How to Play Spite and Malice

Co-authored by Hunter Rising Reviewed by Ashton Wu

Last Updated: August 13, 2024 Fact Checked

If you’re looking for a simple 2-player card game similar to solitaire, Spite and Malice is the perfect choice for you. Also known as “Cat and Mouse,” the game is really easy to learn and great for kids, but there’s enough strategy to make it really fun for adults too. If you’re excited to try it out, keep reading for rules and strategy tips for Spite and Malice!

Things You Should Know

Play Spite and Malice with 2 players using 2 standard decks of cards.
Each player has a goal pile with 20 cards, a hand of 5 cards, and 4 discard piles called “side stacks.”
Play cards in ascending order onto “center stacks.” Win the game when you play the last card from your goal pile.

Section 1 of 4:

Objective

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Each player starts the game with a goal pile of 20 cards. During the game, players take turns playing cards in ascending order to the middle of the table from their hand or face-up piles. As soon as someone plays the last card from their goal pile, they win the game.^{[1]
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Section 2 of 4:

Setup

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Use standard 52-card decks without the jokers. Choose a dealer at random to shuffle the cards until they’re thoroughly mixed together.^{[2]
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Deal 20 cards to each player to create the goal piles. Deal the cards into face-down piles and put the leftover cards in a stack in the middle of the table, known as the “stock.” Players can’t look through or change the order of the cards in their goal pile.^{[3]
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- If you want a shorter game, only deal out 13 cards into each goal pile.
Take the first card from your goal pile and turn it face-up so both players can see it. Keep the card on top of the goal pile. The player who has the highest ranking card starts the game.^{[4]
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The “center stacks” are 3 main piles that you’ll play cards to in the middle of the table. Each player also has 4 “side stacks,” which are personal discard piles that you’ll add to at the end of each turn. The center stacks and side stacks are all empty at the start of the game.^{[5]
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Section 3 of 4:

Gameplay

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On your first turn, you’ll draw 5 cards from the stock to form your hand. If you ever have cards left over from a previous turn, only draw enough cards until you have 5 in your hand.^{[6]
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Play any number of cards onto the center stacks. If there are empty center stacks, you can play an ace to start a new one. If there are already 3 center stacks started, you must play the next card in ascending order. You can play any cards from your hand, or use the top cards of your goal pile or side stacks. You can play as many cards to the center stacks as you want during your turn.^{[7]
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- Kings are wild cards, so you can use them as any rank.
- When you play the top card of the goal pile, immediately flip the next card of the goal pile face-up so you can see it.
- If you ever play all the cards from your hand, draw 5 more cards from the stock and keep taking your turn.
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Discard a card from your hand to the side stacks to end your turn. When you decide to end your turn or when you’re out of legal moves, choose 1 card from your hand to put into one of your side stacks. If you already started 4 side stacks, then place your discard on top of one of the piles. Then the next player takes their turn.^{[8]
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- You can put the cards in any order when you make your side stacks.
- You can only ever play the top card of a side stack. Any card underneath the top card is unavailable.
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Win the game if you play the last card of your goal pile. Players keep taking turns drawing, playing, and discarding cards until a player empties their goal pile and triggers the end of the game. The other player has 1 more turn to try and finish their goal pile. If they’re unable to finish, the person who played all their cards wins!^{[9]
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- If both players finish their goal piles, then the game ends in a tie.

Section 4 of 4:

Strategy

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If you have a card in your hand or side stacks that has the same rank as the top card of your goal pile, always play the one from your goal pile first. Remember that you just have to empty your goal pile to win the game, so it’s okay if you keep cards in your hand or side stacks.^{[10]
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Save kings to play large sequences of cards. Since kings are wild and count as any value, they might be tempting to play right away. Keep kings in your hand or on top of a side stack instead so you can easily access it. When you can play multiple cards in ascending rank order during your turn, use kings to fill in any gaps between cards that you have.^{[11]
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- Example: You have a 2, 3, 4, queen, and king. A center stack has a jack showing. On your turn, play the queen to complete the stack. Then, start a new stack with the king and play the rest of the cards in your hand.
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Wait to put down cards that your opponent could play on. Even if you can play a card from your hand, check what card is on top of your opponent’s goal pile. If they could play that card on top of what you want to play on a center stack, hold onto the card for now. That way, you stall your opponent so they have a tougher time emptying their goal pile.^{[12]
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- Example: If there's an ace in the center stack and your opponent has a 3 on top of their goal pile, wait to play a 2 so your opponent can't play their card.
- Be sure to check the top cards of your opponent’s side stacks as well since they may be setting up a big play.
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Organize cards in your side stacks by value or in descending order. Keep cards of a higher rank on the bottom of your side stacks and pile lower rank cards on top. That way, if you play the top card of the side stack, you have a better chance of playing the card that was directly underneath it.^{[13]
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- Example: On your turn, you discard a 7 and place it on top of an 8 in your side stack. If there’s a 6 on a center pile during your next turn, you can play the 7, immediately making the top card an 8 that’s available to play.