Talk:Old Maid

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[edit] Variant removed

One variant from the UK is known as Scabby Queen. The concept of this game is identical, with one exception. When the loser (the player with the single remaining Queen) is found, the deck of cards (including the remaining Queen but not the Jokers) is shuffled and the loser cuts the deck. The card on the bottom of the pile they picked up then decides their "punishment". If a red card (heart or diamond) is chosen, then the player is rapped on the back of the hand with the deck. If a black card (spades or clubs) is chosen, then he/she has the entire deck scrapped across their knuckes. The number of times this is performed is decided by the value of the card. Cards 2-10 carry face value, Jacks and Kings have a value of 10, Aces are 11 and Queens are 21. Be aware that this can rip the skin of your hands, and can be extremely painful, hence the name Scabby Queen. It is also better to use old or cheap cards, as the cards can also be damaged (cheap and older cards also tend to be softer and more bendable, so the "punishment" is less severe). However, today the game is often played without this punishment, especially where the pain inflicted is not considered appropriate by the players (such as when parents are playing with their children), though the game is still called Scabby Queen. As a result, the punishment aspect of the game is absent in some areas of the UK.

I've removed this is I doubt the prevalence of this variant. violet/riga (t) 13:29, 18 July 2006 (UTC)

Just how widely played Scabby Queen is I couldn't say, but the game was common while I was at school a quarter century ago.

'Folding' the deck (holding the cards curved across the width) when administering punishment was usually frowned upon, as this stiffened the deck considerably and was more likely to cause teacher-noticable damage to the knuckles. --Moriarty

[edit] Old Maid (card game)

There's a bit of a conflict between this and Old Maid, the card game. Looking up Old Maid instantly takes you to the spinster page, making this article much harder to find. There's also only a capital letter difference. I'm posting this on the SPinster discussion page as well. I think someone with a better knowledge of wikipedia style etc. to possibly make a redirect or mention of some kind. Vadigor 21:05, 22 May 2007 (UTC)