Q&A for How to Play Old Maid

Nope, you don't need to do anything with the pairs besides place them face-up in front of you. They'll sit there until the game is over.

If the person to your left is out, then you would automatically skip them and the next person to your left is the one you would take from.

The players can either play a one on one rematch, or accept the results as a tie.

You can discard a randomly selected card from their hand (unless it's the Old Maid) to even their hand. If you have cards left over, you can deal more to even everything up.

It is a pile of cards that players can take from when they don't have any cards in their hand that they can play.

You are out of the game and automatically win. There are multiple winners, but just one loser.

You only need to take one card from the person on your left. If it makes a pair, you place those face up on the table. If not, the next person draws from you.

Then they are out of the game and also a winner. There is only one loser in the game, but multiple winners.

While the game is known as Old Maid in America, it has many international variations. For example, you might find it called Schwarzer Peter in Germany, Vieux Garçon in France, or Old Bachelor in England.

In Old Maid, the typical rule is that you offer your hand to the player on your left, and they draw a card from you. Then it's your turn to draw from the player on your right. So yes, your understanding is correct if you're describing the flow of turns in a clockwise direction.

In Old Maid, a draw pile isn’t necessary. Instead, players hold their cards in hand, and each turn involves drawing a card from another player’s hand—not from a central pile.

The key to playing Old Maid is to avoid being left with the unpaired card at the end of the game. Players take turns drawing one card from the person to their left, trying to make pairs and discarding them. Strategic bluffing—like subtly highlighting or hiding the Old Maid—can trick others into picking it. Observing opponents’ reactions and card habits helps you dodge the dreaded final card.

If three players each have one card left, the game continues until someone draws the Old Maid. Players take turns offering their single card, and someone must eventually pick the unmatchable one. The person who ends up with the Old Maid loses, while the other two win. Even with just one card each, the suspense builds until the final unlucky draw.

Nope—the number of pairs you have at the end of Old Maid doesn’t matter. The only thing that counts is whether or not you’re holding the Old Maid card. If you’re not, you win—regardless of how many pairs you made.

Old Maid typically lasts 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the number of players and how quickly pairs are formed and discarded. The game ends when all cards have been paired except one—the unmatchable card known as the Old Maid—and the player holding it loses. With fewer players, the game tends to move faster; with more players, it can stretch out a bit longer due to more turns and card exchanges.

Yes. These players are considered safe and automatically win. The player left with the Old Maid (featuring the unmatchable card) is the sole loser.

No, but there's a good possibility that you will be left holding onto it if you don't bluff well enough to have someone else pick up that card on their next turn.

The game of Old Maid ends when all possible pairs have been made and only one card remains—the unmatchable Old Maid. The player holding that final card is the loser, while everyone else is considered a winner. If a player runs out of cards before the end and doesn’t have the Old Maid, they’re automatically safe and out of the game. The suspense builds until someone is stuck with the lone card, sealing their fate.

You continue playing until only one person is left with the Old Maid card. The game does not end when a player simply runs out of cards.

You deal all the cards to the players, except for one card which is set aside.

As long as a player understands the rules their age doesn’t matter. Old Maid is fairly simple, so a young child (around four or five) should be able to play.