Old Maid is an easy-to-learn, easy-to-play card game for two or more players.
Pair up your cards quickly to avoid become the Old Maid!
Find the video tutorial and written explanation for how to play the card game old maid below.
Old Maid Tutorial
Needed
51 card deck (one queen removed from a 52 card deck); two or more players
Deal
Players are dealt one card at a time until all the cards have been dealt. It is okay if some players have one more card than others.
Objective
The objective of the game is to pair up the cards in your hand, and avoid being the last player holding the odd queen.
Game Play
Players look at their cards and place any pairs face down in front of them. After all the players have removed their pairs, the game play begins.
The player left of the dealer starts the game play by drawing a card from the player behind him/her. If the card drawn creates a pair, the matching cards are laid down. If the card drawn does not create a pair, the card stays in the player’s hand. Play continues clockwise, with players continuing to draw from the player behind them.
A player is safe from becoming the Old Maid when either (1) the player pairs all the cards in his/her hand, or (2) the player lays down a pair and only has one card left. The player’s last card is then drawn by the next player leaving him/her with no cards.
Losing
The player left with the odd queen loses the game.