Old Maid rules
Make and discard matching pairs while taking turns drawing from another player. Everyone wants to empty their hand—because the person left with the unmatched queen is the Old Maid.
Play Old Maid →Setup
- Remove one queen from a standard 52-card deck, leaving 51 cards.
- Shuffle and deal every card between the players.
- Each player removes all pairs of the same rank from their hand.
- One queen cannot be paired. That card is the Old Maid.
How to play
- Choose one face-down card from the other player’s hand.
- Add it to your hand. If it matches a card of the same rank, discard the pair.
- The other player then draws one of your cards.
- Keep taking turns until one player has matched every card.
- The player left holding the unmatched queen loses.
ShufflePals handles the pairs
Whenever you draw a matching rank, the pair leaves your hand automatically so younger players can focus on choosing cards and having fun.
Simple strategy
In person, rearrange your cards so the Old Maid does not stay in an obvious position.
Notice whether another player seems relieved after you draw a particular card.
Old Maid is mostly luck. Every face-down choice should feel like a small surprise.