Spite And Malice

See full list on solitaireparadise.com.

1. ›
2. ›

Spite and Malice game info

• Family: Competitive Solitaire Games
• Decks: Three decks (156 cards)
• Game time: Long
• Also known as: Cat and Mouse, Skip-bo

1. Play North Sky Games’ brand new Spite & Malice game, also known as Skip-Bo and Cat and Mouse. Play all the cards from your payoff piles before your opponent and win the match! With a host of unique game variants, including Kings and Misery, and 4 challenging levels of difficulty, Spite & Malice offers an unparalleled game play experience!
2. Spite and Malice: Play this classic card game also know as Cat and Mouse or Skip-bo against a computer opponent. The object of this game is to get rid of your stack of cards on the left by placing them on the 3 centre stacks.

How to play Spite and Malice

Table of contents

Goal

The object of Spite and Malice is to get rid of all your cards in your goal pile by placing them on the playing piles. The first player to empty their goal pile wins.

Players

Spite and Malice can be played with two to four players. In most computer versions, such as the one we feature here, the game is played with two players.

Layout & deal

Spite and Malice is played with three decks of 52 cards each, hence 156 cards in total. Each player has their own goal pile, four discard piles and a hand with maximum five cards. There are four common playing piles and a common draw pile.At the start, a certain amount of cards are dealt to each player's goal pile, face-down. The top card of the goal piles is turned face-up. The rest of the cards go into the common draw pile, face-down.

Play

• At the start of each turn, cards from the common draw pile are dealt until the player has five cards in his hand.
• Then, the player plays cards from his goal pile, hand or discard piles to the playing piles.
• Playing piles must start with an Ace and are built in ascending order up to a Queen (A-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-J-Q). Suits of the cards don’t matter in Spite and Malice.
• Cards that can be moved to the playing piles are the top card of the goal pile, the top cards of the four discard piles, and any card in your hand.
• Kings are wild and can be played on the playing piles to substitute any other value.
• The turn finishes when a card is played from the hand to one of the discard piles.

Strategy

• Focus on your goal pile: Always focus on playing the top card of your goal pile. No other moves really matter. Avoid playing cards just because you can play them.
• Keep an eye on the opponent's goal pile: Avoid playing cards that might help your opponent play the top card of his goal pile, except if it serves you as well.
• Use your hand to reach your goal card: Cards in your hand are always playable, so the most helpful hand cards are the cards right before your goal card. For example, if you have a 10 as goal card, keep cards like 7-8-9 in your hand.
• Clear your hand: Playing all five cards in your hand so you get five new cards is a good move, as long as it doesn't help your opponent.
• Use Kings wisely: Kings are wild in Spite and Malice and hence are very helpful to reach your goal card, but remember they can also be used to prevent your opponent from playing his goal card.
• Play cards to the discard piles wisely: Prefer playing high cards to the discard piles over low cards. Ideally you make piles with cards of the same rank because this prevents burying any card. If you cannot play a matching card, play low cards on top of high cards instead of high cards on low cards. Fill all discard piles before putting cards on top of each other, but reserve some piles for high cards only so you avoid burying low rank cards.

Hopefully, you can use some of these tips on how to win at Spite and Malice in your next game.

History

With its origins dating back until the mid-1800s, people have been playing Spite and Malice for a very long time. Originally from Europe, its popularity in the United States rose after the First World War. A variation of Spite and Malice called Flinch was released in 1905. The commercial version of Spite and Malice called Skip-Bo was released in 1967.

Variants

The most common version of Spite and Malice is the two player version where you play against a computer opponent. There is a commercial variation of Spite and Malice called Skip-Bo. Cat and Mouse is mostly synonymous with Spite and Malice but can have some slight variations in its rules, e.g. two decks instead of three, the amount of cards dealt to the goal pile, and three playing piles instead of four. Although mostly known as a two-player game, Spite and Malice can be played with three or four players. Read this guide for the rule variations.

FAQ

Are Kings wild in Spite and Malice?Yes, Kings are wild in Spite and Malice and can substitute any other value.

How many decks do you need for Spite and Malice?To play Spite and Malice, you need three decks of 52 cards each, hence 156 cards in total.

Can you play Spite and Malice with three players?Yes, Spite and Malice can be played with more than two players, if some rule variations are taken into account. The number of cards dealt to the goal piles is 17 for three players and 13 for four players. The game is played in a clockwise direction. The player with the highest card on his goal pile after the deal starts.

When was Spite and Malice invented?Spite and Malice is believed to have been invented in Europe in the mid-1800s.

More info

What is Spiteand Malice?

Spite and Malice is a traditional Solitaire style card game, stemming from the classic game of Crapette. This game takes influence from influence, injecting competitive elements that make it much more fun. In fact, a commercial variation was eventually released by Hasbro in 2002. The game is also referred to as Cat and Mouse.

How to PlaySpite and Malice?

Spite and Malice can be played with two players and above. All you need to play the game are multiple standard 52-card Anglo American decks with 2 Jokers each. For each player in the game, one deck is required. For example, if 3 players are playing, 3 52-card decks are to be used.

The following examples assume a standard setup of Spite and Malice with 2 players.

Card Ranks

Since Spite and Malice is a puzzle-style game like Solitaire,and hence uses card ranks where Aces are the lowest and Kings are the highest.Note that scoring is not used during gameplay, hence, the relevance of cardranks are solely for the puzzling aspect.

Suits are not relevant in Spite and Malice.

Dealing

All decks are shuffled together and thencut by each player. A dealer is then selected, either by deck splitting or atrandom.

