Spite & Malice is an exhilarating competitive patience game designed for two players, blending strategy and luck in a race to empty your pay-off pile first. Each player begins with a hand of 5 cards, a pay-off pile of 20 cards, and 4 empty side stacks. Positioned centrally are 3 empty center stacks and a stock pile containing the rest of the deck.
The goal is straightforward yet challenging: be the first to empty your pay-off pile. The center stacks are built up sequentially from the ace upwards, regardless of suit. For instance, you might start with the ace of diamonds, followed by the two of spades, the three of hearts, and so on. Kings are wild and can be played on any center stack, transforming to fit the next required card. If you play a king of spades on a ten of clubs, it becomes a queen.
When a center stack reaches completion by playing a queen or king on a jack, it is shuffled back into the stock pile. Side stacks offer flexibility; you can place any card on them, but only the top card is accessible for play.
At the start of your turn, draw cards from the stock pile to replenish your hand to 5 cards. Your turn can involve several 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, which ends your turn.
The game concludes when a player successfully plays their last card from the pay-off pile onto a center stack, securing victory and earning points equivalent to the number of cards left in the opponent's pay-off pile. Should the stock pile run out before this happens, the game ends in a tie, with no points awarded.
To win the match, a player must accumulate 50 points across multiple games. Spite & Malice is a thrilling test of strategy, patience, and a bit of spiteful fun!
