Spite Street

What is Spite and Malice?

Spite and Malice is a two-player race played with two decks of cards. Each player has a pay-off pile of face-down cards with the top one turned up. Whoever plays their whole pay-off pile into the middle first wins. It is sometimes called Cat and Mouse, and it grew out of an older game called crapette.

It feels like a solitaire you play against someone else. You build shared piles in the middle, and every card you play could be the one your opponent needed. That tug of war is where the name comes from.

Spite Street is free and plays in your browser on a phone, tablet or computer. You can take on twelve computer neighbors, play the Daily Feud, or pass the device back and forth with another player.

How to play Spite and Malice

The setup

Shuffle two standard 52-card decks together. Each player gets a pay-off pile of 20 cards (13 for a short game, 26 for a long one, and long games use a third deck). Turn the top card of each pay-off pile face up. Each player takes five cards in hand and the rest of the deck becomes the stock. The player with the higher face-up pay-off card goes first.

The middle piles

There are up to four shared piles in the middle. Each one starts with an Ace and climbs one rank at a time: Ace, 2, 3 and so on up to the Queen. Suits never matter. When a pile reaches the Queen it is finished and gets shuffled back under the stock.

Kings are wild

A King can stand for any card. Played on a pile, it takes the next value, so a King on a 6 counts as a 7. In Spite Street a King can also start a pile as an Ace, unless the house rule says otherwise. We show the King's value right on the pile so you never have to count.

Your turn

• Draw from the stock until you have five cards in hand.
• Play as many cards to the middle as you like. They can come from your hand, the top of your pay-off pile, or the top of any of your side stacks.
• If you play all five hand cards, draw five more and keep going.
• End your turn by putting one card from your hand on one of your four side stacks. Any card can go on any side stack, but pay-off cards never go there.

Winning and scoring

The first player to empty their pay-off pile wins the game. We use the classic way to score it, so a big win counts for more than a close one.

After every game we show exactly how the points added up, along with your record against that neighbor.

House rules you can choose

Spite and Malice has always been played a few different ways around kitchen tables. In Quick Game and Pass and Play you can set them yourself:

• Pay-off pile: 13, 20 or 26 cards.
• Middle piles: four (the common modern rule) or three (the older rule).
• Kings can start a pile: on by default. Turn it off for the old book rule where only a real Ace starts a pile.
• Jokers: add them as extra wild cards.

Every neighbor on the Street also has a house rule of their own, so the game keeps changing as you move along.

Controls

Tap a card, then tap where it should go. Tap a card twice and it goes to the best pile for it. You can also drag cards. Piles that can take your card glow green, and side stacks glow blue when you have a hand card picked, as a reminder that a discard ends your turn.

On a computer: 1 to 5 pick hand cards, P picks your pay-off card, A S D F are your side stacks, Q W E R are the middle piles, Enter makes the best play, H shows a hint, U undoes and Esc opens the menu.

Undo works inside your turn until a new card is revealed, like your next pay-off card or a fresh draw. The Daily Feud has no undo.

The Street and your neighbors

The Street runs through four blocks, from easy to expert: Maple Row (Tilly Tortoise, Mo the Mole, Gertie Goose), Lantern Lane (Rocco Raccoon, Maggie Magpie, Barnaby Badger), Harbor Hill (Odette Otter, Fenwick Heron, Clementine Hare) and Moonlight Square (Sable the Cat, Wendell Walrus, Marguerite Poodle). Beat a neighbor to open the next porch.

Each visit earns up to three stars: one for a win, two if your neighbor still has at least a quarter of their pile left, and three for half or more. There are 36 stars in all, and your best result on each porch is kept.

Our neighbors never peek. They see only what you would see at the table: the face-up cards and their own hand. The deck is shuffled fairly every game.

Daily Feud, Block Party and collections

The Daily Feud is the same deal for everyone that day, played with 13-card piles against one of the Street's neighbors. A win scores 1,000 plus 40 for each card your neighbor has left, plus 10 for each turn under 40. A loss scores 30 for each pay-off card you played. Your first finished game each day goes on the leaderboard, and you can replay the deal for practice.

The Block Party changes every week with a new twist, like jokers wild or three middle piles. Win three games that week to earn its ribbon.

Milestones earn plaques, tablecloths and card backs. The card backs carry over to the other card games on the site, like Gin Garden and Hearts Hollow.

Spite and Malice strategy tips

• Your pay-off pile comes first. Every other play is there to set up your next pay-off card. If it fits, play it.
• Build side stacks downward. Put a 7 on an 8 and a 6 on the 7. Later one good pile can take the whole run in a row.
• Stack equal cards together. Two 9s on one side stack bury nothing useful.
• Save your Kings. A wild card is most valuable when it bridges the gap to your own pay-off card. Spent early, it often helps your opponent instead.
• Watch their pay-off card. If they show a 7, think twice before taking a pile to 6. Sometimes the best play is the one you don't make.
• Empty your hand when it's safe. Playing all five cards draws five more, which means more chances at the card you need.
• Keep a side stack open. An empty side stack lets you park an awkward card without burying something good.

Questions