The dealer then deals 26 cards to eachplayer. These cards are set aside to form each player’s goal pile. These cardscannot be viewed by their corresponding player.

The top card of each goal pile is turnedface up, and placed on top of the pile.

The remaining cards are then placedface-down at the centre of the board, forming the stock or the draw pile.

Gameplay

The dealer goes first,and turn order proceeds in clockwise order.

Each player beginstheir turn by drawing cards from the draw pile until their hands consist of 5cards each. This process will repeat for each turn, with each player drawingthe needed number of cards to replenish their hand.

For example, if aplayer ended their previous turn with 3 cards, they will draw 2 cards to refilltheir hand to 5 cards.

Note that it ispossible for players to play all 5 cards from hand before the turn ends. Ifthis happens, the player will draw 5 cards from the draw pile.

After replenishingtheir hand, players will make any possible plays to the sequences on the board.Like in Solitaire, players need to create sequences beginning with Aces, andsequentially ascending card-by-card until Kings are played to complete the set.

If Aces are ever drawnor revealed from the goal pile, they are played immediately.

Once a set iscompleted from Aces to Kings, it is set aside. These cards will not be used inplay until the draw pile has been depleted. Once the draw pile is depleted, allcompleted sets so far are shuffled and returned to form the new draw pile.

Players can make playsusing the 5 cards in hand, cards at the top of each discard pile, and the topcard of the goal pile. Once the top card of the goal pile is played, the nextcard is revealed and can be played again if there are valid moves.

Once a player decidesto end their turn, they discard one card from their hand. Discards are made tothe discard piles. Each player has 4 discard piles each, and players can onlyplay the top card of each discard pile before gaining access to the bottomcards.

Discarding will alwaysend a turn.

Sets are shared amongall players, and players can play their cards onto any available set,regardless of who started the set.

Jokers

In Spite and Malice, Jokersare wild cards, and can be played in place of any other card. This includes theAces used in starting new sets as well.

Players then continuethe sets, assuming the Joker substitutes the initial card. For example, if aPlayer plays a Joker onto a set with a Jack, the Joker substitutes a Queen.Thus, the next card to be played onto the set will need to be a King.

How to Win?

The first player to clear their entire goalpile will win the game. The final card can be won via a play onto a set, or bya discard.

Rules

The Spite and Malice rules are:

• Decks are shuffled and cut.
• A dealer is determined.
• Each player is dealt 26 cards each, forming the goal pile. The top card of each player’s goal pile is flipped face-up.
• The remaining cards are placed face-down at the centre of the board, forming the draw pile.
• The game begins with the dealer going first, and turn order proceeds in clockwise order.
• At the start of each turn, each player draws until their hands consist of 5 cards each.
• If any Aces are drawn or available from the top of the goal piles, they are placed to the center of the board, forming the sets.
• Players build sets sequentially in ascending card ranks. When sets reach the final card, the King, they are set aside.
• Each player attempts to clear their goal piles of all 26 cards.

Scoring & Points

Spite and Malice scoring is based on the completion of the goal and the number of remainingcards.

A player who managesto clear their goal pile will be awarded 5 points.

When a player wins theround, they are also awarded points based on the number of remaining cards intheir opponent’s goal piles.

For example, in a2-player game, if Player 1 wins the round, and Player 2 has 6 cards left intheir draw pile, Player 1 is awarded 5+6=11 points in total.

Example Hand

The following is an example play in Spite and Malice with 2players.

Player A: K♦ 5♦ 3♣ 2♤ Q♦
Goal Pile: 2♦

Player B: J♦ 6♤ 5♣ 3♥ A♥
Goal Pile: 4♦

At this stage, Player B begins by playing the A♥, beginning a new set. There are no more available plays, and Player B discards his J♦.

Player A has a 2♦ atop his/her goal pile and plays that card. The next revealed card is an A♦, and Player A creates a new set. Using the 3♣, 2♤ from hand, he/she adds to the sets.

Player A no longer has plays and discards acard to end their turn.

Player B draws a new card and the gameproceeds as usual.

Strategy Tips

Spite And Malice App

• In Spite and Malice strategy, the main thing to consider is blocking, where you opt to not play a card from hand to prevent a player from playing their own cards.
• Spite and Malice is a casual game, and thus, players can distract opponents by talking unless house rules state otherwise.
• If you have the same card rank from your goal pile and hand, always play cards from the goal pile first.
• Remember that the hand doesn’t matter in the long run, only the goal pile matters.
• Jokers are valuable, and do not have to be played instantly after being revealed.
• If your opponent has only a few cards left in their goal pile, don’t hesitate to keep cards until you can make a chain of plays.

Play Online for Free

If you’re interested in playing Spite and Malice online, consider trying out the simulators on Gamefools and GameTwist, which both support multiplayer play.

Furthermore, you will also be able to findgames available for download online as well as a variety of free apps.

Frequently Asked Questions

Spite And Malice Free

How manycards are dealt at the start of each game?

At the start of each game, each player isdealt 26 cards to their goal piles, and 5 cards to hand.

What areother names for the game?

Other names for Spite and Malice are Cat and Mouse, the Misery card game and Spike and Malice.

What is theorigin of Spite and Malice?

Spite and Malice takes influence from the 19^th century Crapette game, which originated from Brazil and Portugal.

Players

Are there alternate rules in Spite and Malice?

Spite And Malice - NeonGames.com

If a faster-paced game is desired, goal pile size can be reduced to 13 cards instead, resulting in quicker games.