Scopa Card Game: Rules, Setup, Scoring, and How to Play
Scopa card game ancient Italian game in which players collect cards from the table by matching the values of the cards that have just fallen on it or by obtaining the value of the card that is placed on it by stacking cards. Its deck is 40 cards, and it is normally played between two people and can be played between 4 players. Card points are given for captured cards, the coins suit, the Settebello, Primiera, and the Scopas. A Scopa is when a player removes all of the cards from the table. It’s played over a series of hands and 11 points is a common winning goal. Scopa is easy to play thanks to its simple capture rules, but offers strategy through its scoring system.
What Is the Scopa Card Game?
The Scopa game card is an Italian game of capture (also known as ‘fishing’). The winning player is determined by the numerical value of the winning card and not through the order of the suits; instead, players capture the face-up cards from a common table that have the same number or the sum of the numbers of the cards.
The word Scopa is Italian for “broom. It is used to describe the Scopa, which is the move made when all cards are emptied from the table, which is “sweeping” the table clean. Typically, a successful sweep is worth one point.
The Italian 40 card deck is traditionally used to play Scopa. The suits range from coins, cups, swords and clubs (depending on the region of the deck) to French-style suits (in the Italian version).
Scopa Card Game at a Glance
| Feature | Standard Scopa |
| Players | 2, 3, or 4; four can play in partnerships |
| Deck | 40 cards |
| Cards dealt to each player | 3 at a time |
| Initial table cards | 4 face up |
| Main objective | Capture cards and score points. |
| Scopa sweep | 1 point |
| Standard target | 11 points |
| Main scoring categories | Cards, coins, Settebello, Primiera, plus Scopas |
| Game type | Capturing/fishing card game |
The number of players and the number required to score can be different based on regional rules. Treccani says that two-, three-, and four-player forms exist; usually four players are in pairs.
What You Need to Play Scopa
A standard Italian deck of 40 cards is needed for a traditional game. There are three court cards and Ace-7 in each suit.
The values of the cards are:
- Ace = 1
- 2 through 7 = face value
- Jack = 8
- Knight or Queen = 9
- King = 10
The court-card names vary, depending on the Italian deck used. The Knight in a deck has the value of 9; the Queen in a deck has the value of 9.
Can You Play Scopa With Regular U.S. Playing Cards?
Yes. You need not have an Italian deck; a regular international 52-card deck can be modified by discarding the 8s, 9s, and 10s. This leaves 40 cards, which are the values needed in regular Scopa.
In an American deck, the diamonds take the place of the traditional coins (denari) suit for scoring.
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How to Set Up a Scopa Game
Pick out a dealer and shuffle the 40-card deck. Each player gets 3 cards, and 4 are also dealt face up in the middle of the table in the basic game.
The other deck remains face down and is played at a later time. When everyone has played 3 cards, the dealer gives everyone another 3 cards. The dealer will not deal another 4 cards onto the table; they will just be dealt out of their hand. This is repeated until the deck runs out.
Direction of play may vary, based on the number of players and local practice. Detailed standard rules provide a description of play around the table; the non-dealer starts in the basic two-player version.
How to Play Scopa
You may only play one card on your turn.
This can be used to catch a matching table card, or if there is no matching table card, it can catch a set of table cards totaling the value of the card you played. If the card is not legally captured, it stays face up on the table.
Capturing a Matching Card
Now suppose that the table has a six and you play another 6.
You take the table’s 6 and put it in your capture deck. The card that you played is also placed in your capture pile.
Capturing Multiple Cards
One can also get more than one card if their sum is equal to one’s played card.
Say there is a 4 and a 3 in the table; playing a 7 gives you the 4 and a 3:
4 + 3 = 7
A more complex pairing will do too. If the rules for picking up cards for a capture are met, a 9 may be able to capture a 5 or any other set of available cards that add up to 9.
The Matching-Card Rule
A new rule to Scopa may shock new players.
When one card is played and a matching card is already on the table, that one card will be used instead of a combination of other cards on the table that add up to the same amount.
For instance, if the table has a 5, a 2, and a 3, then if you play another 5, you will take the 5, not the 2 and the 3. This rule is to ensure that a player is not able to select the combination if the combination includes only one card.
When Nothing Can Be Captured
It is possible to play a card when no capture is available.
This card is then left face up on the table and may be part of another capture in the future. It’s a key tactical element of Scopa, as what you left behind may give your opponent an opportunity.
What Is a Scopa?
A Scopa is made by one of the players capturing all cards on the table, thus making it empty.
The player scores one point per Scopa at the end of the hand, unless a specific number of Scopas is scored, in which case they earn 10 points. The Scopa is usually indicated by the player laying the Scopa card face up in the pile that they have captured for them to count the sweep later.
This is the one exception: it is not a Scopa to clear the table with the last card of the hand. The remaining table cards from the end of the hand are gathered by the end-of-hand rule of the game, but the last card captured does not score the Scopa (end-of-hand) points.
One of the rules you should agree on before playing a game is if you are using a regional variation.
How Scopa Scoring Works
Unlike the classic scoring of the game, Scopa is a scoring system that involves more than just counting the cards that are captured. Players compare the cards that they captured at the end of each hand in various categories.
The basic categories are
More cards won—one point for the player. If a tie, no point.
Most coins: The player who has the most cards in the suit of coins/denari wins one point. A tie does not count for a point.
Settebello: One point is given to the player who got coin #7.
