Old Maid Goal Avoid being left with the unpaired queen (Old Maid). Key Terms Pair: Two cards of the same rank you can discard. Old Maid: The unpaired queen left at the end. Setup Remove one queen from the deck. Deal all cards; discard any pairs in your hand. Play The dealer starts by offering their hand face down to the player on their left. That player draws one card, discards any pairs, and then offers their hand to the next player. Players who run out of cards are safe. Example Turn You draw one card from the player on your left, form a pair, and discard it before passing your hand to the next player. End The player left holding the unpaired queen loses.