Game Rules

Spite & Malice

Spite & Malice is a competitive two-player game that has some similarities to double solitaire. It is played with two standard 52-card packs. Cards rank from ace (the lowest) to queen (the highest), and kings are wild. Suits are ignored in this game.

Setup

Five cards are dealt to each player to form their starting hands, and 20 cards are dealt face down to each player to form their payoff piles. The top card of each payoff pile (the payoff card) is turned up, and the player with the highest payoff card goes first. King is considered the highest card in this case. If the cards have the same value, the payoff piles are shuffled and redealt. The remaining cards form the draw pile for both players.

Players have four side stacks in front of them that begin the game empty, and there are four center stacks on the left of the play area that also begin the game empty. Players move cards to these stacks while playing.

Summary of Gameplay

The object of the game is to be the first player to play all of the cards in your payoff pile to the center stacks. You use the side stacks as a holding area for your discards. The game is played as described below:

Play cards from your hand, payoff pile, or side stacks to the center stacks. This step is optional. You can play as many cards as you like. Center stacks can be started with aces, and then are built up in sequence (A-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-J-Q), regardless of suit. Kings are wild, and can represent any card. When kings are played, they are changed to reflect the rank of card they represent, but with a “Wild” indicator on the card to show that it was a king.

When you play a card from your side stack, the next card in that stack (if there is one) is revealed. At any time, you can click and hold down the Peek button above your side stack to see all the cards in that stack. (If there is no button underneath a stack, there is only one card in that stack.)

If you play the top card of your payoff pile, the next card in the pile is turned up to replace it.

Note: Kings played to side stacks remain wild; their rank is only determined when they are played to the center stacks.

When a queen is played to a center stack, all the cards on that stack are removed and are shuffled back into the draw pile.

If you play all five cards in your hand to the center stack on your turn, you’re immediately dealt five new cards and your turn continues.

To end your turn, play a card from your hand to one of your side stacks. This action is required and always ends your turn.

The game ends when one player wins by playing the last card in his or her payoff pile to one of the center stacks. If the draw pile is depleted before this happens—a rare occurrence—and no players can play cards, the hand ends and the player with the fewest cards in his or her payoff pile wins the hand.

Playing the Game

1 On your turn, drag any cards you want to play from your hand, your payoff pile, or one of your side stacks to the center stacks. You can play as many cards as you like. Right-click a card to automatically play it to a valid center stack (this will only work if there is only one valid stack; otherwise, nothing will happen).

To see what cards are in any of your side stacks, click and hold down the Peek button above the stack you want to see.

2 When you’re finished playing cards, drag a card from your hand to one of your side stacks. This ends your turn and your hand is replenished to five cards. Play passes to your opponent.

3 The game ends when one player wins by playing his or her final payoff card to the center stacks, or when the draw pile is exhausted.

Note: If the draw pile is depleted, but players can still play cards, the game continues, with the players playing cards to the center piles but not getting any new cards. Note that finishing one of the center stacks (by playing a queen to it) will reshuffle the cards in that stack back into a draw pile, allowing the game to continue and possibly end.

Game Options

You can set the rules for the game, how the game is set up, and how the game is played.

You can change all the options before the game begins. Once the game has begun, changing some options may require you to restart the game.

To set game rules and options:

1 Click the Spite & Malice Settings menu item on the Options menu.

2 Make the changes you want.

3 Click OK to save your changes.

Option Description

Single Games Specifies that you play individual games, with no scoring.

Match PlaySpecifies that multiple games be played. Games are scored as described below, with the game ending when one player reaches or exceeds 25, 50, or 100 points.

Each player scores five points for clearing their own payoff pile, and one point for each card remaining in their opponent’s payoff pile. In a draw, the player with the fewest payoff cards scores the difference between the number of cards in their payoff pile and the number in their opponent’s.

Center StacksChoose whether to have three or four center stacks. A standard game uses four stacks. In most cases, games with three stacks take longer, since it may take more time for players to play cards to the center stacks.

Difficulty LevelSets the difficulty for the game to Easy, Normal, or Hard.

Spite & Malice Strategies and Tips

General Strategies

·         Keep your eyes on the prize! Always make playing the payoff card your top priority, and resist playing cards just because you can. Even if you have an opportunity to play a long sequence of cards from your hand or a side stack, always play the payoff card when you can and make all your moves with an eye to getting the payoff card played. No other moves really matter!

