I've very rarely played Hearts with people -- only with the computer-generated players on a little Hearts website I sometimes visit. As a result, I'm not familiar with the conventions of the game as played by human beings.
So last night, I was trying to have a quick, nonverbal Hearts game with the computer to numb my brain before bed when some dratted PEOPLE joined my game...
...so I had to try to chat with them while playing, but... okay, fine.
So the scores get up into the 70s and 80s, except for this one player who is very good, and she's at 40-something. Toward the end of a hand, I finally see a chance to get rid of the Queen before I get stuck with her, and I do so. The Queen ends up going to the person whose score is highest, that puts her over 100, and the game is over.
Just as I'm typing in my "Good game, thank you, goodnight everybody," this woman starts attacking me. She's furious that I gave the Queen to her instead of to the player with the lowest score. I explain that all I know is that you're supposed to try to avoid being stuck with the Queen, and that's all I had done... that I had not deliberately tried to do her harm.
But she and one of the other players remained livid, telling me I should never give the Queen to the high-scoring player, no matter what.
So... are they right? Is that a rule in Hearts that I've just missed? I mean, I've often held onto the Queen when I've felt safe, to avoid giving her to a player who isn't doing well, or to try to give her to the player who just shot the moon... but when you're down to the last two or three cards and you're still sitting there with the Queen, are you really supposed to just let yourself be stuck with her rather than risk letting the high-scorer catch her?
Please enlighten me.
So last night, I was trying to have a quick, nonverbal Hearts game with the computer to numb my brain before bed when some dratted PEOPLE joined my game...
So the scores get up into the 70s and 80s, except for this one player who is very good, and she's at 40-something. Toward the end of a hand, I finally see a chance to get rid of the Queen before I get stuck with her, and I do so. The Queen ends up going to the person whose score is highest, that puts her over 100, and the game is over.
Just as I'm typing in my "Good game, thank you, goodnight everybody," this woman starts attacking me. She's furious that I gave the Queen to her instead of to the player with the lowest score. I explain that all I know is that you're supposed to try to avoid being stuck with the Queen, and that's all I had done... that I had not deliberately tried to do her harm.
But she and one of the other players remained livid, telling me I should never give the Queen to the high-scoring player, no matter what.
So... are they right? Is that a rule in Hearts that I've just missed? I mean, I've often held onto the Queen when I've felt safe, to avoid giving her to a player who isn't doing well, or to try to give her to the player who just shot the moon... but when you're down to the last two or three cards and you're still sitting there with the Queen, are you really supposed to just let yourself be stuck with her rather than risk letting the high-scorer catch her?
Please enlighten me.
