And most dictionaries carry one more meaning for it: “A child’s card game.” Used as early as 1761 for the title of a play by Irishman Arthur Murphy, it also means an unpopped kernel in a pot of popcorn. The term “old maid” is English and means an unmarried childless woman or spinster. And poker tournaments are popular television events.Illustrated detail from Old Maid card game, about 1890, Milton Bradley Company.ĭid you play card games as a child? If so, you probably played a version of Old Maid. Decks of cards amuse soldiers waiting in the field or in camp. Travelers on trains or planes often play cards.

Many adults belong to card-playing clubs. And playing cards are popular with people of all ages. Many of these are matching games, such as Go Fish and rummy, or card-shedding games, such as Old Maid. Still, the earliest American playing cards look very similar to the cards we all recognize today.ĭo you remember the first card game you ever played? There are countless children’s games with playing cards. Some small innovations developed over the years: Two-sided face cards (the royal cards) meant a player didn’t have to turn his card to see a Jack’s or King’s face, and indices (the small numbers at the corners of cards) allowed players to hold their cards closer in a “fan,” so other players couldn’t see them. From then onward, card decks became a fixture in many households and among groups of people looking for ways to play. The first American card decks came directly from England after the Revolutionary War, American printers soon managed to print their own playing cards. With origins in China, India, and Egypt, playing cards became widely known in Europe after the 1600s. From Go Fish to Texas Hold’em, and from bridge to Old Maid, playing cards allow for more games than any other single type of gaming device.

Old maid playing cards