Scopa rules
Scopa is the Italian card game par excellence: it's played with Neapolitan cards, you capture the cards on the table and try to make a scopa (a sweep). Here are the rules of classic Scopa as played on FantaCarte, one against one, to 11 points.
The cards
It's played with a deck of 40 Neapolitan cards, in four suits: coins (denari), cups (coppe), swords (spade) and clubs (bastoni). Each suit has the ace, the cards from 2 to 7 and three face cards.
| Card | Value for capturing |
|---|---|
| Ace | 1 |
| 2 to 7 | their number |
| Jack (fante) | 8 |
| Knight (cavallo) | 9 |
| King (re) | 10 |
The deal
The dealer gives 3 cards to each player and places 4 cards face up on the table. The other player starts. When both have played their 3 cards, the dealer gives 3 more each, without adding any to the table, until the deck runs out. The dealer changes every hand.
Your turn: how to capture
On your turn you play one card from your hand.
- If there's a card of the same rank on the table, you take it. For example your 7 takes the 7 on the table.
- If there isn't, you can take several cards that add up to the value of your card. For example with the king (10) you take a 6 and a 4.
- If there are both an equal card and a sum, you must take the equal card: with a 5 on the table, your 5 can't take 2 and 3.
- If there are several ways to capture, you choose which.
- If the card you play can capture, it must capture. If it can't capture anything, it stays on the table.
The captured cards, together with the one you played, are set aside face down: they count at the end of the hand.
The scopa
If your capture takes all the cards off the table, you make a scopa: it's worth one point. After a scopa your opponent has no choice but to leave a card on the table.
When the deck has run out and the last card is played, the cards left on the table go to whoever made the last capture. This final capture doesn't count as a scopa, even if it clears the table.
End-of-hand points
At the end of the hand each player counts the cards they've captured. One point is awarded for each of these:
- Cards: to whoever captured the most cards, that is at least 21.
- Coins: to whoever captured the most coins cards, that is at least 6.
- Settebello: to whoever captured the 7 of coins.
- Primiera: to whoever scores highest with their best card in each suit.
- Scope: one point for each scopa made.
If there's a tie, for example 20 cards each or 5 coins each, that point goes to nobody. How to count the primiera, with examples, is on the Scopa scoring page.
Who wins
Points add up hand after hand. Whoever first reaches 11 points wins. If both reach 11 in the same hand, whoever has more points wins; if they're level another hand is played.
The other Scopa games on FantaCarte
- Classic Scopa to 21: the same rules, but the game is longer.
- Scopone scientifico: four players, in pairs, ten cards each and an empty table. The rules are in Scopone scientifico.
- Scopa d'assi: if there are no aces on the table, the ace takes all the cards (but it doesn't count as a scopa).
- Cirulla: you can also capture by making 15 with the card you play, the ace takes all, whoever holds cards adding up to 9 or less knocks (3 points) and three of a kind is worth 10 points; the 7 of cups is a wild card for knocking. At the end of the hand the napoli (ace, 2 and 3 of coins) is worth 3 points plus one for each coin continuing the sequence, and king, knight and jack of coins are worth 5. Played to 51.
Never played?
Read how to play Scopa, the simple guide for beginners, and try the guided game on FantaCarte: it shows you the first captures one at a time.