Number of players 3 or more You can use a regular deck of card or you can use one of the special Old Maid descks sold at book, stationary, and variety stores. These contain matching pairs of characters—usually very funny ones—and one card with a picture of the "Old Maid." You could even make your own Old Maid deck.
Whichever you use, the poijt of the game is the same: to match all the cards in your hand, to make pairs, and not to get stuck holding the "Old Maid."
Dealing
Take out all the Queens except the Queen of clubs if you are using a regular deck of cards. That will be the "Old Maid." Then shuffle and cut the cards. Deal out all the cards, one at a time. It doesn't matter if some kids have an extra.
How to Play
Check to see if you have any pairs. Put all your pairs face down in fron of you. Then arrange the rest of your cards in a fan.
The dealer starts. When it's your turn, pull a card from the hand of the player on your left. No peeking! If you get a card that matches one in your hand, you show the paur and put it down with your other pairs. If the card doesn't make a pair, you just keep it inyour hand. Don't show it to anyone. Then the player on your left turns to his left neighbor and picks a card and so on around the table.
When all the cards are apired, one person will be left with the Queen of clubs. That person loses the game.
Strategy Hint: If you have the Queen of Clubs during the game, you want to get rid of it. That means someone else has to pick it out of your hand. Some kids carefully arrange their cards so the Old Maid sticks up. Usually this strategy doesn't work. A better trick is to fake out other players by having a different card stick out. Most kids will go for the least obvious card.