Primera: The Primera is the player with the best Primera; they get 1 point.
Scopas: 1 point is earned for every successful sweep.
These categories allow for a card to be useful for more than one purpose. When calculating the coins category, for instance, the 7 of coins can count, as well as be useful in the calculation of Primiera, and also be the Settebello point.
What Is the Settebello?
The 7 of coins is called the Settebello and is the traditional 7 of denari.
If you get this particular card, you get 1 point, regardless of how many cards you have in total or how many you have in the coins suit.
The Settebello is one of the most crucial cards in a standard Scopa hand, having its own scoring criteria.
What Is Primiera in Scopa?
Primera is the scoring category that is used to compare the highest card a player has in each hand suit.
The Primiera values of the special cards are not the same as the normal capture values of the cards:
| Card | Primiera value |
| 7 | 21 |
| 6 | 18 |
| Ace | 16 |
| 5 | 15 |
| 4 | 14 |
| 3 | 13 |
| 2 | 12 |
| Jack / Knight / Queen / King | 10 |
Each player will choose the highest value Primiera card in each suit and will sum the values of those four cards. The player with the highest total will get the Primiera point. To make a Primiera, a player is required to have one card in each of the four suits.
The 7 is especially useful in Scopa because it can be used to make almost any other number. It has a normal capture of 7 but a Primera of 21, the maximum possible.
How Do You Win Scopa?
Players are allowed to play hands and keep adding their scoring points to their total.
The usual record of 11 points has also been recorded in traditional sources, though 16 or 21 points were also used. In the standard rules described by Pagat, if the players reach the target in the same hand, the “true” winner will be decided on the total score; the higher the better.
Some points can be accumulated throughout each hand, so it’s not always necessary to make the max Scopas to win. Cards, coins, Settebello, Primiera, and sweeps are all ways to earn points.
Basic Scopa Strategy for Beginners
The scoring system makes Scopa an easy game, as each turn involves only one card.
First, notice what you set down on the table. If you aren’t able to capture, then you throw your card away, and the next player can use it. When it is easy to make a combination with the other table cards, it can provide your opponent a simple capture or even a Scopa.
Secondly, note the coin suit and the 7 of coins. Coins and Settebello are two different opportunities for scoring, and if you don’t score that suit, you lose more than one point.
Thirdly, know the 7s, 6s, and Aces of Primiera. A high capture value does not mean the card is valuable for scoring—Primiera assigns its own value to cards!
Last but not least, think outside the box for the “capture. Removing one card might help you with card counting, removing another combination might help you with the coins total, or removing another combination might stop your opponent from sweeping you.
Scopa vs. Scopone
Scopone is not a synonym of Scopa, but a game related to it that has been invented in Italy.
According to Treccani, Scopone is a kind of partnership game in which the participants are four persons, and each player is dealt nine cards. For Scopone Scientifico, every player is dealt 10 cards, and a total of 40 cards are used without laying 4 cards in the middle of the table.
| Feature | Scopa | Scopone |
| Typical players | 2 or 4 | 4 |
| Partnerships | Optional in four-player versions | Yes. |
| Initial hand | 3 cards at a time | 9 cards |
| Scopone Scientifico | Not applicable | 10 cards each |
| Initial four table cards | Yes | No in Scientifico |
| Basic capture concept | Same-value or sum capture | Same basic system |
Scopone becomes a different strategic game with the bigger starting hands, since a lot more information is available on what cards are available to the player before play begins.
Common Scopa Variations
If not following one standard ruleset, players should agree on the rules before beginning to play. Scopa has many regional variations.
Asso Pigliatutto is one recorded variant in which an Ace is allowed to collect all cards under certain conditions from the table. Another is Scopa di Quindici, which adds in captures based on a combination sum of 15. Another variant of the same type, called “Cirulla,” has extra capture and scoring rules.
These variations are not intended to be used without the normal rules of Scopa! A rule that is valid for one region is not necessarily valid for another.
Can Scopa Be Played Online?
Yes. Scopa has also been made available in digital format so that players can play against computer opponents or play online with other players. But how the game is actually played, how the cards are scored, the graphics on the cards, and the number of player options will be different in each instance.
To learn the traditional game, the best thing to do is to make sure you know what ruleset an online game is following before assuming it’s the same as the standard Italian game.
Conclusion
The Scopa card game is a combination of the ‘Match the cards’ game and an advanced scoring system. Players can pick up card by card matching or table card combinations, and each hand can generate its own opportunities with the card majority, coin, Settebello, Primiera, and Scopas.
The meaning of the core rules is easily understood in a matter of minutes, and the scoring categories ensure that each capture counts. After you master the 40-card deck, the capture priority rule, and the value of the top cards in the deck, you can play the basic version of Scopa properly.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Scopa easy to learn?
Yes. Scoring is easy, and rules are quite simple.
How many cards are in a Scopa deck?
Each deck consists of 40 cards in 4 suits that are a standard Scopa deck.
Can I play Scopa with a normal 52-card deck?
Yes. Take out the 8s, 9s and 10s to make 40 cards.
How many points is a Scopa worth?
Table sweep (Scopa) = 1 point.
What is the Settebello?
The Settebello is the 7 of coins. If it is caught, 1 point is awarded.
What is the highest Primiera card?
The 7 is the highest with a Primiera of 21 points.
What score wins a Scopa game?
11 points are the standard targets but other target scores are used.
