Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Spite & Malice

No - this is not going to be a rant about shitty neighbors or back-stabbing friends.  Spite & Malice is the name of a 2-4 player cut-throat solitaire game, also called "Cat & Mouse" or "Skip-bo". 

I don't exactly remember how I first became aware (addicted) to the game, but I've been playing it for years now.  But I don't play it with cards - not real ones anyway.  I use a nifty little computer program written by Mari J. (Soderberg) Michaelis.  Here's her site where you can see the program yourself (maybe even buy it).

Another neat thing about the program is that you can actually play on-line against other people from around the world.  Many players (even Mari herself) hold monthly tournaments where players vie for the honor of becoming that month's "World's Best Spite Player".  I don't compete in these any more because...well, because I'm just too competitive.  When I got assigned a person to play against I was all "Come ON, already!  Let's PLAY!"  That doesn't make for lasting friendships.

In 2004 some of the players decided they wanted some face time and put together the first ever Spite & Malice Union.  We met in Delaware and played cards, went sight-seeing, drinking, eating and dancing.  Or just sat around and visited.  It was so wonderful to actually meet and speak with the person who had been soundly beating you in tournaments for years.  And to meet Mari herself. 

I took pictures.  Lots of pictures.  But in an effort to clean out my computer, I uploaded the older pictures onto Google's Web Album.  Sigh!  Now the only way to share them is to give you the link to the album of our First Spite & Malice Union in Delaware.  Feel free to look around at my other albums.  They're public.  Many of them have been published on my blog as well.

Wondering what brought this post on?  I found a couple of the people I met in Delaware on MySpace yesterday.  This is for you Bo and Robyn.  I'm so glad I found you again!

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