Old Maid Card Game Rules (And Fun Variations to Try)

If you’re looking for a card game that’s perfect for the whole family, Old Maid is easy to learn for all ages. You’ll be taking cards from other players to make matches, but watch out for the Old Maid because she’ll make you lose the game! Even though the rules are simple, there are still some good strategies to know to help you win. Keep reading, and we’ll walk you through how to play, along with some fun variations to try out.

Old Maid: Quick Rules

Remove 3 queens from a deck, and call the remaining queen the Old Maid.
Shuffle the deck and deal all the cards out to the players.
Play any pairs of cards that have a matching rank.
The dealer offers their hand to the player on their left so they can take a card.
That player chooses one and plays it to make a pair (or add it to their hand).
Keep taking turns offering and taking cards clockwise around the table.
Lose the game if there are no more cards and you have the Old Maid.

Section 1 of 5:

Object of Old Maid

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During a game of Old Maid, you’re trying to find matching cards to play from your hand. You’ll take cards from one player, but another player will take cards from your hand. If you’re stuck with the Old Maid and there are no more cards left, you lose.

Section 2 of 5:

How to Play Old Maid

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1
Remove 3 queens from a deck of cards. Use a standard 52-card deck without jokers. After you take out the 3 queens, the one leftover becomes the Old Maid. The Old Maid is the single card in the deck without a pair, so you don’t want to end the game with it in your hand. ^{[1]
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- You can also get an Old Maid deck that has pictures and illustrations if you want a more kid-friendly game.
- Alternatively, leave all the queens in the deck and add in 1 joker to use as the Old Maid.
2
Deal the entire deck of cards to the players. You can play Old Maid with 2–12 players. Choose someone to shuffle the cards and deal them one at a time, face down, to the players. Keep dealing until there are no more cards left in the deck.^{[2]
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- If you want to play with more people, shuffle in another identical deck of cards.
- It’s okay if some players end up with more cards than the others.
3
Play all the pairs you have in your hand. Each player looks over the cards in their hand to check if they have any pairs of cards that have the same rank. Place each pair face-up in front of you.^{[3]
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- If you have 3 of the same card, only put two of them in front of you and keep the other in your hand.
The dealer takes the first turn of the game. Keep the cards face down and fan them out in your hands. Hold the cards out to the next player to your left.^{[4]
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5
Pick a card when someone offers their hand. Whenever a player fans out cards for you, choose one randomly and take it from their hand. You can look at the card, but keep it secret from the other players.^{[5]
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- If the card matches one in your hand, play the pair of cards face-up in front of you right away.
- If the card doesn’t have a match, add it to your hand.
After you take a card, it’s your turn to offer your hand to the person on your left. Keep going around the table and making pairs while trying to avoid the Old Maid.^{[6]
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Section 3 of 5:

Ending a Game of Old Maid

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Eventually, someone will get the last 2 matching cards and make the final pair. Whoever’s left holding the Old Maid loses the game, and everyone else wins!^{[7]
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Section 4 of 5:

Old Maid Winning Strategies

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If you frown or groan when you get the Old Maid, the other players will be more cautious when they take a card from your hand. Once the Old Maid is in your hand, act normal and pretend like everything’s OK.
Players who are paying attention may look at where you’re putting the cards in your hand, and might guess where a specific card is located. Before offering your hand, mix the cards up before fanning them out.
3
Use reverse psychology to convince someone to take the Old Maid. When another player is choosing a card from your hand, try to psych them out into taking a different card. You could say something like, “You don’t want that,” when they’re over a number card, or “This is a really good card, you should take it,” when they’re near the Old Maid.^{[8]
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- Players might catch onto your tricks, so try reverse-reverse psychology. When they’re near the Old Maid, tell them, “That’s the Old Maid.” They may think you’re lying, but you’re tricking them into taking it anyway.
- This gets really important when you only have 2 or 3 cards left in your hand. Take a little extra time to scheme and convince players to take the Old Maid from you.
If you have the Old Maid, try hiding it behind another card when you fan out your hand. The player choosing a card might think you’re hiding a good card from them and end up taking the Old Maid from you.
If you grab cards from the same spot in someone’s hand every time, someone might put the Old Maid there so that you take it. Choose cards from the ends on one turn and from the middle on the next to keep the other players guessing.^{[9]
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Section 5 of 5:

Variations of Old Maid

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1
Make pairs only if the color and rank both match. Normally, you can make a pair if the ranks of the cards match. In this version, the cards need to have the same rank and color, so it’s harder to find the matching card you need.
- Example: A 6 of hearts and a 6 of diamonds would make a pair because they are both red. However, a 6 of hearts could not pair with a 6 of spades or 6 of clubs because they’re black.
2
Win the game if you have the Old Maid. Rather than losing the game by ending with the Old Maid, you win instead! This changes up the game so players are actively looking for the Old Maid card and trying to keep it a secret if they have it.^{[10]
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3
Make the most pairs to win the game. In the standard game, everyone except the Old Maid wins, but this version offers up a little more competition. After everyone finishes making pairs, the Old Maid is out of the game. The remaining players count up how many pairs they made, and whoever has the most is the winner.
4
Eliminate players over multiple rounds. Play the game like you normally would, except whoever has the Old Maid at the end is eliminated from the game completely. Shuffle and deal the cards out to the remaining players to play another round. Keep playing rounds until one person is left and crowned the ultimate winner!^{[11]
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Question

When you set down a pair, does it go to the next player?

Community Answer

Nope, 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.

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Question

When the person I was drawing from runs out of cards, do I draw from the next person?

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If 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.

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What if there is a tie on the number of pairs?

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The players can either play a one on one rematch, or accept the results as a tie.

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