Spite and Malice

Spite and Malice is a two-player race that plays like solitaire with an opponent breathing down your neck. You share the center piles, so every card you play can help or block the other side. Play this Spite and Malice card game free in your browser, with no download, against a computer opponent. It’s also known as Cat and Mouse.

How to play Spite and Malice

The game uses two standard 52-card decks shuffled together, with no jokers. Suits never matter, only ranks. The rules follow the main two-player version on pagat.com.

• The deal: each player gets a face-down pay-off pile of 20 cards with the top card turned face up, plus a hand of 5 cards. The rest of the cards form the stock.
• Who starts: the player whose top pay-off card is higher goes first. If they are the same rank, both pay-off piles are reshuffled.
• Drawing: at the start of every turn, you draw from the stock until you hold 5 cards.
• Center piles: these are shared. A pile must start with an Ace and then goes up one rank at a time: 2, 3, 4 and so on up to the Queen. There can be at most 3 center piles at once.
• Kings are wild: a King counts as whatever rank the pile needs next. In this game a King can’t start a pile in place of an Ace.
• Playing cards: you can play to the center from your hand, from the top of your pay-off pile, or from the top of any of your four discard piles.
• Full piles: when a pile reaches the Queen, its 12 cards are shuffled back into the stock and the space is free again.
• Empty hand: if you play all 5 cards from your hand to the center, you draw 5 more and keep going.
• Ending your turn: discard one card from your hand onto one of your four discard piles. Any card can go on any discard pile, but only the top card can be played later. Pay-off cards can never be discarded.
• Winning: the first player to play the last card of their pay-off pile wins. The winner scores 5 points plus 1 point for each card left in the other player’s pay-off pile.
• Running out: if a player needs to draw and the stock is empty, the game is a draw.

Glowing cards are the ones you can move. Drag a card to a center pile or a discard pile, or tap a card and then tap where it should go.

Options

• Pay-off pile: 13 cards for a quick game, 20 as standard, or 26 for a long one.
• Center piles: 3 as in the main rules, or 4, a common variation that makes the game a little looser.
• Computer: Easy plays its pay-off card when it fits and otherwise moves almost at random. Smart plans chains of cards, and wild Kings, to reach its pay-off card, avoids setting up your next card, and builds tidy discard piles.
• If the stock runs out: call it a draw, or give the win to the player with fewer pay-off cards left.

Strategy tips

• Your pay-off pile comes first. Look for a chain from your hand and discard piles that reaches its top card.
• Watch your opponent’s pay-off card. If their top card is a 7, think twice before taking a center pile up to 6. That is the “spite” in Spite and Malice.
• Save your Kings. A wild King is most useful for the one rank you are missing in a chain to your pay-off card.
• Build discard piles downward. Putting a 9 on a 10 and an 8 on the 9 lets you later play them back up in order. Burying a low card under a high one can lock it away for a long time.
• Empty your hand when you can. Playing all five cards to the center gets you five fresh cards in the same turn.

FAQ

Is this Spite and Malice game free?

Yes. It’s free to play with no account and no install.

Why is it called Cat and Mouse?

Cat and Mouse is simply another name for the same game.

How many decks does Spite and Malice use?

This version uses two standard 52-card decks, 104 cards in all, with no jokers. Some families play with three decks or add jokers as extra wild cards.

Are my stats saved?

Yes. Games played, wins, losses, draws, total points, your best winning streak and your fastest win are saved in your browser, along with your options.

Like patience games? Try classic Klondike Solitaire on your own, or a quick round of Golf Solitaire.