- Shuffle two standard 52-card decks of cards together. Deal both players 20 cards face down in a pile, called the pay-off pile. Turn the top card of each pay-off pile face up. Deal an additional five cards to both players for their hands. Players can look at their hands but should keep them hidden from each other. Put the remaining cards in the middle of the playing area as the stockpile. Leave enough space in the playing area for three stacks next to the stockpile and four stacks next to each player's pay-off pile.
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The first player begins building up to three center stacks next to the stockpile. Center stacks all must follow the sequence ace through queen. Kings are wild and can replace any subsequent number in a center stack. Suits do not matter. Players can build on the stacks either through their hand or the top card on their pay-off pile. Turn the next card in the pay-off pile face up after playing from it. When a center stack sequence is complete, set it aside. Both players share the center stacks, but there can only be three on the board at any time.
Players who exhaust all five cards from their hand during a turn draw five new cards from the stockpile to replace them, and their turn continues. The turn ends when a player either decides to pass or can make no more plays. The player then chooses one card from the hand to discard face-up next to the pay-off pile, and gameplay proceeds to the other player.
On subsequent turns, players draw enough cards from the stockpile before each turn to start the turn with five cards in their hand. Each player now also may use cards in their discard pile to complete the center stacks. Players can create up to four discard piles, but only the top card on each pile is available for play. Therefore, it's good strategy to stack discard piles in reverse sequence for easy play. - The player who first plays all 20 cards in his pay-off pile wins. This means a player's strategy should not just be to play as many cards as possible during a turn but also to block the other player's ability to play the top card in the pay-off pile. If players deplete the stockpile before the game is finished, shuffle all the completed center stacks that were set aside and make a new stockpile. In the unlikely event that the stockpile is depleted with no completed center stacks set aside, and neither player can play, the player with the fewest cards left in the pay-off pile wins.
- More than two players, usually a maximum of six, can play spite and malice. Game play is the same, but add one deck and allow one extra center stack for each additional player. Some players keep the jokers in the deck and use them as wild cards, either in addition to the kings or by changing the center stack sequence from ace to king. Some versions forbid players from keeping aces in their hand or pay-off pile if they can be played. Other variations allow four or even an unlimited number of center stacks.
