How to play Black Queen: rules, points and strategy

22 October 2026 · about 5 minutes to read

Black Queen is a trick-taking card game for 4 to 10 players with one big twist: you play with a secret partner, and nobody, not even you, knows who it is until the moment they play a card you named. This guide explains every rule, then gives a few tips. You can play it free in your browser while you read: no download, no sign-up.

The idea in one minute

Every hand starts with an auction. Players bid how many points they think their team can win. The highest bidder picks the trump suit and then names a card they do not hold. Whoever holds that card is the bidder's partner for the hand, but they do not announce it. You only find out when that card is played. Then the hand is played out, the points are counted, and either the bidder's side made their bid or the rest of the table beat them.

The cards and the points

Only a few cards are worth points. Everything else is worth nothing, which is why a trick is not worth a fixed amount: it is worth whatever points are inside it.

That makes 150 points in one deck. The lowest cards (the 2s, diamonds and clubs first) are set aside so the deck divides evenly between the players. With 8 or 9 players the table uses two decks, and with 10 players three, so the points, and the highest possible bid, are 300 (or 450), and every card exists twice (or three times).

Bidding

Bidding goes clockwise, starting with the player to the dealer's left. On your turn you either raise the bid or pass. A pass is final for that hand: you cannot jump back in. The highest bid wins, and there is no minimum bid. Think of a bid as a promise: your team will capture at least that many points.

Trump and the called card

The player who won the auction does two things:

1. Chooses the trump suit. Trump cards beat every other suit.
2. Names the partner card(s). With 4 or 5 players they name 1 card, with 6 or 7 players they name 2. The card must be one they do not hold. Whoever holds a named card is secretly their partner.

With several decks (8 to 10 players) the bidder names one card, and everyone holding a copy of it is a partner. If the bidder holds every copy themselves, they play alone against the table.

Nobody announces their team. You learn who a partner is only when they actually play the named card.

Playing the tricks

• You must follow suit if you can.
• The highest trump played wins the trick. If no trump was played, the highest card of the suit that was led wins.
• If two identical cards tie (possible with several decks), the one played first wins.
• The winner of a trick leads the next one.

The reveal

This is the best moment in the game. Until the called card appears, every player at the table might be a partner, and the bidder does not know who to trust. When it finally lands on the table, the teams become clear and the hand changes: the partner is revealed, and the defenders know exactly who they are up against.

Scoring

When the cards run out, add up the points captured by the bid winner together with the revealed partner(s). If that total meets or beats the bid, their side wins the hand. Otherwise the rest of the table wins it. Nothing carries over between hands: every hand is dealt, bid, played and scored fresh, and the dealer role passes clockwise.

Six tips for winning

1. Count points, not tricks. A single trick that holds the Black Queen can be worth more than several empty ones.
2. Bid what your own hand can deliver. Your aces and a long trump suit are real; your partner is a maybe, because you do not know who it is yet.
3. Call a card with purpose. Naming a high card you do not hold, such as the Ace of trump, gives you a strong partner if it exists in someone's hand, but you will not know whose until it is played.
4. Watch who plays what. Until the reveal, notice who feeds points to the bidder. That is often your first clue.
5. As a defender, hunt the Black Queen. Keeping those 30 points away from the bidder's side can decide the hand.
6. Do not overbid. A bid you cannot make hands the points to the table, however good the hand looked.

These are rules of thumb, not guarantees: the fun of Black Queen is that you are always working with partial information.

Watch the rules in under two minutes

Watch the rules in under two minutes

Playing online

• Start a table and share the link or the room code. Friends join straight from their browser on a phone or a computer.
• Bots fill empty seats, so you can play with one friend or on your own. Some bots are bold and push the bid, some are careful and stop sooner.
• Late friend? Send them a link to a bot's seat and they take over right in the game, keeping that seat's cards and points.
• Each move has 60 seconds. If time runs out, the server plays for you, and if you stay away a bot takes your seat until you come back.
• Throw an emoji at another player by tapping their name.
• On Discord, start Black Queen from a voice call and everyone in the call lands at the same table.

Questions