu. This is a great place to put pictures of family, friends, etc.
Hearts games can be customized for individual users using the Options dialog.
---- aesthetic game customizations ----
- Disable Sound- this turns off the sounds in the game
- Clear Trick W/Mouse - at the end of each trick, the cards stay on the table until the mouse is
clicked (useful if you need more time to examine the cards played)
- Disable Checkering- Hearts attempts to keep your cards arranged by suits
black/red/black/red for easier distinction, and if this option is checked then cards are arranged
spades/hearts/clubs/diamonds
- Auto Rearrange Hand - this centers the hand after each card is played
- Jumbo Cards - if you have trouble seeing the smaller cards, use this
- Random Card Designs - ummm... I forget what this one does
- Random CPU Players - selects different players for each game
- Show Cards After Hand - displays the cards each player took
- Hilite- Striped/Inverted/Outline - the hilighting style of a playing card that is clicked on
---- rule customizations ----
- Rotate Lead - the lead rotates between the players instead going to the 2 of clubs
- Jack is 0 Points - the jack of diamonds counts as 0 points, not -10
- Don't Pass 3 - at the beginning of a hand, no cards are passed
- Taking 0 Tricks is -5 - if you haven't taken any tricks at the end of a hand, you get -5 points
- Queen Doesn't Break Hearts - playing the queen of spades does not break hearts
- Allow Bleeding on the First Trick - players can play hearts or the queen of spades on the first
trick
- Game To - sets the score that ends the game
- Exact Score Wins - if you manage to hit 100 exactly, you are declared the winner
- Shooting the Sun - if you manage to take every trick in a hand, you are awarded a bonus -24 points to your score. This makes the effective score total -60 for you after your moonshoot and jack of diamonds.
Clicking the default button will set the dialog to the 'standard' rules.
Choosing Finish Hand from the game menu will play out the rest of the hand as a computer player would. This can be canceled by choosing Finish Hand from the game menu again. Control-clicking a card will also play out the rest of the hand.
The statistics window shows the stats for the current player. QJ Same Trick/Hand is the queen of spades and jack of diamonds taken on the same trick/hand. Sortof an interesting statistic. Cover/Didn't Cover is used with the jack of diamonds. If you are 3rd to play in a trick and you play a diamond higher than the jack and the player to your left has the jack in his hand, you 'covered'. If you are 3rd to play in a trick and you have a diamond higher than the jack in your hand but you don't play it and the player to your left plays the jack, you 'didn't cover'. Clicking on the 'Average' button calculates each stat divided by number of games played.
Shooting the Moon- When you shoot the moon, you will be given the choice between subtracting 26 points from your score, or adding 26 points to everybody elses score. If your score is between the highest and the lowest, it is usually in your best interest to choose negative points.