trick-taking · Britain (UK) — a British variant of Hearts
Black Maria
Also known as Black Maria Hearts · British Hearts · Slippery Anne · Black Lady (American cousin) · Chase the Lady
Black Maria is the British cousin of Hearts, named after its most feared card: the Queen of Spades — the "Black Maria" worth a punishing 13 penalty points. Where the American game punishes only the Queen, Black Maria piles on two more big spades: the King of Spades ("Black Baz") at 10 and the Ace of Spades at 7, on top of 1 point per heart. That makes the whole spade suit a minefield and gives every hand 43 penalty points to dodge. The classic game is for three players with the 2 of Clubs removed and 17 cards each, and the signature twist is that you pass three cards to your right-hand neighbour. As in all Hearts games, you want the LOWEST score, not the highest. On Love Card Games the Play button loads our Hearts engine — a four-player table that uses the American Black Lady ruleset (Queen of Spades 13, hearts 1 each, pass rotating left/right/across). So you get authentic trick-avoidance Hearts gameplay; just note the engine scores only the Queen, not the full British King-and-Ace spade penalties described below. Free in your browser against smart bots or friends, no download and no signup.
3–4 players · free · no download · no signup
How to play Black Maria
- Get your hand (17 cards in the three-handed game with the 2 of Clubs removed, or 13 each at four players).
- Choose 3 cards and pass them face down to the player on your right before looking at the cards you receive.
- The player to the dealer's left leads first and may lead any card; follow the led suit if you can.
- Hunt to avoid the big spades — Queen (13), King (10) and Ace (7) — and dump them on opponents when you're void.
- Take as few hearts (1 each) as possible, and use low cards to duck under tricks you don't want to win.
- Tally penalties after each deal; the player with the LOWEST score after the agreed number of deals wins.
Black Maria rules
Goal
Avoid taking tricks that contain penalty cards. In Black Maria there are four penalty cards plus the hearts: the Queen of Spades (Black Maria) is 13, the King of Spades (Black Baz) is 10, the Ace of Spades is 7, and every heart is 1 point — 43 penalty points are dealt out each hand. Play runs for an agreed number of deals (or until someone reaches a target such as 50 or 100), and the player with the LOWEST total wins.
Players & deal
Black Maria is at its best with three players. For the three-handed game the 2 of Clubs is removed from the 52-card pack and 17 cards are dealt to each player. The game also works for four players, in which case all 52 cards are dealt out, 13 each, with nothing removed. Aces are high and there is no trump suit. Our table here seats four and deals the full pack.
Passing cards (to the RIGHT)
After looking at your hand, you choose 3 cards to pass face down to your right-hand neighbour, and you receive 3 from your left — the distinctive British direction (American Hearts passes left or rotates). The traditional rule is always pass to the right; some circles pass left instead, so agree before you start. Note: our Hearts engine rotates the pass direction (left, right, across, then a no-pass hand) the way the American game does, rather than fixing it to the right.
Playing the hand
The player to the dealer's left (eldest hand) leads to the first trick and may lead anything — there is no opening-card restriction in the classic British game. You must follow the led suit if you can; if you are void, you may play any card. The highest card of the led suit wins the trick and that player leads the next. There is no trump, so spades, hearts, clubs and diamonds are all equal except for the penalties they carry.
The spade penalties
What sets Black Maria apart from American Hearts is that three top spades hurt, not one. The Queen of Spades (Black Maria / Slippery Anne) is the big one at 13 points, the King of Spades (Black Baz) is 10, and the Ace of Spades is 7. Because the King and Ace are the only spades that can beat the Queen, leading high spades to flush her out is dangerous — you may end up capturing all three. Each heart is worth 1, so the spade trio is far more valuable to dodge than the entire heart suit.
