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Old Maid

Discard pairs and avoid being stuck with the odd queen.

2-6 playersEasyStandard 52-card (remove one queen)
matchingkids

Old Maid is a children's game about one unlucky card. Every card in the deck has a partner except one queen, so someone has to end up holding it. The fun is in the bluffing - trying to make the odd card look appealing when you offer your hand around. A game takes about 10 minutes.

What You Need

  • Players: 2-6. It gets better with more.
  • Deck: One standard 52-card deck with a single queen removed, leaving 51 cards. Suits do not matter.
  • Extras: Nothing.

Key Terms

  • Pair: Two cards of the same rank, which you discard face up.
  • Old Maid: The queen with no partner left in the deck.
  • Offering: Holding your hand out face down for the next player to draw from.

Setup

  1. Remove one queen from the deck and set it aside out of sight.
  2. Deal all 51 cards out clockwise. Some players will have one more than others, which does not matter.
  3. Everyone looks at their hand and discards every pair they find face up in front of them.

How to Play

  1. The dealer fans their cards face down and offers them to the player on their left.
  2. That player takes one card without seeing which.
  3. If the drawn card pairs with something in their hand, they discard that pair face up.
  4. They then fan out their own hand and offer it to the player on their left, and play continues around the table.
  5. When you run out of cards, you are safely out of the game. Play carries on between the rest.

Scoring & Winning

  • There is no score. Everyone who empties their hand has won equally.
  • Play continues until only one player is left, holding the unpaired queen. That player is the Old Maid and loses.

Example

You draw a 4 from the player on your right. You already had a 4, so you put the pair face down in front of you, then fan your remaining cards and offer them to the next player.

Variations

  • Old Maid deck: purpose-made children's decks use illustrated pairs and a single Old Maid character card.
  • Remove a joker instead: add one joker to a full deck; whoever ends up with it loses.
  • Scaredy Cat: the same game under a different name, common in the UK.

Tips for New Players

  • Move your cards around before offering them. If the odd queen always sits at one end, everyone will avoid it.
  • Watch faces, not cards. Younger players tend to give the Old Maid away with their expression.
  • Try to hold your hand steady - hesitating over one card tells the drawer exactly which to avoid.