Pair everything off and make sure the odd queen ends up elsewhere.
The odd card in the deck has no partner, and whoever is holding it at the end loses. That is the whole game, and it is usually the first one a child learns.
A 52-card deck with one queen removed — traditionally the queen of clubs, so the surviving black queen becomes the old maid. That leaves 51 cards: 25 pairs and one odd card.
Some sets use a special deck with a printed old maid card instead.
Deal all the cards out. It does not matter that hands are uneven.
Everyone looks at their hand and lays down every pair they hold, face up. Only pairs — three of a kind counts as one pair with a card left over.
The player to the dealer's left offers their hand, fanned face down, to the player on their left. That player draws one card without seeing it.
If it pairs with something in their hand, they lay the pair down.
They then offer their own hand to the next player, and so on round the table.
A player whose hand is empty is out and safe.
Eventually one player is left holding the unmatched queen. They are the old maid and lose.
The skill, such as it is, lies in how you offer your hand. Holding the odd queen slightly proud of the others, or shuffling before each offer, decides more games than luck does — which is why children learn to watch hands rather than cards.