Old Maid: A Classic Card Game of Matching and Strategy

💭 Think About...

1. Have you ever played Old Maid or a similar matching card game before? What did you enjoy about it?
2. Why do you think it's important to take turns and follow rules when playing games with others?
3. In Old Maid, the goal is to avoid ending up with the Old Maid card. Can you think of any strategies to make that less likely?
4. How can you be a good sport and show kindness to other players, even if you lose the game?
5. Old Maid involves a lot of matching pairs. Where else in life do we match or pair things together? (e.g., socks, shoes)

🔨 Your Project

  1. Get into groups of 2-4 students and collect an Old Maid card deck from your teacher.
  2. Have one student shuffle the cards. Make sure to keep the cards face down while shuffling.
  3. The student to the left of the shuffler cuts the deck by taking about half the cards from the top and placing them in a new pile.
  4. The shuffler then takes the bottom pile and places it on top of the cut pile to complete the cut.
  5. The shuffler deals out all the cards one at a time to each player. Some players may end up with one more card than others, which is okay.
  6. Each player looks at their cards, keeping them hidden from other players. Remove any pairs of matching cards you have (for example, two Queens or two 10s) and place them face up in front of you.
  7. The player to the left of the dealer starts by fanning out their cards face down and offering them to the player on their left.
  8. That player picks one card without looking at it and adds it to their hand. If it matches any card in their hand, they remove the pair and place it face up in front of them.
  9. That player then offers their hand to the next player on the left, and so on. If you get stuck, ask your teacher for help.
  10. The goal is to not be the last player left with the Old Maid card that has no match. Keep going around the circle taking turns drawing cards.
  11. If you run out of cards because you matched them all, you are safe and out of the game. The game continues until all cards are matched except the Old Maid.
  12. The player left holding the Old Maid at the end loses the game. Everyone else wins!
  13. If you have time, shuffle the cards again and play another round. The more you play, the better you'll get at remembering the cards and making matches.