Black Maria & Black Lady — Hearts by Its Other Names
One queen of spades, three names, and thirteen points of trouble.
Play Hearts freeThree names for one dread
The game most of the world calls Hearts is also called Black Lady in much of America and Black Maria in Britain — both names pointing at the same card, the queen of spades, worth a punishing thirteen points. When a game's villain is that memorable, she ends up on the title page. If you searched for black maria or black lady and landed here: yes, this is the game, and yes, she is in the deck waiting.
The game in one minute
Four players, no partners, and the goal is to score as few points as possible. Every heart taken in a trick costs one point, and the queen of spades costs thirteen on her own. Follow the led suit if you can; there is no trump. Hands begin with a pass of three cards — left, right, across, then no pass, in rotation — which is where half the plotting happens.
The holder of the 2♣ leads it to the first trick, and no penalty card — no heart, no Q♠ — may be played to that trick (unless a hand holds nothing else). Hearts may not be led until one has been discarded on an earlier trick — the queen of spades does not break hearts. The game ends the moment anyone reaches 100 points at the end of a hand, and the lowest score wins. The full rules live on our how to play Hearts page.
Where "Black Maria" gets stricter
The British game that properly carries the name Black Maria is usually a three-player affair, and many tables raise the stakes beyond the queen: the ace of spades and king of spades also carry penalty points in some published versions. We note that as an honest report of other tables — the game played on this site is standard Hearts, where the spade penalties live in one card only.
Shooting the moon still applies
Whatever the name, the great reversal is intact: take every heart and the queen in one hand and you score nothing while everyone else eats the full total. Our shooting-the-moon page covers when to try it and when it ruins you.
Where these names come from
"Black Lady" is documented in American card literature going back over a century; "Black Maria" is the British twist, borrowing an old slang name. Wherever the label came from, players adopted it because the queen dominates the game's memory — nobody ever named this game after a two of clubs.
Black Maria — common questions
Is Black Maria the same game as Hearts?
The same family, and usually the same game. In Britain "Black Maria" sometimes means a stricter three-player version with extra spade penalties; in casual use it is simply Hearts under another name. This site plays standard Hearts.
Is Black Lady different from Hearts?
"Black Lady" is the American name for Hearts played with the queen of spades worth thirteen — which is the standard modern game, and the one here.
Why is the queen of spades worth 13 points?
Tradition more than arithmetic: she needed to hurt enough to shape every hand. Thirteen — a full hand's worth of hearts in one card — does exactly that.
Do the ace and king of spades score points?
Not in standard Hearts, and not here. Some British Black Maria tables count them; if you grew up with that rule, expect a friendlier deck on this site.
Can I play Black Maria online free?
You can play Hearts free right here — browser only, bots or private rooms, no account.
Keep reading
- How to Play Hearts — the complete rules.
- Hearts Scoring — points, the Queen and worked examples.
- Shooting the Moon — how to do it and how to stop it.
- Hearts Strategy — passing, ducking and survival.
- Hearts Variants — Omnibus, Black Maria, Spot Hearts and more.
- Hearts for 3 Players — three-handed rules, 5 and 6 too.