This queen is referred to as the Old Maid. They then allow the player to their left to draw a card, and so on.Įventually, two of the three queens will be paired and discarded, and the third queen will stand alone, unable to be matched. If it forms a new pair with one of the cards already in the player’s hand, they discard the pair.

That player draws a card from the dealer’s hand. Play begins with dealer fanning their cards out so that the backs of them are facing the player to their left. Players start by looking at their hands, finding any pairs, and discarding them to a central discard pile. Some players will have more cards than others, which is perfectly all right. Shuffle and deal the entire deck out as evenly as it will go. To play Old Maid, you’ll need a standard 52-card deck of playing cards, like Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards, with one of the queens removed. The object of Old Maid is to avoid being the player left with the unmatched queen. Get this perfect gift for the game lover in your life here.Old Maid is a classic children’s game, relying on little more than pure luck.

The Ultimate Book of Card Games, by Scott McNeely, is sure to offer fun to all ages, households and people who have a pack of cards and time to kill. Call the Old Maid something more appealing like the superhero, the princess, or the secret spy.Ĭard games are timeless fun for the whole family. See how the game changes if you decide the winner is the person left with the Old Maid. The player left holding the unmatched card, the Old Maid, loses. ObjectiveĮach player is trying to get rid of his cards as fast as possible. As players make pairs in their hand, they discard them immediately onto the table.

The player must not be allowed to see the player’s hand from which they are drawing. Starting with the dealer, each player then takes a turn fanning out their hands so that the player to their left can draw one card.

Card game old maid