LET'S PLAY
SCOPA
Scopa—if you’ve got an Italian Nonna, you’ve already lost to her. This classic card game is fast, ruthless, and oddly satisfying. The goal? Capture cards from the table by matching values, racking up points in ways that seem simple—until you realize you’re five moves behind Nana’s master plan. Sweep the table, control the sevens, and pray your opponent doesn’t pull off a perfect Scopa. It’s easy to learn, impossible to master, and the source of many happy memories.
Object
The first player to 11 wins
What You Need
A traditional Italian 40 card deck or 52 card deck remove the 8s, 9s, & 10s.
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Paper and pencil for scoring.
Set Up
Each player is dealt 3 cards face down.
4 cards are placed face-up in the middle to form the pot. This only happens on the first deal of each round
The dealer places the remaining cards in a draw pile for later rounds.
Play begins with the player to the dealer’s right and proceeds counterclockwise.
Watch the step by step guide here!
Card Ranks
Aces = 1
2 through 7 = face value
Jacks (Fante) = 8
Queens (Cavalli) = 9
Kings (Re) = 10
Game Play
On your turn, you must play one and only one card from your hand.
Use the card to capture cards from the pot.
or
If you cannot capture, leave your card in the middle pot.
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Cards are captured by matching values:
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A single card matches the value of one card in the pot (e.g., play a 5 to take a 5).
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Combine the values of multiple cards in the pot to match your played card (e.g., play a 7 to take a 4 and 3).
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The goal of Scopa is to reach a score of 11 points and collecting cards is how you score points. You'll want to aim for collecting cards that form the point scoring goals, such as; most cards, most Diamonds (Denari), most 7's (Premiera) and the 7 of Diamonds (Denari). More on this in the Scoring section.
Card Refreshing
Once all players have played their 3 cards (over 3 separate turns), the dealer deals 3 more cards to each player. This process continues until the entire deck is used.
The Dealer does not add more cards to the middle (the pot). The opening deal is the only time the dealer puts 4 cards in the middle... that's it Dealer, just chill out and deal three to each player, one at a time, counterclockwise, starting with the player to your right. Do this only after all players have played out their cards.
The Initial Set-Up
Rule of Exact Match:
If your card matches a card in the pot directly, you must take that card first before considering combinations. For example if there is a 2, a 3 and a 5 in the pot and on your turn you play another 5 from your hand, you can't take the 2+3 as a 5 because there is already a full 5 on the table, which must be picked up before a combo of 5. If there wasn't a 5 card present on the table then the 2+3 would be available to pick up as a 5.
Scopa (Sweep)
If a player captures all the cards in the pot during their turn, they score a Scopa (sweep) worth 1 bonus point. To track this, place one of the captured cards face up in your collection pile. If are the last player to play in a round (there are no more cards in anyones hands, nor are their any more to be dealt) and you sweep the pot, you do not get a Scopa point.
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Ending a Round
When the last card of the round is played, the remaining cards in the pot go to the player who made the last capture.
Note: No Scopa points are awarded for clearing the pot on the final play.
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​Scoring
Most versions allow for 4 possible points at the end of the round + any collected Scopa's are 1 point each. Many regions have other special cards giving bonuses. For example my Nana Clara always gave 1 point for the Ace of Diamonds (Coins/Denari). ​Make sure everyone agrees on scoring before you begin playing.
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The 4 main points are: Most Cards, Most Diamonds (Coins/Denari), the 7 of Diamonds (Coins/Denari) and Premiera (see below). Scopa's are one extra point for each.​
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1 point = Most cards collected
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1 point = Most diamonds (or coins/Denari) collected
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1 point = 7 of diamonds (Sette Bello) collected
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1 point = Primiera (see below).
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1 point = Each collected Scopa.
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If there’s a tie in any category (except Scopas), no points are awarded for that category.​​​​
Primiera
The best Primiera combo earns a point in the official Scopa gameplay, but I highly recommend that new players avoid using the official scoring when starting Scopa (see below for a simplified way to get the point). Primiera scoring is really complicated... but for a reason.
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Primiera was one of the first card games ever invented (at least in Europe). It later evolved into a small game you may have heard of, Poker. The Italians paid it tribute by putting a small in-game version of it inside of Scopa. In Scopa, the best Primiera hand is a hand containing 1 high Primiera scard from each of the 4 suits (so 4 cards total). You add up their Primera values and whichever player has the highest sum gets that rounds 1 Primera point.
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Scoring for Primiera is:
7
6
Ace
5
4
3
2
Face
Cards
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Each suit can only count one card toward Primiera. So you can't use a 7 of clubs and a 6 of clubs as they are both in the same suit.
= 10 points each
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=
=
=
=
=
=
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21 points
18 points
16 points
15 points
14 points
13 points
12 points
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Easier Primiera Point
If this is too difficult to understand, many people play Sicilian/Tunisian style in which the Primiera point goes to the player with the most 7's. If there's a tie for that, then the tied player who has the most 6's wins the point, if still tied the point is shot that round.
Don't feel bad playing this way, most actual Italians will give beginners their blessing despite all the "Italians" born outside of Italy pretending like they know secret Italian knowledge telling you otherwise.
The Surprising Discovery of Poker hidden in an ancient game
Ending the Game
Rounds continue until one player reaches 11 points or more.
The game doesn't not end mid-round, rather at the end of round scoring.
If there is a tie for winner, all players play another round and it is possible for a non-tying player to get ahead and take the game with the next end of round high score.
Variations
For longer games, players can set a winning score of 15, 21, or even 31 points.
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Scientific Scopa is a 4 player games with 2 teams of 2 siting opposite one another. All 40 cards are dealt (no starter pot). Play goes until all cards have been played. All others rules are the same.
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Thanks and enjoy playing!
