Quantifying the Space of Hearts Variants

Hearts is a card game with a rich history and many interesting variants. Why has it remained popular while undergoing significant changes? We use computational simulations of Hearts to understand the experience of players through the application of four heuristics which quantify the drama and security felt by the winning player, the ability of players to win in chaotic imperfect-information situations, and the player's ultimate interest in their decisions. We find that there is a direct relationship between the historical evolution of Hearts through ludemic change and subsequent heuristic improvements to game play.