Old Old Maid Cards and an Old Old Card Game




Since even the name of the game is "Old Maid" we shouldn't be surprised the images might be a bit sexist. In the gaming world, the concept is known as a "going out game" as the idea is to get rid of your cards. From Victorian days, Old Maid is a card game with a universal spread and each country has a funny name for it. "Scabby Queen" in the UK, "Ungguy-ungguyan" in the Philippines, "Baba-nuki" in Japan, "Blind King" in Egypt, "Gir-Gir" in Turkey, "Stink" in Brazil. The Dutch call it "Black Pete" and play it in the "jackass" style. You do not need vintage sexist cards, any deck of cards will do, but you have to remove one and give it a nasty name. I don't think I want to see the commercial versions of "Stink" or "Scabby Queen" at all.


Sample Old Maid cards, c. 1940 Collection Jim Linderman

4 comments:

  1. AnitaNHNovember 11, 2009 at 9:10 AM

    That last card looks like Dorothy Parker. So do two others if you recombine them. Sorry, I pinched two of your images for my blog today, but I gave you credit for them, and will promptly remove at your request.

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  2. Dull Tool Dim BulbNovember 11, 2009 at 9:27 AM

    Go right ahead! Same goes for everyone, as long as you CREDIT and link, feel free! I like pictures to get around.

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  3. MaureenNovember 11, 2009 at 6:23 PM

    Baba-nuki sounds so much better, I might have use it some time.

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  4. D. SissonNovember 27, 2009 at 12:31 PM

    Thanks for posting these! They are the same Old Maid cards that I played with as a kid in the sixties. I'd like to find a deck of them to buy but I've only found ones with other images on the internet. If you know more info about them I'd appreciate it!

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