Old maid (card game)

Old Maid is a nineteenth century American card game for two or more players in which players discard matched pairs from their hands while trying to avoid being left holding a single unmatched card, traditionally an unpaired queen, at the end of play. The game is classified as a shedding and matching card game and is normally played with a standard deck from which one card, often a queen, is removed to leave an odd card that cannot be paired. Its rules were first formally written down by the American author Eliza Leslie in 1831, though the game is presumed to descend from an older European gambling pastime in which the losing player paid for the drinks. Possible ancestors include the German game Black Peter, whose rules were recorded as early as 1821, and the French game Vieux Garcon, first described in 1853. The game accommodates between two and twelve players, making it flexible for both small and large groups, and it remains a familiar introductory card game for children.