Old Maid

Children's card game — pair off cards and get rid of them all; whoever's left with the Old Maid loses.

🌤indoor

What is Old Maid?

Old Maid is a Victorian children's card game usually played with a dedicated illustrated deck (a standard deck with one queen removed also works). All cards are dealt out; players form and discard pairs, then draw a card from the neighbour on their left. The queen with no pair (the Old Maid) can never be discarded — whoever is left holding her at the end loses.

Quick facts

Category

Card Games

Type

Individual

Players

2–8

Where played

indoor

Country of origin

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Estimated origin

Victorian England (dedicated deck marketed from 1860s)

Olympic

No

Popularity

global

Sources & provenance

Last verified 2026-08-24.verified