Scopa Rules: How to Play the Classic Italian Card Game
Scopa is one of Italy’s three national card games, and for many families it is the first one a child is taught. The name means “broom”, and it is a perfect description of what you are trying to do: sweep the table clean in a single move. Played with a 40-card Italian deck, Scopa has no trump suit, no bidding and no obligation to follow suit. You play one card, and either it captures cards from the table or it does not.
That simplicity is deceptive. Because every card on the table is shared by both players, Scopa is a game of memory and arithmetic as much as luck. Strong players keep a running picture of what has already been captured, count the cards that decide the bonus points, and know when to leave a tempting combination on the table for the opponent to regret.
This guide explains the deck and the capture values, the deal, the exact rules for taking cards, what a Scopa is worth, how a hand is scored through settebello, primiera, carte and denari, and how the partnership game Scopone differs. It finishes with the strategy points that separate casual players from good ones.
The deck, the suits and the card values
Scopa is played with a 40-card Italian deck. If you do not own one, take a standard 52-card pack and remove the 8s, 9s and 10s, which leaves exactly 40 cards. The Italian suits are denari (coins), coppe (cups), spade (swords) and bastoni (clubs); on a French deck, diamonds stand in for denari, hearts for coppe, spades for spade and clubs for bastoni.
For capturing, every card has a number, and the face cards are simply the values 8, 9 and 10. The table below is the one to memorise, because every capture in the game is a small sum built from these numbers.
| Card | Capture value |
|---|---|
| Ace | 1 |
| 2 | 2 |
| 3 | 3 |
| 4 | 4 |
| 5 | 5 |
| 6 | 6 |
| 7 | 7 |
| Jack (fante) | 8 |
| Horse (cavallo) | 9 |
| King (re) | 10 |
The deal and the cards on the table
The dealer gives three cards to each player, one at a time. In the two-player game each player therefore holds three cards, and the rest of the pack forms the stock.
Before play begins, four cards are turned face up in the middle of the table. These cards belong to nobody: they are a shared pool, and either player may capture them. If three or more of those four cards share the same value — three Kings, for example, or three 4s — the deal is abandoned and the cards are reshuffled and dealt again.
The player to the dealer’s left leads the first card. In a two-player game that is simply the non-dealer.
Capturing cards: the core mechanic
On your turn you play exactly one card from your hand, face up. Then you check the table, and the rules are applied in a strict order:
- If your card’s value equals the value of a single card on the table, you must capture that card. If two or more table cards share that value, you may choose which one to take, but you cannot decline to take one.
- If there is no single match, and your card’s value equals the sum of two or more table cards, you may capture that whole group. If several different groups add up to your card, you choose the group you prefer.
- If a single match and a combination match are both available, the single match wins: you must take the matching card and leave the combination alone.
- If nothing on the table matches your card, either as a single card or as a sum, you simply leave your card face up on the table. It becomes part of the pool and may be captured by either player later.
- Whatever you capture — the card you played plus every table card in the group — goes face down onto your own pile, where it stays until the hand is scored.
What a Scopa is
A Scopa is the move the game is named after. If a single capture removes every card from the table, leaving it completely empty, you have made a Scopa, and it is worth one point at the end of the hand.
Scopas are recorded rather than scored immediately, and they add up: two sweeps in one hand are worth two points. They are often the difference between winning and losing, so most players keep a small marker — a coin, or a card turned sideways — to count them.
There is one exception. The final capture of the hand, when the stock has run out and the last table cards are handed over, does not count as a Scopa, even if it clears the table. Only sweeps made during normal play are scored.
How a hand ends
Play continues one card at a time until both players have empty hands. The dealer then deals three more cards to each player — but no new cards are placed on the table, so the pool only shrinks from here on.
This repeats until the stock is exhausted. After the very last cards are played, any cards still lying on the table are awarded to the player who made the most recent capture. That final handover is a free gift, and as noted above it is not a Scopa.
Only then do you count the hand and award the points.
Scoring a hand: five points on offer
Each hand distributes a fixed set of points. Four of them are won by comparison, and the fifth — Scopa — is won by achievement.
| Category | Awarded to | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Scopa | Each time a player clears the table | 1 each |
| Carte (most cards) | The player with the most cards, at least 21 | 1 |
| Denari (most coins) | The player with the most denari cards, at least 6 | 1 |
| Settebello | The player who captured the 7 of denari | 1 |
| Primiera | The player with the highest Primiera total | 1 |
Primiera: the point most players get wrong
Primiera is the trickiest point to understand and the one beginners lose most often. Each player selects their single best card from each of the four suits, and the four values are added together. The higher total takes the point.
