Every game on the site so far has been solitaire. Old Maid is the first one where you play against other people: two or three computer players, Ava, Ben and Cleo.
The game you played as a kid
One Queen is taken out of the deck before the deal, so one Queen can never be paired. That's the Old Maid. Everyone puts down their pairs, then you take turns drawing a face-down card from the next player's hand. Match it and the pair goes down. Run out of cards and you're safe. Whoever is left holding the odd Queen loses.
The rules in short
- A pair is two cards of the same rank. Suits don't matter.
- On your turn, pick one face-down card from the next player's hand.
- Play goes clockwise, so you always draw from the player on your left.
- Out of cards means out of the game, and safe.
- The last player with a card has the Old Maid.
Things worth watching
- Follow the table. A line in the middle tells you who took what from whom, so you can keep track of the Queens.
- See every pair. Tap the pile in the middle to see all the pairs put down so far, and who put them down.
- 3 or 4 players. Fewer players means bigger hands and longer games.
There's no undo in this one. Taking back a draw would show you the card you drew.