Games to Play Online When You’re Bored

Hearts, Spades, and Euchre are some of the best games to play online when you’re bored. They are easy to learn and fast-paced, which helps pass time quickly. Additionally, all rely on similar mechanics, so learning one makes learning the others easy.

Players looking to start playing instantly can play Hearts online free at Hearts.co. Below, we’ll dive into each of these games and what makes them fantastic for a slow day. But first, what mechanics tie these games together?

Taking Tricks

Taking tricks is a common card game mechanic. Players throw cards into the center, starting with one person. Each following player must then play a card of that same suit, and the highest-ranking card of the matching suit wins. This is known as ‘taking a trick.’

Depending on the game, a trick may be worth points. Additionally, before many trick-taking games begin, a bid is made as to how many tricks a player believes they can win. In some games, there is no bid. In others, failing to meet your bid can have consequences. Some games also have trump suits which are superior to all other suits.

Spades

Many people believe Spades is the easiest of the trick-taking games. It is straightforward and has very simple rules. It is played with two teams of two people.

Thirteen cards are dealt to each person. Next, each person must bid how many tricks they think they can win. The bids of each player are added to their teammate’s. The team then attempts to take that many tricks.

Players must follow the suit of the person that started the round, but if they do not have a matching suit, they may play a card of any suit. Spades is the trump suit that beats all other cards, except higher Spades. The highest original suit card or highest Spade wins the trick.

If the bid is met, tricks are worth ten points each plus one for each trick over. Some house rule variants have points being lost for failing to meet bids. Games are played to 200 or 500 points.

Hearts

In Hearts, the goal is to be the player with the fewest points. All Heart cards are worth one point, and the Queen of Spades is worth thirteen. Tricks are played the same way they are played in Spades, where one player begins and each other player must follow suit. A player may only play a different suit if they have no cards in the led suit. Once a player plays a Heart card, players may lead with a Heart card.

Hearts are not a trump card, and the highest card of the original suit wins the trick. However, because Hearts are worth points, players never want to win a trick containing Heart-suited cards if they can help it. The game continues over multiple rounds until someone reaches one hundred points, or another agreed-upon number.

Euchre

Only cards nine through Ace are used in Euchre, making a deck of twenty-four cards. It is played by two teams of two, and five cards are dealt to each player.

The final four cards are placed face-down, and the first one is turned up. The suit of that card is the trump suit for the round unless no player makes a bid. The minimum bid is three. Bids of teammates are combined and players are scored as a team.

If no player bids, the first card is discarded and the next flips over. If all four cards flip over with no bids, the cards are shuffled and re-dealt.

Play then continues as it would in any other trick-taking game. If the team that bid takes at least three tricks, they get one point and two points if they take all five tricks. The opposing team gets two points if they can stop the other team from winning three tricks. Play goes to ten points. The faster play style makes Euchre one of the perfect games for when you're bored at work!

Passing the Time

The old way of keeping from getting bored was to travel with a deck of cards. Now, with card games like Euchre, Hearts, and Spades online, all you need is the internet for endless hours of entertainment. Try your hand at Hearts online now at Hearts.co!