Whist is the classic English trick-taking card game that inspired Bridge and Hearts, now playable free online in your browser against the computer with no download and no sign-up. Four players in two partnerships compete to win the most tricks, with one suit chosen as trumps each hand.
Elegant and quick to learn yet rich in strategy, Whist rewards good card sense and partnership play. Easy, Medium and Hard settings make your computer partner and opponents play a sharper game, so taking the most tricks demands real skill.
Whist ruled the card tables of the English-speaking world for the better part of two centuries. It grew out of older games like Ruff and Honours, and was codified for polite society when Edmond Hoyle published his Short Treatise on the Game of Whist in 1742 — the book that made “according to Hoyle” a byword for playing by the rules. Whist clubs and community “whist drives” flourished through the Victorian era, and the game's partnership framework eventually evolved into modern contract Bridge.
Whist endures because it strips trick-taking to its essentials: no bidding, no dummy, just thirteen tricks of card sense. The skill lies in counting — tracking which trumps and honours have gone — and in silent cooperation with a partner you cannot talk to, where the order you play your cards is the only signal you are allowed to send.
Win more tricks than the opposing partnership. Across the hand, take the majority of the thirteen tricks, scoring for every trick your team wins above six.
On your turn, click a card from your hand to play it to the current trick. You must follow the suit that was led if you can; if not, you may play any card, including a trump. The highest trump — or the highest card of the led suit if no trump is played — wins each trick.
A trick is won by the highest trump in it, or the highest card of the suit led if no trumps appear. Each trick a partnership wins beyond the first six (the "book") scores one point, and games are typically played to a set target.
Lead from your long suit to exhaust opponents' cards and promote your low ones into winners, and keep track of which trumps have been played. Support your partner's leads, hold high cards for when they can win a trick, and use trumps to capture valuable cards once you are out of a suit.
How do you win at Whist?
Win more tricks than the opposing team; each trick beyond the first six scores a point for your partnership.
Do I have to follow suit?
Yes, you must play the led suit if you can; only when you cannot may you trump or discard.
Is Whist free?
Yes, play free with a computer partner and opponents in your browser, with no download or sign-up.
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