Scopa

What is Scopa?

Scopa is Italy's best-loved card game, played in bars, in kitchens and on beaches from the Alps to Sicily. It belongs to the fishing family: you take cards from the table with the cards in your hand. It is played with the 40-card Italian pack, in four suits, coppe (cups), denari (coins), spade (swords) and bastoni (clubs), from the Asso to the 7 plus three figures: the Fante, the Cavallo and the Re. The name means broom, because sweeping the table clean is the move everyone waits for.

Here you play two-handed against the computer, a match to 11 points. The computer plays at three levels, and every day brings new deals, the same for everyone.

How to play

The player who does not deal plays first, and the deal passes after every hand.

• The deal. Three cards each and four face up on the table. When both hands are empty, three more each, until the pack is gone: six rounds to a hand. If three or four kings lie face up on the table, the cards are dealt again.
• Taking. The card you play takes a table card of the same value. Only if there is none may it take a set of two or more cards that adds up to its value. The Fante counts 8, the Cavallo 9 and the Re 10. When there is more than one way, you choose; a card that can take must take.
• Laying down. A card that takes nothing stays on the table.
• The scopa. Taking every card on the table is a scopa, worth a point. The last card of the hand makes no scopa.
• The end of a hand. Whatever is left on the table goes to whoever took last.
• The points. One for the most cards, one for the most coins, one for the sette bello (the seven of coins), one for the primiera, and one for each scopa. A tie for cards, coins or primiera scores for nobody.
• The match. The first to 11 wins. If both pass 11 in the same hand, the higher total wins, and a tie means another hand.
• Score. Ten for every point you take, ten for every point the computer is short of 11, and 100 for winning the match.

Strategy tips

1. Mind what you leave. If the cards left on the table add up to 10 or less, a single card can sweep them all. Leave a total above 10 whenever you can.
2. Guard the sevens. Sevens decide the primiera, and the sette bello is a point on its own. Do not lay a seven down while another seven may still be out there to take it.
3. Count the cards. Every card played is in plain view. Once all four cards of a value are gone, a lone card of that value on the table is safe.
4. Take coins. Six coins win the point for coins, and every coin you take is one the computer cannot.
5. Keep a card for the end. What is left on the table at the end goes to whoever took last, so in the final round a card that can still take is worth holding.

FAQ

Is Scopa free to play?

Yes. Like every game on Play, it runs free in your browser, with no download and no account needed.

Can the computer see my cards?

No. It plays only on what it can see from its seat: its own hand, the table and the cards already played, just as you do.

Why can my card not take the sum I want?

A card of the same value on the table must be taken first. With a 7 on the table, your 7 takes that 7, even if a 4 and a 3 lie there too.

How is the primiera counted?

Each side takes its best card in each suit, valued 7 = 21, 6 = 18, Asso = 16, 5 = 15, 4 = 14, 3 = 13, 2 = 12 and the figures 10, and adds them up. The higher total wins the point; a side with no card at all in one suit has no primiera.

What is the daily deal?

Every day everyone gets the same deals against the medium computer, so scores compare directly on the leaderboard.

How is my score counted?

Ten for every point you take, ten for every point the computer is short of 11, and 100 for winning the match. Higher is better.