Objective of the Game
The objective of Old Maid is to avoid being the player left holding the Old Maid card at the end of the game. The winner is the player who first lays down all their cards.
Game Components
- An Old Maid card deck, which typically consists of 31 cards.
Setup
- Shuffle all the cards thoroughly.
- Deal the cards evenly to all players. Some players may receive one extra card, which is acceptable.
- Players examine their hands and lay down all pairs (two matching cards) face-up in front of them.
Gameplay
- The player to the dealer's left begins.
- They offer their cards face-down to the next player, who draws one card from the fan.
- If the drawn card forms a pair with a card in their hand, they lay down the pair immediately.
- The player who drew the card then offers their cards to the next player.
- Play continues around the circle in this manner.
Special Rules
- The Old Maid is never paired and cannot be placed down.
- As all players continuously place pairs down, eventually only one player will be left with a single card.
End of the Game
The game ends when all cards are paired and laid down except for one. The player holding the Old Maid at the end loses the game.
Strategic Tip
A key strategic aspect is observing players' reactions and attempting to pass off the Old Maid to other players while avoiding it yourself.
