Download ArticleDownload ArticleThis article was co-authored by Ashton Wu. Ashton Wu is a Board Game expert at Shelfside. After delving into the Yugioh tournament community while growing up, Ashton launched himself into the board gaming community in 2014 and went into reviewing board games as a career full-time in 2019. His YouTube channel Shelfside has over 35K subscribers and over 4 million views, assisted by written reviews on the Shelfside website and BoardGameGeek.com. He also consults with gaming companies to build high-quality gaming products. Ashton is a tournament commentator, board game playthrough director, and host of the Shelfside Podcast, where he talks about board games with his business partner, Daniel. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in addition to the Technology Management Certificate.
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Old Maid is a simple, fun card game that's great for beginners. Players try to avoid being stuck with the Old Maid, or the unpaired card in the deck. To play, gather at least one friend, prepare your deck, and learn the rules. Once you've gotten the basics down, you can tweak the rules to keep things exciting!
Steps
Gather two to eight players. This number of players can easily play using a single deck of cards.[1]- If you have more players, you can play with two decks. Make sure the decks are identical.
Select an Old Maid deck or a standard card deck. You can use a deck specifically designed for Old Maid, but a standard 52 card deck works well, too.[2]Advertisement
Remove three queens if you're using a standard deck. The Old Maid is the unpaired card in the deck--the odd one out, essentially. If you're using a standard card deck, you can create an unpaired card by removing three queens from the deck. The one queen left is the Old Maid![3]- In decks specifically designed for Old Maid, you can skip this step. These decks will already have an Old Maid card.
- You can also add a joker from an identical deck to be the Old Maid.
- If you want to mix it up, you can take out three jacks to play the French version: Old Boy.[4]
Shuffle the cards. Start by selecting a dealer, who will shuffle and deal the cards. Shuffling the cards randomizes them. To shuffle, you can use the riffle method. Divide the deck in two, and hold one half in each hand so that they face each other. Then, use your thumbs to flip the decks against one another so that the cards from each half alternate.- If the riffle method seems too hard, try smooshing! This involves mixing a pile of cards around on the table with your hands for about a minute.
Deal all the cards to the players. The goal of dealing is to distribute the cards as evenly as possible among the players. Going around the circle of players, the dealer should place a card facedown in front of each player, continuing until all the cards are handed out.- Some players may end up with one card more than others, which is fine.[5]
Remove the pairs in your hand. Each player should assess the cards in their hand and find the pairs. Place each pair face-up in front of you. If you have three of the same card, remove two and keep the other in your hand.[6]- If you are using a standard deck, you should match the cards by rank. This means that two sixes would make a pair, regardless of their colors.
Pair cards by rank and color for a more complex game. For example, a six of hearts and a six of diamonds would make a pair, because they are both red. However, a six of hearts could not pair with a six of spades, because the six of spades is black.[7]
Have the dealer hold out their cards face down to the player on their left. The dealer should fan out the cards so that the player can see the back of each one.[8]
Let the player to the left pick a card. The player to the left of the dealer should pick any card they want from the dealer's hand. Then, without showing anyone the card, they should add it to their own hand. If the card makes a pair with any of their current cards, they should put the pair down in front of them, face-up.
Keeping going in a clockwise direction until there is one card left. The player that just picked a card from the dealer should hold out their cards to the player on their left, and that player should select a card and check for pairs. Go around the circle until the last pair has been made. The player holding the Old Maid card, which has no pair, is the loser--everyone else wins![9]- Remember, don't show your unpaired cards to anyone else!
Develop a strategy. Since the person with the Old Maid loses, you'll want to develop tactics to get the person to your left to take it. You might want to hold the Old Maid card a little higher than the others. Or, you can get fancy and try out some reverse psychology techniques. Try to “hide” your Old Maid card so it seems like you don't want them to pick it. They may think it's a regular card and grab it![10]- If the player to your left always picks a card from the same location in your hand, try putting the Old Maid there.
Community Q&A
- QuestionWhen you set down a pair, does it go to the next player?
Community AnswerNope, you don't need to do anything with the pairs besides place them face-up in front of you. They'll sit there until the game is over. - QuestionWhen the person I was drawing from runs out of cards, do I draw from the next person?
Community AnswerIf the person to your left is out, then you would automatically skip them and the next person to your left is the one you would take from. - QuestionWhat if there is a tie on the number of pairs?
Community AnswerThe players can either play a one on one rematch, or accept the results as a tie.
Tips
- This is a good starting card game for children because the rules are simple and easy to remember.Thanks
- If you are playing with children who like a particular cartoon character, many stores sell special "Old Maid" decks that have popular cartoon characters on them instead of Jacks, Queens and Kings.Thanks
Things You'll Need
- A standard deck of 52 playing cards with three of the queens removed or an Old Maid deck
- At least 2 players
References
- ↑ https://www.kidspot.com.au/parenting/things-to-do/old-maid/news-story/972ecd7b5ccdbe3464fe7ce531676f9b
- ↑ https://www.ducksters.com/games/old_maid_rules.php
- ↑ https://www.ducksters.com/games/old_maid_rules.php
- ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2008/nov/22/rules-card-games-old-maid
- ↑ https://www.ducksters.com/games/old_maid_rules.php
- ↑ https://www.kidspot.com.au/parenting/things-to-do/old-maid/news-story/972ecd7b5ccdbe3464fe7ce531676f9b
- ↑ https://www.ducksters.com/games/old_maid_rules.php
- ↑ https://gamerules.com/rules/old-maid-card-game/
- ↑ https://www.kidspot.com.au/parenting/things-to-do/old-maid/news-story/972ecd7b5ccdbe3464fe7ce531676f9b
About This Article
Old Maid is a fun card game that can be played with 2 to 8 players and a standard deck of playing cards. The goal of the game is to get rid of all the cards in your hand by making pairs. Whoever is left with the odd card out loses! Before you start the game, remove the Queen of Clubs from the deck so there’s an odd number of cards. Then, deal out all of the cards, and let everyone place any pairs in their hand face-up on the table. Now, have the dealer fan out their cards face-down. The player to the left of the dealer chooses one of the dealer’s cards. Next, that player fans out their cards for the player to their left, and that player chooses one of their cards. Play continues like this clockwise around the circle. Whenever you get a pair, place the cards face-up on the table. Once you play all of the cards in your hand, you’re out. Whoever gets stuck with the odd card out, the Queen of Spades, loses, and is the Old Maid! For game strategies, like how to trick the person to your left into picking the Old Maid card, read on.
Reader Success Stories
"We didn't remember if you dealt all the cards or a certain amount and had a draw pile. Now we know. Thank you."
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