What is Black Maria?
Black Maria is what happens when Hearts stops being polite. The British variant triples the trouble in the spade suit and never gives you a hand off from passing.
The rules
Black Maria plays like classic Hearts with two changes. First, the penalties: alongside the hearts at 1 point each, the Ace of Spades costs 7, the King of Spades 10 and the Queen of Spades - the Black Maria herself - 13, for 43 points per hand. Second, the pass never rotates: every hand, all players pass exactly three cards to the right.
Why three bad spades change everything
In classic Hearts, the Ace and King of Spades are merely risky - cards that might win the trick the Queen falls on. In Black Maria they are radioactive in their own right. Nearly a quarter of the spade suit now bites, so spade leads are terrifying, spade-heavy hands need surgery at the pass, and 30 of the hand's 43 points can land on just three tricks. Defense that works in the classic game simply is not careful enough here.
Where it comes from
Black Maria is the standard form of Hearts in Britain, where the Queen of Spades has carried that nickname for over a century. Some British tables use slightly different spade values, but the 7-10-13 scheme is the common modern form and the one used here. It is our pick for the hardest variant on the site - approach it after the classic game feels easy, and keep the glossary handy.
Related questions
What is the Queen of Spades worth in Hearts?
The Queen of Spades costs 13 points, the same as every heart in the deck combined. She is half of the 26 points dealt out each hand, which is why avoiding her - or aiming her at an opponent - is the single biggest moment of most hands.
What is the hardest Hearts variant?
Black Maria, the British variant, is widely considered the hardest: the Ace, King and Queen of Spades are all penalty cards, so each hand carries 43 points, and you must pass three cards right every hand. Spot Hearts is the heaviest on arithmetic, and Omnibus adds a tricky bonus card to fight over.
How does passing work in Hearts?
Before play begins, each player picks three cards and passes them face down to another player. The direction rotates every hand: pass left, then right, then across, then a 'hold' hand with no passing at all - and the cycle repeats. You receive three cards from the mirror direction.