Spite and malice

For the song, see Spite and Malice (song).
Spite and malice
OriginUnited States
Alternative namesCat and Mouse
Players2 or more (originally 2)
DeckSingle 52-card
Rank (high→low)K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 A

Spite and malice, also known as cat and mouse, is a relatively modern American card game for two or more players.[1] It is a reworking of the late 19th-century Continental game crapette,[1] also known as Russian bank, and is a form of competitive solitaire, with a number of variations that can be played with two or three regular decks of cards.[2]

It had a "well-deserved following" during the 1970s when bridge expert Easley Blackwood saw it being played on a cruise ship and subsequently published its rules. According to David Parlett, the game is a reworking of an old 19th-century patience called crapette or Russian bank, but he also identifies three early English patiences by Mary Whitmore Jones – carbouche, obstruction, and dowager's patience – which bear a "remarkable similarity" to spite and malice.[3]

A commercial variation sold by Hasbro is called Spite and Malice;[4] a variation sold by Mattel is called Skip-Bo.[5]

  1. ^ a b Parlett, David (2000). The Penguin Encyclopedia of Card Games (New ed.). Penguin. p. 540. ISBN 0-14-028032-4.
  2. ^ "Spite and Malice" (p.455ff) in The Penguin Book of Card Games by David Parlett, Treasure Press, 1987. ISBN 1-85051-221-3
  3. ^ Parlett (1980), pp. 351–356.
  4. ^ "Spite & Malice - If you can't beat 'em annoy 'em" (PDF). Hasbro. 2002. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2010-09-23. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
  5. ^ "How to Play Skip-Bo" (PDF). Mattel. 2003. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2005-12-20. Retrieved 2008-12-28.