Scopa is an Italian card game played with a standard Italian 40-card deck. It is most commonly played amongst two players or two teams of two players each, but can also be played with 3, 4, or 6 individual players.

The Cards

A deck of Italian cards consist of 40 cards, divided into four suits: Coins, Cups, Swords, and Clubs. The values on the cards range numerically from one through seven, plus three face cards in each suit: Jack (typically worth a value of 8), Knight (worth 9), and King (worth 10). A Jack is a lone human figure standing. The Knight is a human figure riding a horse. The King is a human figure wearing a crown. To determine the face value of any numeric card, simply count the number of suit icons on the card.

The Play

All players arrange themselves spaced out around the playing surface. If playing in teams, team members should be opposite each other. One player is chosen to be the dealer.

Beginning with the player on his/her right, and moving counter-clockwise, the dealer deals out three cards to each player, one card at a time. During this deal, the dealer will also place four cards face up on the table. A table card may be dealt before the deal begins, immediately after dealing a card to him/herself but before dealing to the next player, or after dealing all players all three cards.

If three or four of the dealt table cards are kings, the deal is invalid. The cards are re-shuffled, and the dealer deals again.

The player to the dealer's right begins play. This player has two options: Either place a card on the table, or play a card to take a trick. A trick is taken by matching a card in the player's hand to a card of the same value on the table, or by matching a card in the player's hand to the sum of the values of two or more cards on the table. In both cases, both the card from the player's hand and the captured card(s) are removed and placed face down in front of the player. These cards are now out of play until scores are calculated at the end of the round.

Example: The player's hand contains the 2 of coins, 5 of swords, and 7 of clubs. On the table are the ace of coins, 5 of cups, and 6 of swords. The player's options are:

• Place the 2 of coins on the table
• Take the 5 of cups using the 5 of swords, and placing both cards face down in front of him
• Take the 6 of swords and ace of coins using the 7 of clubs, and placing all three cards face down in front of him.

Note that it is not legal to place a card on the table that has the ability to take a trick. If, for example, a 2 and 4 are on the table, and a player holds a 6, the player must either take that trick, or play a different card from his hand.

In any circumstance in which a played card may capture either a single or multiple cards, the player is forced to capture only the single card. If the table has contains a 1, 3, 4, and 8 (Jack), and the player plays another Jack, the player is not allowed to capture the 1, 3 and 4, even though their total does add up to 8. Instead, the player is only allowed to capture the Jack.

After all players have played all three cards, the dealer deals out three more cards to each player, again beginning with the player to his right. That player then begins play again. No additional cards are dealt to the table. This process is repeated until no cards remain in the deck.

After the dealer has played the final card of the final hand of the round, the player who most recently took a trick is awarded any remaining cards on the table.

After the last card of the round has been played, points are calculated for each player or team (see below). If no team has yet won the game, the deal moves to the right. The new dealer shuffles and deals the cards as described above.

The Points

Points are awarded at the completion of each deal. If playing in teams, the team members combined all their captured cards before counting to calculate points. One point each is given to the player or team that has captured: the most total cards, the most cards in the suit of coins, the seven of coins ("sette bello"), and the highest "prime" (sometimes erroneously referred to as simply "the most sevens" - see below). If two or more teams or players capture the same number of cards, same number of coin cards, or the same prime value, no point is awarded for that result. (ex, if both Team 1 and Team 2 capture 20 cards total, neither gets a point for the most cards).

The prime for each team is determined by selecting the team's "best" card in each of the four suits, and totalling those four cards point values. When calculating the prime, a somewhat confusing point scale is used:

• Seven = 21 points
• Six = 18 points
• Ace = 16 points
• Five = 15 points
• Four = 14 points
• Three = 13 points
• Two = 12 points
• King, Knight, and Jack = 10 points each

If one team captures the sevens of cups and coins, the six of clubs and the ace of swords, that team's prime is (21 + 21 + 18 + 16) = 76.

Obviously, the seven of coins is the most valuable card in the deck, as it alone contributes to each of the four points.

In addition to the four standard points, teams are awarded additional points for every "scopa" they took during game play. A scopa is awarded when a team manages to clear the table of all cards. For example, if the table contains only a 2 and a 4, and Player A plays a 6, Player A is awarded a scopa. Traditionally, one card from this trick is turned face up in the captured cards, to remind players while calculating points that a scopa was won. Clearing the table on the last play of the last hand of a round does not count as a scopa.

The game is played until one team has at least 11 points and has a greater total than any other team. It is important to note that no points, including scopa points, are awarded mid-round; they are all calculated upon completion of the round. For that reason, if the current score is 10 to 9, and the team with 10 points captures the seven of coins or a scopa, the team cannot immediately claim victory. It is still possible that the opposing team could end up with a tied or higher score once all points are calculated.

Alternate Variations

Playing with American Cards

When playing with standard American cards, 12 cards need to be removed from the deck. Easiest for most new players is to remove the face cards, and therefore play with cards ranging numerically from one through ten. More traditional is to remove the eights, nines, and tens from the deck. Under this style, the Queen is 8, the Jack is 9, and the King is 10 (although the Jack and the Queen are sometimes swapped to avoid confusing those who expect the Jack to have a lesser value than the Queen). Regardless of which cards are removed, the diamonds suit are used for the Italian coin suit, making capturing the most diamonds and the seven of diamonds each worth a point.

Scopone

The game of Scopone is based on Scopa. In this game, which must be played in 2 teams of 2, players are dealt all nine of their cards at the start of each round. Play proceeds around the table until all players have played all of their cards.

Trentino Scopone

In this variation of Scopone, the game is played until one team has 21 points, rather than 11. Also, a team capturing the ace, two, and three of coins is awarded additional points equal to the highest consecutive coin they obtain (if a team captures the ace, two, three, four, and five, and eight of coins, that team is awarded 5 additional points. If a team manages to capture all 10 coins in a single round, that team wins the game immediately.

Scopa d'Assi

In this variation of the game, playing an Ace captures all cards currently on the table. Play varies as to whether or not this counts as a scopa.

Re Bello

In the Re Bello ("Beautiful King") version, the King of Coins also counts as a point, just as does the Seven of coins.