SpiteNET: Spite and Malice

SpiteNet: Spite and Malice presents an interesting mix of conventional solitaire and FreeCell that will test your luck, skill, and cunning, as well as your ability to tear yourself away from addictive gameplay. An easy-to-follow tutorial teaches you the basic concepts and strategies. Your opponent, a grizzled cowboy, offers witty remarks when he steals your move or makes a good play. If you get too annoyed with his cruel jabs, click his picture to give him a well-deserved slap in the face.

Along with that cathartic release, SpiteNet also offers numerous gameplay options, such as the number of players (up to four), a choice of sound files, rule variations, and a choice of backgrounds. To keep its file size small, SpiteNet has no soundtrack and few sound effects. The full version lets you play online against real opponents, although the demo disables this feature. We searched and searched for a valid reason not to give this humble game five stars, but we came up empty. If you're an avid card player, be sure to try SpiteNet. Gamers with addictive tendencies beware, though: you might end up playing this solitaire shootout for hours.