👑 How to play Old Maid

Easy rules, to read aloud 🔊

1. Take one queen out of the deck and put it away.
2. Deal out all the other cards.
3. Put down any two cards that match.
4. Hold your cards face down for the player next to you.
5. They pick one card without looking.
6. If it makes a match, they put the pair down.
7. Whoever is stuck with the last queen is the Old Maid.

The full rules

1. Take one queen out of a 52-card deck and set it aside without showing it. That leaves 51 cards.
2. Deal every card, one at a time. Some players may get one more card than others, and that is fine.
3. Everyone lays down every pair they hold, like two fives or two kings. If you have three of one rank, put down two and keep one.
4. The dealer fans their cards face down toward the player on the left, who picks one without peeking.
5. If the new card makes a pair, the picker lays it down. Then the picker fans their own cards toward the next player on the left.
6. When you run out of cards, you are safe and sit out the rest of the round.
7. Keep going until every card is paired except one queen.

How to win: The player holding the last unpaired queen is the Old Maid and loses the round. Everyone who got rid of their cards is safe.

Tips

• Mix up your hand before you offer it, so no one learns where the queen is hiding.
• Keep a calm face when someone reaches toward the queen.
• Be kind: whoever ends up with the queen simply deals the next round.

What it practises

matching pairs, keeping a calm face, taking turns, being a good sport.

Other ways to play

• Joker as the odd card. Keep all four queens and add one joker. Whoever is left with the joker loses.
• Mystery card. Take out any card without looking. No one knows which card has no partner until the very end.
• Color pairs. Pairs must match in color as well as number, like two red sevens or two black kings.