Old Maid Card Game Rules

Old Maid is a classic children's card game. Old Maid can have several winners, but only one loser. Variations of Old Maid are played around the world.

Objective

The object of the game is to avoid the Old Maid card.

Deck

Old Maid can be played with any standard 52-card deck. There are also special Old Maid card games available in toy stores and online.

Deal

If you are playing with a regular deck of cards, remove one queen from the deck. The third queen left in the deck is the Old Maid. The dealer distributes all of the cards to the players.

Pairs

Each player removes the pairs from the cards in their hands and places them on the table.

Play

The first player picks a random card from the hand of the player to his left without looking at it. Play then passes to his left. Throughout the game, pairs are laid out on the table.

Losing

At the end of the game, the person who is left with the Old Maid card is the loser.

References

• Encyclopedia Britannica