How to play Spite and Malice
Spite and Malice (also called Cat and Mouse) is a competitive patience game for two players – a race to get rid of your payoff pile while you share the building piles in the middle with your opponent. Here are the standard rules, with common house rules at the end.
Cards and set-up
Two standard 52-card decks are shuffled together (three decks for three or four players). Kings are wild. Each player is dealt a face-down payoff pile of 20 cards (some families play 13, 26 or 30) and its top card is turned face up. The rest of the cards form the stock. Each player also has space for four discard piles, and in the middle there is room for up to four shared centre piles.
The goal
Be the first to play every card of your payoff pile onto the centre piles.
Building the centre piles
A centre pile starts with an Ace and goes up one card at a time: Ace, 2, 3 … Jack, Queen. Suits and colours don't matter. When a pile reaches the Queen it is complete and set aside; completed piles are shuffled back into the stock when it runs out. A King is wild and can stand for any card, including an Ace to start a pile.
A turn
- Draw from the stock until you have five cards in your hand.
- Play as many cards as you like onto the centre piles – from your hand, from the top of your payoff pile, or from the top of your own discard piles. When you play the top payoff card, the next one is turned face up.
- 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 onto one of your four discard piles.
Only the top card of each discard pile can be played, and you can never play from your opponent's discard piles.
Strategy tips
- Watch your opponent's payoff card. If it is a 9, don't build a centre pile up to an 8 – that's the "spite" in Spite and Malice.
- Save your wild Kings for the moment they let you reach your own payoff card.
- Order your discard piles from high to low (Queen, Jack, 10…) so they play back in order later. Keep one pile for high cards.
- Playing your whole hand gives you five fresh cards – often worth it.
Spite and Malice for 3 or 4 players
Everyone plays for themselves with three decks shuffled together (four decks if the payoff piles are long). Play passes to the left. The rules are otherwise the same – you just have more opponents to keep an eye on.
Popular house rules
| Rule | Variants |
|---|---|
| Payoff pile | 13 (quick), 20 (standard), 26 or 30 cards (long) |
| Wild cards | Kings (standard), Kings and jokers, or jokers only – then Kings are ordinary and the piles go up to the King |
| Discards | Anywhere (standard) or only on an empty pile or a card of the same rank |
| No more stock | If the stock and the finished piles run out and nobody can play, the smaller payoff pile wins |
The app lets you choose all of these.
Play Spite and Malice – no adsFAQ
How many cards are in the payoff pile in Spite and Malice?
The standard is 20 cards each for two players. Shorter games use 13 cards, longer ones 26 or 30.
Are Kings wild in Spite and Malice?
Yes. In the standard rules every King is wild and can stand for any card on a centre pile, including an Ace to start a new pile. Some families add jokers as wild cards too.
Can you play from your opponent's discard pile?
No. You may only play the top cards of your own four discard piles, your hand and your own payoff pile.
What happens when you play all five cards from your hand?
You draw five new cards from the stock straight away and continue your turn.
What is another name for Spite and Malice?
It is also known as Cat and Mouse. It is the traditional card game that several commercial games are based on.
Can I play Spite and Malice alone?
Yes – in the app Spite and Malice Card Game you play against a fair computer opponent, offline and without ads.
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