Old Maid: rules and a game for kids
Old Maid is a classic first card game: match pairs, take cards from the player beside you, and do not get stuck with the last Queen. You can play it with any standard deck. Try it below against one to three friendly computer players, with big cards, a Joker option and an easier pairs rule for little ones.
Play against the computer
Take a card
Your cards
Game log
Settings: players, odd card, pairs, speed
The rules in 30 seconds
- Take one Queen out of a standard deck (or add one Joker). Deal out every card.
- Put down all your pairs: two cards of the same rank.
- The player on your right fans their cards face down. On your turn, take one without looking. If it makes a pair, put the pair down.
- Then you fan your cards for the player on your left, who takes one, and so on round the table.
- No cards left? You are safe. The player left holding the odd Queen is the Old Maid.
How to play
Get ready
Use one standard 52-card deck. Take out one Queen and put it away, leaving 51 cards. Now one Queen can never be paired. Shuffle and deal all the cards, one at a time; it does not matter if some players get one more card.
Put down pairs
Everyone looks at their cards and puts down every pair (face up so others can check; Bicycle says face down): two sevens, two Kings and so on. If you have three of a kind, put down two and keep one.
Take turns
The dealer fans their cards face down and the next player takes one without seeing it. If it pairs a card in their hand, that pair goes down. Then that player fans their cards for the next player round the table, and so on. Pagat and Bicycle have play going to the left, and our game does the same; the other direction works too as long as everyone sticks to it.
Who loses
When you have put down all your cards, you are safe and sit back to watch. Play goes on until only one player still holds a card: the odd Queen. That player loses. Bicycle adds one firm rule: put down a pair that is not a pair, and you lose.
Where sources differ
- The odd card. Pagat and Bicycle take out one Queen. Wikipedia also lists a Joker as the odd card. Black Peter uses a black Jack or a special card, and for the Turkish version Pagat says three Kings are taken out (Wikipedia says one King).
- Pairs. All three sources pair by rank. Wikipedia lists a variation where a pair must also match in color, which makes the odd Queen always the Queen of spades; our game offers it as an option.
- Direction. Pagat: you take from the player on your right and offer to the left. It makes no difference to the game.
- Special decks. Picture decks sold for the game have printed pairs and one odd card. Pagat notes that such decks exist; the rules are the same.
Playing with kids
- Start with same-color pairs. Matching two red sevens is easier to spot than any two sevens, and there are fewer pairs to miss.
- Use a Joker and a friendlier name. Add one Joker as the odd card (Wikipedia lists this) and give the game a name your table likes. Nothing else changes.
- Mix your cards. After someone takes a card, shuffle your hand so nobody remembers where the Queen went. Our game has a button for it.
- Keep a straight face. The only trick here is not grinning when someone reaches for the Queen.
Play online or at home
Online: the game at the top of this page, against one to three computer players, with no sign-up.
At home: any standard deck with one Queen taken out, or a picture deck made for it. Two or more players; three to six is best.
Questions
How do you play Old Maid with regular cards?
Take one Queen out of a standard deck so one Queen has no partner. Deal all the cards. Everyone puts down their pairs, then each player in turn takes one face-down card from the player who offers it (the one on their right) and puts down any new pair. Players who run out of cards are safe. Whoever is left holding the last Queen loses.
Which Queen do you take out?
Any one of them. Pagat and Bicycle just say take out one Queen. We take out the Queen of clubs. With pairs by rank, whichever Queen is left at the end is the Old Maid; with pairs by color, it is always the Queen of spades.
What about special picture decks?
Special picture decks are sold for this game, with printed pairs and one odd card, and Pagat notes such decks exist. They play the same way. The standard-deck version on this page is the one you can play with any deck at home.
How many people can play?
Two or more. With two the game is short and the odd card goes back and forth a lot; with three or more, the odd card travels round the table. Our game takes you and one to three computer players.
Is there any skill in it?
Very little, which is why it suits young children. The one choice is which card to take, and your hand order can hide where the Queen is. Some players try to read faces; the computer here cannot, so it picks at random.
Is there a version without "old maid"?
Yes. Wikipedia describes a Joker as the odd card, and you can call the game anything you like. Pagat and Wikipedia also describe Black Peter (a Jack or a special card is the odd one) and mention the French Vieux Garçon. Our game has a Joker option.