Breaking hearts
In the traditional British game there is often no formal 'hearts must be broken' restriction — the leader may lead anything from the first trick on. Many modern players borrow the Hearts convention that you cannot lead a heart until one has been discarded on another suit. Our engine applies the standard broken-hearts rule (you can't lead hearts until they're broken) and bars point cards on the very first trick, so expect that behaviour on this table.
Taking all the points (hitting the moon)
Black Maria has an optional slam: if you manage to capture every penalty card in a hand — all the hearts plus the Black Maria, Black Baz and Ace of Spades, the full 43 points — you 'hit the moon' and that 43 is deducted from your score (or added to everyone else's) instead of counting against you. It is rare and risky, since taking 42 of the 43 leaves you with a near-maximum score. Our engine uses the American shoot-the-moon rule based on 26 points (13 hearts + Q♠).
Winning
Add up penalties after each deal. Play continues for a fixed number of deals or until a player hits the agreed limit, and the player with the LOWEST cumulative score is the winner. Steady, low-risk play that keeps you off the spades usually beats greedy point-grabbing over a long session.
Strategy tips
- The three top spades are the whole game — pass away the A♠, K♠ and Q♠ unless you hold a wall of low spades to protect yourself.
- Never lead the Ace or King of spades to 'draw out' the Queen: you risk scooping up all three penalty spades in one trick.
- Go void in a suit early so you can throw the Black Maria (or a high spade) onto a trick someone else wins.
- Keep low spades in reserve — leading low spades pressures opponents to play the Queen, King or Ace before they can drop them on you.
- Hold low cards in every suit so you can lose tricks on purpose and never get stuck winning a penalty-laden one.
- With three players and 17-card hands the spades are spread thin — track who has shown out of spades, as a void opponent is the perfect target for the Black Maria.
Variants
Hearts / Black Lady (American version, only Q♠ scores 13) · Three-handed Black Maria (2♣ removed, 17 cards each, pass right) · Four-handed Black Maria (full pack dealt, 13 cards each) · Pass-left variant (some circles pass three cards left instead of right) · Omnibus Hearts (10♦ bonus card) · No-pass Black Maria (skip the passing phase)
Black Maria — frequently asked questions
What is the Black Maria card?
The Black Maria is the Queen of Spades (Q♠), the highest-penalty card in the game at 13 points. The game is named after her. In the British game she is joined by two more spade penalties: the King of Spades (Black Baz, 10 points) and the Ace of Spades (7 points).
How is Black Maria different from American Hearts?
Both are trick-avoidance games where you want the lowest score, but Black Maria is the British version with three big spade penalties — Queen 13, King 10, Ace 7 — instead of just the Queen. It is also classically a three-player game (17 cards each, 2♣ removed) and you pass three cards to the right rather than rotating left/right/across.
Does Black Maria play on the Hearts engine here?
Yes. On Love Card Games the Play button launches our Hearts engine, which runs the American Black Lady ruleset: a four-player table where the Queen of Spades scores 13 and each heart scores 1, with rotating card passing and a broken-hearts rule. You get authentic Hearts trick-avoidance play, but the engine does not apply the British King-of-Spades (10) and Ace-of-Spades (7) penalties or the fixed three-handed pass-right deal described in these rules.
Why is the Queen of Spades called Black Maria?
'Black Maria' was old British slang for a police van, and the dreaded black Queen who hauls away your points took the same nickname. She is also called Slippery Anne. The American name for the same card is the Black Lady.
How do you win at Black Maria?
By having the LOWEST score after the agreed number of deals (or when a player reaches a set limit). You score 1 per heart, 7 for the Ace of Spades, 10 for the King and 13 for the Queen, so the aim is to take as few penalty cards as possible — or, very rarely, take all 43 to 'hit the moon'.
Can I play Black Maria free online with no signup?
Yes — it is free to play right in your browser at Love Card Games, against smart bots or with friends, with no download and no signup. It loads on our Hearts engine, so you'll be playing the four-player Hearts/Black Lady version of the game.