Spite and Malice

Objective:

The objective of Spite and Malice is to be the first player to play all the cards from their individual stockpile onto the building piles in the center of the playing area.

Setup:

1. Spite and Malice is typically played with two players. Each player should have their own deck of 52 playing cards.
2. Shuffle each deck separately and deal each player 5 cards face-down to form their stockpile. Then, deal each player 20 cards face-down in a separate pile, which becomes their hand. The remaining cards form the draw pile.

Card Rankings:

In Spite and Malice, the card rankings are as follows:

• Cards rank in the standard order from Ace (low) to King (high).

Gameplay:

1. The players take turns, starting with the player who is not the dealer.
2. On your turn, you can play cards from your hand onto the building piles in the center. The building piles are built up in ascending order, starting with Ace and continuing to King.
3. You can play cards onto your own building piles or onto your opponent’s building piles. However, you cannot play cards onto your opponent’s building piles if they are blocked by a “Spite” card.
4. Each player can have up to four building piles: two personal piles and two opponent piles.
5. To start a new building pile, you must play an Ace from your hand or a card that follows the rank of the previous top card in the building pile.
6. If you play a card from your hand onto your own building pile, you can draw a replacement card from the draw pile.
7. If you cannot or choose not to play any cards from your hand, you must discard one card face-up onto a separate discard pile.
8. You can play cards from your stockpile onto the building piles as well. However, the cards from the stockpile must be played in sequential order.
9. The game continues with players taking turns playing cards, drawing cards, and discarding until one player has played all the cards from their stockpile and hand onto the building piles.
10. Once a player has no cards left in their stockpile and hand, they win the round.

Scoring:

• In Spite and Malice, the rounds are usually played over a series of games, and scores are kept to determine the overall winner.
• At the end of each round, the player who goes out first scores points based on the cards left in their opponent’s hand. Each card left in the opponent’s hand counts as a penalty point.
• The first player to reach a predetermined number of points, typically 500, wins the overall game.

Tips:

• Keep an eye on your opponent’s stockpile and hand to gauge their progress and plan your moves accordingly.
• Strategically block your opponent’s building piles with “Spite” cards to slow down their progress.
• Try to play cards from your stockpile onto the building piles whenever possible to increase your options and speed up your gameplay.
• Use your discards wisely, as they can be picked up by your opponent and used against you.

Spite and Malice is an engaging and competitive card game that requires strategic planning and a bit of luck. With this guide, you’re ready to start playing and enjoy the exciting gameplay of Spite and Malice!

Play online: https://www.solitaireparadise.com/games_list/spite-and-malice.html