·         Play a payoff card even if it means your opponent will be able to play his payoff card next turn (unless your opponent is about to play his last card).

·         Watch your opponent’s payoff card, and never help your opponent get closer to playing this card (by playing cards to the center that are close to the desired payoff card), unless you are trying for a nearby payoff card. For example, if your payoff card is a 10, and your opponent’s payoff card is a 7, and a center pile contains a 3 on which you could play a 4 and 5, hold on to those cards and avoid playing them until you can “play past” your opponent (by playing at least 4-5-6-7).

·         If the center stacks are not close to your opponent’s payoff card, it’s generally safe to play cards freely to the center piles, even if it doesn’t help you. Getting cards out of your hand is often benefit enough. Which leads us to the next strategy tip…

·         Try to clear your hand of cards when possible, as long as it doesn’t help your opponent. Clearing your hand gives you five new cards, which may get you closer to your goal.

·         Don’t hesitate to be vicious—the name of the game says it all. If you get a chance to play the same card that’s currently on top of your opponent’s payoff pile, play it to the center stack to prevent him or her from playing it. Your opponent would do the same to you!

·         It may be difficult to decide how to play a king from your payoff pile (assuming you have more than one center stack to play to). Be sure to use the king in a way that gives your opponent the least help getting to his or her payoff card. Otherwise, consider using it as a card that you don’t have, since it may then help you play the payoff card you’re about to reveal. Another particularly ruthless way to play the king is to use it with other cards to get to your opponent’s payoff card, if you can.

·         When playing towards your payoff card, if you have a choice of playing the same card from your hand or from your side stacks, play from your hand to get more cards dealt to you next turn, unless you really need to expose the cards underneath the card on your side stack.

·         When holding on to cards for future use, try to keep cards as a run in your hand, ditching any card that’s not part of a straight or near straight in your hand. This gives you the most versatility as these cards are always free to play. This is especially true for cards leading up to your payoff card and cards that immediately follow your payoff card. For example, if your payoff card is a 9, and your hand contains a 3, 6, 7, 8, J, hold the 6-7-8 in your hand as long as you can, and discard the other cards to the side stacks.

·         If you can’t hold the straight because you have to discard cards to the side stacks, try transferring the straight to a single side stack, one card at a time, so that it can later be played in order.

·         When you have only one payoff card left, and your opponent has several cards left in his or her payoff stack, play to the center stacks more aggressively than you normally would in order to get more cards dealt to you. In other words, play as many cards as you can to the center stacks, unless it helps your opponent play his or her payoff card.

Playing Cards to the Side Stacks

Playing cards to the side stacks correctly is critical in Spite & Malice; since you must play one card here at the end of each turn, it is important not to get yourself into trouble by burying important cards. Some guidelines for playing to the side stacks:

All things being equal, play high cards to empty stacks. Queens and jacks are great plays to the side stacks. Your best, safest bet is to play matching cards to the side stacks; in other words, play a card that matches the card on the top of the stack (such as playing a 10 on top of another 10). This is an ideal play, since you’re not hiding any cards. Try reserving some stacks for only high cards, such as queens, since you don’t want to have to play those cards on top of lower cards.

Fill all the side stacks with cards (preferably high ones) before putting unmatching cards on top of stacks containing cards. For example, don’t place a 10 on top of a queen stack if you have an empty stack you can play it to.

You might find it useful to play straights in your hand to a side stack so you can play them in order later. For example, you might play a 9-10-J in reverse order onto a stack. (You may be forced to cover these straights up, however, so try to keep them in your hand if you can.)

Always play low cards on top of higher cards. For example, you could play a 9 onto a 10, or a 6 onto an 8, or a 3 on to a 7. Try never to play a higher card on a lower card as it may effectively bury that card.

It’s a good move to play a card matching your current payoff card to a side stack. You don’t need these cards in your hand, since they don’t help you get to your payoff card, and it doesn’t give your opponent any free information.

Do not cover a card in your side stacks that immediately precedes your payoff card. If your payoff card is 7 and you have a 6 in a side pile, don’t play a 5 (or other card) on top of it!

Do not play a card that is within three ranks below your current payoff card. You don’t want to show your opponent that you are capable of bridging the gap to your payoff pile. Avoid putting kings on your side stacks unless absolutely necessary; this gives too much information to your opponent.