If it makes a pair in her hand she discards the pair. That player selects a card from your hand without seeing it, and adds it to her hand.

At your turn you must offer your cards spread face down to the player to your left. The players all look at their cards and discard any pairs they have (a pair is two cards of equal rank, such as two sevens or two kings). The dealer deals out all the cards to the players (generally some will have one more card than others - this does not matter). It is also possible to play with a special pack - see variations below. From a standard 52 card pack remove one queen leaving 51 cards. If any player is found to have discarded two cards that are not a pair, (thus causing three unpaired cards instead of one to remain at the end), the player who made the mistake loses and becomes the Old Maid.This children's game is known by various names in many parts of the world, for example it is Schwarzer Peter (Black Peter) in Germany, Vieux Garçon or Le Pouilleux in France, Ekae in Thailand and Papaz kaçtı in Turkey. Play proceeds in this way until all cards have been paired except one - the odd queen, which cannot be paired - and the player who has that card is the Old Maid! The player then offers their own hand to the player on their left. This player discards any pair that may have been formed by the drawn card. The dealer then offers their hand, spread out face down, to the player on the left, who draws one card from it. If a player has three-of-a-kind, they remove only two of those three cards. Players do not need to have an equal number of cards.Įach player removes all pairs from his hand face down. The goal is to form and discard pairs of cards, and not to be left with the odd card (a queen) at the end.Īny player shuffles the pack and deals them around, one at a time to each player, until all the cards have been handed out. The standard 52-card pack is used, however, one of the four queens is removed, leaving a total of 51 cards. Matching, pairing, and recognizing numbers. Colorful decks made especially for the game are popular, but regardless of the playing cards used, the rules are the same. Old Maid is a constant favorite with children and lots of fun for families playing cards together.

Giant vintage old maid card game