A competitive two-player patience card game!
Spite & Malice is a competitive patience game for two. Each player begins with a hand of 5 cards, a pay-off pile of 20 cards, and 4 empty side stacks.
In the center of the table are 3 empty center stacks and the stock pile holding the remaining cards.
The goal is to be the first player to empty your pay-off pile completely.
The center stacks are built upward from Ace, regardless of suit. The first card could be the Ace of Diamonds,
followed by the Two of Spades, the Three of Hearts, and so on. Kings are wild cards. This allows you to play a King
on any center stack, where it will transform into the card that correctly follows the top card. For example,
if you play the King of Spades on a Ten of Clubs, the King becomes a Queen.
When a center stack is completed (by playing a Queen or King on a Jack), that stack is shuffled back into the stock.
You may place any card onto your side stacks, no matter what cards are already there. Only the top card of each side
stack is available for play, as explained below.
At the start of your turn, draw cards from the stock to refill your hand to 5 cards.
During your turn, you can make one of the following moves:
- Play the top card from your pay-off pile onto a center stack.
- Play the top card from one of your side stacks onto a center stack.
- Play a card from your hand onto a center stack.
- Play a card from your hand onto one of your side stacks. This action ends your turn.
The game ends when a player plays the final card from their pay-off pile onto a center stack.
That player wins the game and scores points equal to the number of cards left in the opponent's pay-off pile.
The game also ends if the stock pile runs out, resulting in a tie with no points awarded.
The first player to reach 50 points wins the match!
