One of the most simple games and a favorite among children! Players will select cards from the hands of others looking to make matches and not be the one stuck with the Queen at the end. Old Maid is a great pick if you’re looking for a quick matching game to play with players young and old alike.
What You’ll Need
- Standard Deck of cards, Jokers removed, and 1 Queen removed.
- 2-5+ Players
Set Up
Remove one of the four Queens from the deck and set it aside.
Shuffle the rest of the cards thoroughly. Deal out the entire deck as evenly as possible amongst the players. It’s okay if some players have more cards than others.
Once dealt, players will pick up their cards and look for any pairs of two cards that they may have. Suits do not matter. Discard all pairs of two into the center.
Now you’re ready to play!
How to Play
Beginning with the youngest player, they randomly choose a card from the hand of the player on their right. If this forms a pair of 2 with a card from their hand, they discard the pair to the center. If not, they add the new card to their hand.
Play continues clockwise with the next player now selected a card at random from the hand of the player on their right.
When a player no longer has any cards in their hand, they are out of the game.
Winning
The last player left holding the odd Queen is the “Old Maid” and loses the game. All other players win together.
