Old Maid
A classic family parlor card game. Discard matching pairs and pass cards left — whoever is left holding the unpaired Queen (the Old Maid) loses.
Players
3–8 players.
Cards
A custom parlor deck of 51 cards: a French-suited pack with the Queen of Clubs removed. The three remaining Queens wear a comic Old Maid portrait. Any of them can be the unpaired Queen at the end.
Setup
1.
Shuffle and deal all cards as evenly as possible.
2.
Every player discards any pairs of equal rank (suit does not matter).
3.
Players who empty their hand are safe and sit out.
In the first game the deal starts with Player 1, who offers first; the player on
their left draws first. Both move one seat to the left in each game after that,
so Player 2 is dealt to first and offers first in the second game.
A player who is safe from the deal takes no part: if it is the first offerer,
the next player on their left with cards offers instead, and the first draw
always goes to the next player on the offerer's left who still has cards.
Turn
1.
The active offerer mixes their hand and fans it face down toward the next player on their left who still has cards.
2.
That neighbor draws one card (tap a card back).
3.
The drawn card is shown face-up with whether it completes a pair — tap Continue to confirm.
4.
If it completed a pair, that pair is discarded; otherwise the card joins the drawer’s hand.
5.
The drawer becomes the next offerer; play continues leftward among players who still have cards. A drawer who has just emptied their hand is safe, so the next player on their left with cards offers instead.
Winning
When only one card remains in play — the Old Maid — its holder loses. Everyone else wins the round.