How to play Old Maid

Old Maid is the gentle card game of pairs and one unlucky queen. There is nothing to learn but the rules and nothing to get wrong, which makes it a lovely first card game for children and a good giggle with grandchildren. Play with one, two or three computer players (Mae, Ollie and Flo), or with family over a link, each on their own screen.

The deal

• One deck with the queen of clubs taken out: 51 cards. Three queens are left, so one of them can never make a pair. That lonely queen is the Old Maid.
• All the cards are dealt, so some players start with one card more.
• Everyone puts down every pair they hold: two cards of the same number. The table does this for you.

A turn

• The player before you holds out their cards face down. Tap one to take it.
• If it matches a card in your hand, the pair goes down. If not, it stays with you.
• Then the next player takes a card from you, and so on around the table.
• When your last card is gone, you are safe and sit back to watch.

The end

When every pair is down, one card is left: a queen. Whoever holds it is the Old Maid. Everyone else wins.

Questions

Is there any strategy? Not really. The cards you take from are face down and shuffled, so every card is as good as any other. That is why the computer players have no Easy or Sharp setting here, and why there is no daily deal: it is all luck.

Why the queen of clubs? Any one card would do. Taking out a queen is the most common way in the United States, and it gives the game its name.

Can I play with my grandchildren? Yes. Choose "Play with friends", pick two, three or four players and send the link, or read out the four-letter table code. Everyone sees only their own cards, and the computer fills open seats.

Do I need an account? No. Your game is saved in this browser, so you can close the page and come back.