Hearts, along with a series of other anti-trick-catching card games, is believed to have been born from a much older game first known as Reversin – and later called Reversis. Hearts rules were simple back then, but evolved greatly in the last hundred years or so. As we know the game now, it originated around 1850. The game of Hearts has deep roots and a rich ancestral lineage that dates back (at least) to 17 th century Europe. There is no trump to play to, and the idea is not to catch tricks, but to avoid them – especially any in the suit of Hearts and the dreaded Queen of Spades aka ‘ Calamity Jane‘, or as the Brits call her, the ‘ Slippery Bitch‘. It is a trick-catching game, but not like most in its genre. Hearts is one of the top five most popular card games in Canada, and among the most widely played throughout the world.
