How to Play the card game Black Queen
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Black Queen is a trick taking game which originated in Pakistan and is commonly played throughout that country as well as areas of India which border Pakistan. The rules found here are for the
most commonly played version, which is for six players. These rules for the
game were
originally published on a page for an online version of the game which was developed by an eight person programming team from the University of Southern California as part of a class project designed by that team primarily to demonstrate their
application, however this same rule set appears to be that adopted by most
players of the game. Black Queen has a number of similarities to a somewhat
similar game, Japanese Napoleon, to which it may have been originally derived from.
The game is designed for play by six players using a 48 card deck. This deck is formed by removing the four twos from a standard 52 card deck. The ranking of the cards in this deck are as follows (from highest to lowest): Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3. Although there are no set partnerships
in the game, during each hand, a player may find themselves the hidden partner of
any other player in the game.
Determination of the first dealer and seating positions can be performed
using a variety of methods, with a draw of high cards a method commonly used. In
this method each player randomly draws one card from the shuffled deck, with any
players drawing cards of the same rank setting those cards aside and drawing
another. These players then each take a seat at the table in order of preference
from highest card drawn to lowest. Whichever player has drawn the highest card
of all is set as the first dealer. Thereafter, the role of dealer rotates around
the table in a clockwise direction from player to player.
The deal consists of each player receiving eight total cards. After all the cards have been dealt, a round of bidding begins, starting with the player at the dealer's immediate left and continuing in a clockwise direction around the table. The bid is an estimation by that player, of the number of card points this player expects (with the aid of possibly two hidden partners) to capture in tricks during the hand. The minimum bid is 75 points. In order to be considered a legal bid, the number bid must be higher than any other previously bid total on that hand. Bidding continues around the table for as many rotations as necessary until a bid is followed by five passes. A player is not obligated to bid, but may also simply state
"Pass", indicating he does not prefer to make a bid on that hand. Once a player
passes during a hand he may no longer make further bids during that hand. If every player
initially passes, the cards are thrown in, shuffled and dealt again by the same dealer.
The high bidder is then set as the Player for the hand. This player then announces his choice of trump suit to be used for the hand. After announcing the trump suit for the hand, this player then names (by suit and rank) two specific cards from the deck. The player or players having these cards should not state this or otherwise show any indication they have the card. Both of these cards can be in one of the other player's hands (that player
is thus called a Double Partner), or each announced card might be found in each of two of the other player's hands, or the Player may prefer to simply announce two cards he already has in hand. Whichever player or players have these cards are then set as this player's temporary (but unannounced) partner during the game.
The high bidder leads the first card to the trick and each other player in
a clockwise rotation plays one card from their hand to the same trick. The leader to a trick may play any card of choice remaining in their hand to
start the trick. Each other player must then, in turn, play a card of the same suit as originally led to that trick if they have one. If the player does not have such a card, they may play any card still remaining in their hand, include a card from the trump suit.
After each player has played one card to the trick it is examine to determine who won the trick. If the trick contains one or more cards in the trump suit, the player of the highest card in that trump suit is the winner of the trick. However, if the trick contains no cards from the declared trump suit for the hand, the trick is won by the player of the highest card in the suit originally led to the trick. The cards won in tricks are set aside by that player for later review during scoring for the hand. The winner of each trick leads the first card to the next trick.
After the last of the tricks have been played and won, the players review the cards won in tricks. Each of the cards in the deck has a specific scoring value which is earned by the player capturing that card in a trick during play of the hand, as per the following chart:
| Card | Scoring Value |
|---|
| Queen of Spades (♠) | 30 Points |
| Ace | 15 Points Each |
| Ten | 10 Points Each |
| Five | 5 Points Each |
| All Other Cards | 0 Points |
If, based on these card values, the high bidding player, combined with any hidden partners he may have had during the hand, manages to earn at least as many points as he bid for that hand, this player and the hidden partners each score a number of points equal to the amount of the high bid
which is thus added to a cumulative total retained for that player throughout
the game session. However, if the high bidder along with any partners, fail to capture at least as many points as bid, they must instead subtract from their cumulative score a number of points equal to the high bid.
After a set number of hands or time, the player with the highest total accumulated score is declared the overall game winner.
Variants and Optional Rules
Variable Point Totals: One optional rule that some players opt to adopt is to award the number of points won or lost on a variable rate based on which player has the called cards. Using this variant rule, the total number of points to be won (or lost) during a hand is equal to three times the value of the high bid. The high bidder will always earn or win one such share. Each called card thus entitles the holder of that called card to an additional share. Thus, each called partner would thus earn (or lose) a number of points equal to the high bid. If one player was the holder of both of the called cards, he would thus score (or lose) a value equal to two times the high bid. This same rule also makes it sometimes advantageous for the high bidder to sometimes call one or two cards that he already has in hand, which would then, if he fulfills his bid, allow him to score additional points during the hand (or lose this same number of points from his ongoing score).
Differing numbers of players: There are several variants of Black Queen designed for play by differing numbers of players. The following descriptions detail the rules which can be used for other numbers of players.
- Three Players: The three player version of Black Queen is played similarly to the six card version as described above with a few differences. In this version the game can be played with a 51 card deck which can be formed by removing only one card, the two of clubs, from a standard 52 card deck. Each player would receive a total of 17 cards in the deal. The high bidder will play solo against the other two players, and will thus not call a card for a partner.
- Four Players: The four player variant is also played similarly to the other versions described on this page. The full 52 card standard deck is used for play, with each player being dealt 13 total cards. The high bidder is entitled to call one specific card for one hidden partner. Thus, the high bidder and one other, initially unknown player, will play as a team against the other two players.
- Five Players: The five player variant is also played similarly to the normal version. This version is played using a 50 card deck, which can be formed by removing the two of clubs and two of diamonds from a standard 52 card deck. Each player is dealt a total of 10 cards in the deal. The high bidder is entitled to call one card for a hidden teammate during the game. Thus the high bidder and his initially unknown teammate will play as partners against the other three players.
- Seven Players:
For seven players, three cards are removed from a standard 52 card deck, usually the two of clubs, the two of diamonds and the two of hearts. Each player is dealt a total of seven cards during each deal. The high bidder is entitled to call for two cards, and the players having these cards become that players hidden partner for the duration of that deal. Thus, the player would have two initially unknown teammates for that hand. However, if both of the called cards are in the same player's hand, he would instead play with the aid of one hidden partner.
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