Hearts is one of those great card games that almost no-one plays because it requires four players and has a fairly difficult set of rules. Hardwood Hearts on XBox Live Arcade solves that problem by offering AI opponents for offline play, and human challengers for online play.

Players new to the game of Hearts will find a very comprehensive and easy to understand tutorial in the trial version. Learning the basics won't take very long, but understanding the greater strategy of the game will probably take a little while to sink in. The game certainly isn't a graphical masterpiece, but the piratey theme and sounds are a pleasant backdrop as you ponder your next move. The one complaint I have is that the spades and the clubs look far too much alike, which can lead to some unfortunate mistakes when choosing a card to play.

Options let you decide whether or not you want to be able to Shoot the Moon (or the Sun) and let the Jack bleed. If you enjoy card games, but just can't seem to get the necessary bodies in the room to get a game going, this is a great alternative.