Musta Maija

Musta Maija, meaning Black Mary, is a Finnish card game played mainly by children, although its tactical possibilities also appeal to adults. It suits three to five players and uses a standard 52-card pack with aces high. Each player holds five cards and refills from a stock; the card turned beside the stock sets the trump suit. The queen of spades is the special card Maija, which counts as a spade, can never be beaten and cannot beat anything. On a turn a player lays down cards of one suit, no more than the next player holds, and that player must beat them or pick them up. Players who empty their hands after the stock runs out leave the game, and the last player holding cards, including Maija, loses.