Black Maria (card game)
Black Maria[lower-alpha 1] is a popular British card game of the Hearts group for three to six players. It is an elaboration of Black Lady, itself a development of the original American game of Hearts, the progenitor of the group. Black Maria is regarded as one of the best games for three players.[1]
| A trick-avoidance game | |
 The top penalty cards in Black Maria | |
| Origin | Britain |
|---|---|
| Alternative names | Black Lady |
| Type | Trick-avoidance |
| Players | 3–6 (3 is best) |
| Skills required | Card counting, Tactics |
| Cards | 51 cards for 3 players |
| Deck | French |
| Play | Clockwise |
| Card rank (highest first) | A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 |
| Playing time | 10 minutes per hand |
| Random chance | Low – moderate |
| Related games | |
| Black Lady, Hearts | |
The name of the game is derived from the nickname given to the Queen of Spades which plays a key role. The name Black Maria is sometimes used, confusingly, for the related American game of Black Lady; likewise this game is occasionally referred to as Black Lady.[lower-alpha 2] While many of the games of the Hearts family may be considered as variants of 'basic' Hearts, Black Maria is "sufficiently different and popular" to justify being described as a separate game.[2]
History and naming
According to Parlett, Black Maria was first described, and possibly devised, by Hubert Phillips,[3] who, in referring to three-player games in The Complete Book of Card Games (1939), describes it as "the best of them all".[4] Although Black Maria is its most common name, it is occasionally called Black Lady which, however, usually refers to the simpler American version of Hearts that features the Queen of Spades (the Black Lady) as the only high-scoring penalty card, as opposed to the three top penalty cards that characterise Black Maria. One source states that an alternative name is Slippery Anne,[1] although this is also an alternative name for Black Lady, while several sources erroneously give the name Black Maria to the game of Black Lady.[lower-alpha 3]
Cards
The games uses a standard French pack, normally of the English pattern, with 13 cards in each of the four suits: Hearts, Spades, Diamonds and Clubs. The cards rank in their natural order, Aces high: A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2. There is no trump suit.[1]
Players
The game is best suited to three players, but may also be played by four, five or six. In the case of the three player game, the is removed from the pack. If five play, the and are removed and, if six play, all four 2s are removed.[1]
Aim
The aim of Black Maria is to avoid capturing the penalty cards in tricks. The penalty cards are all the hearts, , and (Black Maria).[1]
Rules
The following rules are based on Arnold (1995).[5]
Dealing
The dealer may be chosen by cards; lowest deals. Deal and play are clockwise. After shuffling the cards and having them cut, the dealer deals 17 cards to each player, one by one and face down, beginning with eldest hand (left of dealer).
Playing
Players examine their hands and pass three cards, face down, to their right-hand neighbours. They must not view the cards they receive until they have selected and passed on their three discards. Eldest hand leads to the first trick. Tricks are won by the highest card of the led suit and the trick winner leads to the next.
Scoring
The penalty cards score as follows:
- Each heart taken – 1 point
- – 7 points
- – 10 points
- (Black Maria) – 13 points
At the end of the deal, players tot up their penalty points which should collectively add up to 43 points.
Winning
The winner is the player with the lowest score after an agreed number of deals (usually divisible by three so that everyone has the same number of turns as dealer).
Slam
Arnold mentions a type of slam known as 'hitting the moon' as an optional rule whereby a player with a poor hand is able to capture all the penalty cards. If he succeeds, his score is reduced by 43 points. Most descriptions of the game do not mention a slam or 'take-all',[6] although it is common in other games of the Hearts family.
Footnotes
- Like the eponymous police van, Maria rhymes with 'pariah' and not 'career'.
- Sources giving the name Black Lady as an alternative for Black Maria include The Card Game Set (2003) and its successor The Card Game Bible (2014). Sources giving the name Black Maria to Black Lady include Bathe (1998) and Katz (2012).
- See, for example, Parlett (1991), Bathe (1998) and Katz (2012).
References
- Arnold 1995, p. 33.
- Arnold 1995, p. 141.
- Parlett 2008, p. 139.
- Phillips & Westall 1939, pp. 106–136.
- Arnold 1995, pp. 33–36.
- Encyclopedia Americana 1994, p. 14.
Literature
- Encyclopedia Americana. 14. Grolier. ISBN 978-07172-0125-9.
- _ (2009). The Little Giant Encyclopedia. Diagram Group, Sterling, New York/London. ISBN 978-1-4027-6417-2
- _ (2014). The Card Games Bible. Octopus, London. ISBN 978-0-600-62994-8
- Arnold, Peter (1995) [1988]. The Book of Card Games. New York: Barnes and Noble. ISBN 1-56619-950-6.
- Bathe, N.A.C. (1998) Card Games. Robert Frederick. ISBN 978-0907-78471-5
- Glenn, Jim and Carey Denton (2003). The Treasury of Family Games. Readers Digest Association. ISBN 978-0762-10431-4
- Katz, Nikki (2012). The Book of Card Games. Simon & Schuster, Avon MA. ISBN 978-1-4405-6014-9
- Parlett, David (1991). A History of Card Games, OUP, Oxford. ISBN 0-19-282905-X
- Parlett, David (2008). The Penguin Book of Card Games. London: Penguin. ISBN 978-0-141-03787-5.
- Phillips, Hubert; Westall, B.C (1939). The Complete Book of Card Games. London: Witherby.
- Rigal, Bruce (2011). Card Games for Dummies. 2nd edn. Wiley, Hoboken. First published 2005. ISBN 0-19-282905-X
