Old Maid is a classic matching game for children of all ages. Before the game starts, one Queen is secretly removed from the deck, leaving three Queens. Since cards are matched in pairs, one Queen will always be left over \u2014 and whoever is holding it at the end of the game loses. That lone unmatched Queen is the Old Maid. The whole game is about pairing up your cards as fast as possible and hoping you’re not the one stuck holding her.<\/p>\n\n\n
A normal deck has 26 pairs of matching cards (two black 6s, two red 6s = two pairs, for example). When you remove one Queen, you have 51 cards and 25 complete pairs \u2014 plus one lone Queen that can never be matched. That Queen is the Old Maid.<\/p>\n\n\n
Before the first turn, every player goes through their own cards and removes any pairs they already have. A pair is two cards of the same rank AND same color \u2014 for example, the 4 of Spades and 4 of Clubs are both black 4s, so they make a pair. The 4 of Hearts and 4 of Diamonds are both red 4s, so they also make a pair. When you find a pair, place both cards face-down in a discard pile in front of you \u2014 they’re out of the game. Keep going until you have no more pairs in your hand.<\/p>\n\n\n
Important: two red Queens pair together, and two black Queens pair together. The one Queen of whatever color you removed means one Queen is left that cannot be paired.<\/p>\n\n\n
As the game goes on, players will successfully pair up and discard all their cards. When a player has no cards left in their hand, they are safe \u2014 they are out of the game in a good way. They don’t draw, don’t hold out their hand, and just watch the rest of the game.<\/p>\n\n\n
The game continues until only one player is left holding cards. That player will be holding exactly one card \u2014 the Old Maid \u2014 and they lose. Everyone else wins.<\/p>\n\n\n