Spite and Malice

How to play Spite and Malice

Spite and Malice (also called Cat and Mouse) is a competitive patience game for two. Both players race to get rid of their pay-off pile by building shared piles in order, while trying not to set up the other player's next card.

Setup

Shuffle two standard decks together.
Deal each player a pay-off pile of 20 cards face down and turn the top card face up.
Deal each player a hand of five cards. The rest of the deck is the draw pile.
In the middle there is room for four build piles. Each player also has room for four discard piles of their own.

Playing a turn

Draw cards until you hold five.
Play cards onto the build piles. A build pile must start with an Ace and go up in order: 2, 3, 4… up to the Queen. Suits don't matter.
You can play from three places: your hand, the top card of any of your discard piles, and the top card of your pay-off pile. When you play your pay-off card, the next one is turned face up.
Kings are wild and can be played as whatever card a build pile needs.
If you play all five cards from your hand, draw five more and keep going.
End your turn by putting one card from your hand on one of your discard piles.

When a build pile reaches a Queen, it is complete and removed. Completed piles are shuffled to make a new draw pile when the deck runs out.

Winning

The first player to play the last card of their pay-off pile wins.

Strategy

Always check your pay-off card first. Look for a chain: a 4 from your hand, then a 5 from a discard pile, then the 6 on your pay-off pile.
Don't feed your opponent. If their pay-off card is an 8, avoid leaving a build pile on 7.
Save Kings. A wild card is most valuable when it plays your pay-off card or blocks a pile at the right moment.
Discard in order. Stacking a discard pile downward (9, 8, 7) or with equal cards lets you play several cards from it in one turn later.

Questions

How many cards are in the pay-off pile in Spite and Malice?

With two players each pay-off pile usually has 20 cards. With three or four players, use 15. For a quicker game, 10 works well.

Are Kings wild in Spite and Malice?

In the most common American rules, yes: a King can stand for any card on a build pile. Some families use Jokers as wild cards instead.

What happens when a build pile reaches Queen?

The finished pile is set aside and later shuffled into the draw pile when the deck runs out.

Is Spite and Malice the same as Skip-Bo?

Skip-Bo is a commercial game based on Spite and Malice. The traditional game uses regular playing cards and slightly different rules.