Spite and Malice
American 2-player COMPETITIVE SOLITAIRE (~1920s USA) — hybrid of solitaire + rummy. Each player has a face-down 'PAYOFF PILE' of 26+ cards; goal: EMPTY YOUR PAYOFF PILE FIRST by building UP shared centre piles (Ace→Queen). Kings + Queens are WILD. Commercialised as SKIP-BO by Mattel (1967, based on same principles).
Quick facts
Category
Card Games
Type
Individual
Players
2–6
Duration
~30 min
Where played
indoor
Country of origin
🇺🇸 United States
Estimated origin
Emerged early 20th century USA; commercialised as SKIP-BO (1967) by Minnie Hazel 'Skip' Bowman + acquired by Mattel; still played traditionally as public-domain 'Spite & Malice'.
Olympic
No
Popularity
regional
How it works
Objective
Be first to EMPTY YOUR PAYOFF PILE by playing its top card onto shared centre 'build piles' (Ace → Queen).
Rules
Basic rules
SETUP: each player has a PAYOFF PILE (usually 26 cards, face-down, top face-up) + hand of 5 cards + 4 personal DISCARD piles
Signature 4-zone player setup.
CENTRE BUILD PILES: up to 4 shared centre piles built UP Ace → 2 → 3 → ... → Queen (Queen completes → pile removed)
Signature Ace-to-Queen builds.
KINGS ARE WILD — can substitute for any card in the centre builds
Signature King-wild rule.
TURN: (1) draw hand up to 5; (2) play top of payoff pile OR hand cards onto centre build piles; (3) end turn by discarding to one of own 4 side piles
Standard 3-step turn.
SIDE DISCARD PILES: top card can be replayed later; strategic sequencing key
Signature 4-pile discard strategy.
MUST PLAY payoff pile top when possible = key win-condition motion
Signature must-play rule.
WIN: first player to play LAST card from their PAYOFF PILE wins
Standard win condition.
Scoring
First to empty payoff pile wins; sometimes scored by opponent's remaining payoff cards.
Win condition · First to empty payoff pile.
Equipment
Two standard 52-card decks (104 cards total for 2 players)
Signature 2-deck setup for 2p.
Chips optional for scoring
Score tracking.
Terminology
- Payoff pile
- Face-down starting stack you must empty to win.
- Build pile
- Centre shared piles built Ace-to-Queen.
- Side pile
- Player's 4 personal discard/sequence piles.
- Wild King
- King substitutes for any needed card in a build.
Where it is played
Sources & provenance
- Wikipedia — Spite and Malice— Wikipedia
- Pagat.com — Spite and Malice— Pagat