Old Maid (for 2 or more players):
Remove 1 Queen from a standard 52-card deck. Deal out (clockwise) all remaining 51 cards to players. There
will be 3 Queens in the cards that are distributed. The players first discard any pairs in the hands they were dealt. Next, without showing his/her cards, the Dealer offers his/her hand to the player at left, who must select 1 card. If a pair is made, the pair is discarded. Then that player offers his/her hand for the next player to select a card, and so on. The game proceeds as players discard any pairs. Eventually all of the cards are discarded in pairs, with the exception of one remaining queen — the “Old Maid”! Whoever holds that final Queen loses.
War (for 2 or more players):
The object of the game is to win all the cards. Deal out all cards of a standard 52-card deck, piling a pack face down in front of each player. Then, at the same time, players turn the top card of their packs face up. Whoever has the highest card rank* wins the face-up cards. Players then turn up their next cards; again, the highest card wins that turn, and so on. If equal-rank cards are turned at the same time, there is “war,” with the tie cards staying on the table and players turning another card face up. Whoever has the highest new face-up card wins the pile. The game continues until one player has all the cards and wins.
Go Fish (for 2 or more players):
Deal 5 cards to each player (7 cards if only there are only 2 players). Place the remaining stack of cards face down between players. The player to dealer’s left begins by asking another player for a specific rank* of cards; for example, “Please give me your Aces.” The requesting player must hold at least one card of the requested rank. The asked player must give up all requested rank cards to the player who called for them. Then the requesting player gets another turn and asks again for another rank of cards. If the person asked does not have cards of the requested rank, they say, “Go Fish!” Then the requesting player must draw a card from the un-dealt deck. If the drawn card is the rank requested, the asker shows the card and takes another turn. If the drawn card is not the requested rank, the asker must keep the card and pass the turn to the player who said, “Go Fish!” As soon as 4 cards of the same rank are collected, players start discarding the groupings. The game continues, and the first player to empty his/her hand — or the player with the fewest cards left by the time the center stack is depleted — is the winner.
* In a standard card deck there are 13 different ranks, ranging from the highest (Ace) to the lowest (2).