Match your cards in pairs, draw blind from your neighbour, and don’t get stuck with the queen that has no partner.
Old Maid is a simple matching game. You throw out , draw cards from your neighbour, and try to get rid of your whole hand.
One queen has no partner: . Whoever holds it at the end loses.
No reading or counting needed, just matching. Great for young children.
Use a standard 52-card deck without jokers and take out one queen. The queen of clubs is a common choice. That leaves 51 cards.
Now there are three queens: two will make a pair, one will be left over.
Some families use a jack instead, or play with a special Old Maid deck.
Deal all 51 cards one at a time, clockwise. Some players will get one card more than others. That doesn’t matter.
Here three players play: you, West and East. East deals, and everyone gets 17.
Everyone looks at their cards and puts every pair on the pile in the middle. A pair is two cards of the same rank, such as two kings. Colour doesn’t matter.
You throw out two 2s, two 5s, two 9s and two kings. You had three 9s: two go out, the third stays.
Bicycle’s rules put pairs down face down. Face up lets young players check each other’s pairs.
The dealer starts. Hold your cards in a fan, face down, and offer them to the player on your left. That player picks one card without seeing it.
East offers you their cards, and you pick one.
You picked the 7 of diamonds. You already hold the 7 of spades: that is a pair, so you throw it out.
If the card you draw doesn’t make a pair, it simply stays in your hand.
Now it’s your turn to offer your cards face down to the player on your left, West.
West picks the 4 of diamonds, which makes a pair with West’s 4 of hearts. West throws it out and offers their cards to East. And so on round the table.
A queen can pair with any other queen, but one queen will always be left over. Here it is the queen of hearts.
A few turns later you draw it from East. Keep a straight face, and mix up your cards before you offer them again.
Poker face, even at age five.
West draws the queen of hearts from you. Phew. East draws the jack of spades from West and pairs it with the jack of hearts. Then you pick the ace of clubs from East, which pairs your last card, the ace of diamonds.
With no cards left you are safe and sit out the rest of the game. The others carry on without you.
Never looked so relieved.
Old Maid has no score. Players drop out safe one by one, until only the Old Maid is left in someone’s hand.
With you out, West draws from East: the 8 of clubs, a pair with the 8 of hearts. East has no cards left and is safe too.
When every pair is gone, one card is left: the odd queen. Whoever holds it is the Old Maid and loses.
This time it is West. Everyone else wins together.
Some families play it the other way round: holding the last card makes you the winner.
Point at a dot to see why it matters
Any one queen. Many people remove the queen of clubs. The three queens left can only make one pair, so one queen is always left over.
All 51. Some players will get one card more than others, which is fine.
You offer your cards face down to the player on your left, so you draw from the player on your right.
Throw out two of them as a pair and keep the third in your hand.
Easy to read
Extra-large numbers and suits. Readable across the table, for kids learning their first game and grandparents alike.
The classic
The deck most people picture. Poker size, standard faces, shuffles well. If you buy one deck, make it this.
Lasts for years
Two 100% plastic decks in a hard case. Washable and hard to bend, and a double deck is what Canasta and Spider need.
The British classic
The pack found in British homes for generations. Paper cards with a linen finish that fan and shuffle smoothly.
The gift
A luxury deck with a navy and gold tuck box. The one to give, or to bring out when the good whisky is poured.
Ask for cards and collect sets of four.
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