The catch is that the ranking is not the capture ranking. It rewards 7s and 6s far more than face cards, which are almost worthless here:
| Card | Primiera value |
|---|---|
| 7 | 21 |
| 6 | 18 |
| Ace | 16 |
| 5 | 15 |
| 4 | 14 |
| 3 | 13 |
| 2 | 12 |
| Jack, Horse or King | 10 |
Scopone, Scopa d’Assi and other variants
Scopa adapts easily, and one variant in particular is a serious game in its own right.
- Scopone. Four players in two partnerships, partners sitting opposite each other. Each player receives nine cards and four are placed on the table, but there is no stock at all — the entire deck is dealt in one go. Scoring works as usual, and partners combine their points. The tournament form, played with a full count of every card, is known as Scopone scientifico.
- Scopa d’Assi. Aces become wild: an ace may be played as any value, and may therefore match any single card or combination on the table. This adds a layer of bluff and greatly increases the number of Scopas.
- Rebello and other local variants. Across Italy you will meet regional house rules on how many cards are dealt and whether ties are replayed; if you play with people from a different region, agree the rules before the first deal.
How to play
- Use a 40-card Italian deck, or remove the 8s, 9s and 10s from a standard 52-card pack. Shuffle.
- Deal three cards to each player, one at a time, then turn four cards face up in the middle of the table.
- If three or more of the four table cards share the same value, gather the cards, reshuffle and deal again.
- The player to the dealer’s left plays one card face up. A single table card of the same value must be captured; otherwise a group of table cards adding up to your card may be captured.
- If both a single match and a combination are available, you must take the single card.
- If nothing matches, leave your card on the table. It joins the pool.
- When both hands are empty, deal three more cards each, with no new cards to the table, and continue until the stock is exhausted.
- Award any cards left on the table to the last player who captured, then score the hand: settebello, primiera, carte, denari, and one point for each Scopa. Play to 11 or 21.
Strategy
- Count the settebello and the sevens. The 7 of denari is worth a point on its own and is also the strongest Primiera card, so taking it is a double win. If you cannot take it, at least keep track of who did.
- Never leave a small card on the table for free. A single low card is an open invitation: your opponent may not be able to use it immediately, but it will sit there as a target. Sometimes it is better to play a card that captures nothing but also leaves nothing behind.
- Watch the four suits. Primiera is void if you hold no card in a suit, so if you have captured nothing in coppe, every coppe card on the table becomes more valuable to you than its face value suggests.
- Use combinations deliberately. Taking three cards with one play is often better than taking one, because it moves you towards the 21-card carte point and towards the denari majority at the same time.
- Keep a card that can clear the table. A Scopa is a point that cannot be taken away, and the threat of one shapes how your opponent plays. Hold at least one capture in hand that would sweep an almost-empty table.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How many cards do you get in Scopa?
- Three cards each at the start. Once both hands are empty, three more are dealt to each player, and this continues until the stock is exhausted. In the four-player partnership game Scopone, each player is dealt nine cards and there is no stock.
- How do you capture cards in Scopa?
- You capture by arithmetic. If your card equals a single card on the table, you must take it. If it equals the sum of two or more table cards, you may take that group — unless a single card matches, in which case the single card is compulsory.
- What is a Scopa worth?
- One point. A Scopa is made whenever a single capture clears every card from the table. The final handover of leftover table cards at the end of the hand does not count as a Scopa.
- What is the settebello?
- It is the 7 of denari, the coins suit. Capturing it is worth one point on its own, and it is also the highest-scoring Primiera card, which makes it the most valuable single card in the game.
- What is Primiera in Scopa?
- Primiera is a bonus point. Each player takes their best card in each of the four suits, using a special ranking (7 = 21, 6 = 18, Ace = 16, 5 = 15, 4 = 14, 3 = 13, 2 = 12, face cards = 10), and adds the four together. The higher total wins the point — but only if you have at least one card in every suit.
- How many points do you need to win at Scopa?
- Players usually agree a target of 11 or 21 points before the game. Points accumulate over several hands, and the first player to reach the target wins the match.
- What happens to the cards left on the table at the end?
- They are given to the player who made the last capture. That is a gift, not a Scopa, so it does not score a sweep even if it empties the table.
- What is the difference between Scopa and Scopone?
- Scopa is normally a two-player game with three cards each and a stock that is dealt out gradually. Scopone is the four-player partnership version: nine cards each, four on the table, and no stock, because the whole deck is dealt at once.