Black Maria and Black Lady: Hearts by Its Other Names
Black Maria is the British version of Hearts and Black Lady is an older American name for it; both are named after the Queen of Spades, the 13-point card. Black Maria is usually played by three, with the 2♣ taken out, 17 cards each, three cards always passed to the right, and it often makes the A♠ and K♠ cost points as well.
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The pass in Black Maria
Where American Hearts rotates the pass (left, right, across, then a hand with no pass), Black Maria passes the same way every hand. The books say three cards to the right; some players pass to the left. When the A♠ and K♠ also carry penalties, the pass is about more than the Queen. Take this three-handed deal:
♠ A K 4 ♥ Q 10 7 ♦ J 9 6 5 3 ♣ A 10 8 7 6 5
The A♠ and K♠ are 17 penalty points on their own, and with only the 4♠ beside them they are also the cards most likely to catch the Queen. Pass the A♠, K♠ and Q♥. In the Hearts played on this site the A♠ and K♠ score nothing themselves, but you would still pass them from a hand this short in spades, because of the Queen.
How Black Maria differs from the Hearts on this site
| Rule | Black Maria | Our tables |
|---|---|---|
| Players | Usually 3 (2♣ removed, 17 each); 4 deal the whole pack | 4 |
| Pass | Always the same direction, three cards | Left, right, across, hold |
| First lead | Player to the dealer's left, any card | The 2♣ |
| Leading hearts | Allowed at any time | Only once hearts are broken |
| Spade penalties | Q♠ 13, and in one common scoring K♠ 10 and A♠ 7 (43 a hand) | Q♠ 13 only (26 a hand) |
Black Maria can also be scored like American Hearts (1 a heart, 13 for the Queen) or like Spot Hearts, played to 500. The game on this site is standard Hearts, where only the Queen of spades scores among the spades.
Black Lady, Black Maria and Hearts
Hearts showed up in the United States in the 1880s, and at first the Queen of Spades carried no penalty. The version that made her a 13-point card, from around 1909, went by the name Black Lady, and that is the Hearts almost everyone plays now. The Windows game that came with Windows 3.1 through Windows 7 was this version. Black Maria, with its extra spade penalties, appeared in Britain in 1939. In Australia the same game as American Hearts is called Rickety Kate.
If you searched for black maria or black lady and want to play: the game here is Hearts with the 13-point Queen, and the full rules are on how to play Hearts.
Shooting the moon
On our tables, take every heart and the Queen in one hand and the other three players take 26 each instead of you (or you take 26 off, if the 26 would hand someone else the game). Our Shoot the Moon in Hearts page covers when to try it and when it ruins you.
Black Maria: common questions
Is Black Maria the same game as Hearts?
The same family. The British game called Black Maria is usually three-handed, passes the same way every hand, lets hearts be led at any time, and often adds penalties for the A♠ and K♠. This site plays standard Hearts.
Is Black Lady different from Hearts?
Black Lady was the name for Hearts with the Queen of Spades worth 13. That is the standard modern game, and the one here.
Why is the Queen of Spades worth 13 points?
Thirteen is the same as all thirteen hearts together, so one card carries half of every hand's 26 points. That is what makes the hand turn on where she goes.
Do the ace and king of spades score points?
Not in standard Hearts, and not here. In the Black Maria scoring that counts them, the K♠ is 10 and the A♠ is 7. If you grew up with that rule, the deck here is kinder to big spades.
Can I play Black Maria online free?
You can play Hearts free here, in the browser, against bots or in a private room, with no account. The rules are the American ones in the table above, not Black Maria's.
Keep reading
- How to Play Hearts: the full rules, starting with the pass.
- Hearts Scoring: points, the Queen and worked examples.
- Shoot the Moon in Hearts: how to do it and how to stop it.
- Hearts Strategy: passing, ducking and keeping your score low.
- Hearts Variants: Omnibus, Black Maria, Spot Hearts and more.
- Hearts for 2, 3, 5 and 6 Players: how the rules change when there are not four.