Are you ready to challenge your friends in a thrilling game of strategy and skill? Spite & Malice is the perfect competitive patience game for two players that will keep you on the edge of your seat! Each player begins with a hand of 5 cards, a pay-off pile with 20 cards, and 4 empty side stacks. In the center of the table, you'll find 3 empty center stacks and a stock pile containing the rest of the deck.

The ultimate goal? Be the first to empty your pay-off pile and claim victory over your opponent. The center stacks are built up from the ace upwards, regardless of suit. So, you can start with the ace of diamonds, followed by the two of spades, the three of hearts, and so on. Kings are your wild cards—play a king on any center stack, and it transforms into the card needed to continue the sequence. For example, if you play the king of spades on a ten of clubs, it becomes a queen.

Once a center stack reaches a queen or king on a jack, it's complete and gets shuffled back into the stock pile. Side stacks are more flexible; you can place any card on them, but only the top card is playable. At the start of your turn, draw from the stock pile to ensure your hand has 5 cards.

During your turn, you have several moves at your disposal:

• Play the top card from your pay-off pile onto one of the center stacks.
• Play the top card from one of your side stacks onto one of the center stacks.
• Play a card from your hand onto one of the center stacks.
• Play a card from your hand onto one of your side stacks, which ends your turn.

The game concludes when a player successfully plays their last card from the pay-off pile onto a center stack, winning the round and earning points equal to the number of cards left in their opponent's pay-off pile. If the stock pile runs out before anyone wins, the game ends in a tie with no points awarded. The first player to reach 50 points takes home the match!