Welcome to Scopa
Scopa is a fun and addicting traditional Italian card game. The goal is to be the first to score 11 points by playing tricks.
When it is your turn, click one at a time on the cards you want to play. When possible, choose one card in your hand, then choose one or more cards on the table whose values add up to your card's value. This is called playing a trick and the cards then become your captured cards. If it is possible to play your card on a single table card, you may not play that same card on multiple table cards.
If you can't play a trick, you must place one of your cards in the empty slot on the table. This is called trailing.
When players run out of cards, they are each dealt three more. When the deck is empty, the round is over and points are totaled. Points are awarded as follows:
- One point for capturing the most cards.
- One point for capturing the most cards of the "coins" suit (or diamonds when playing with the international deck).
- One point for capturing the seven of coins (or diamonds), called the Sette Bello.
- One point for the Primiera. See below for how this is computed.
If there is a tie in any category, no points are given.
Computing the Primiera
The Primiera is figured using special point values for the cards, as shown in the table below. Only the highest scoring card in each suit counts, and you need at least one card in each suit. Whoever's Primiera score is the highest gets a point (this is usually whoever has the most sevens, but sixes and aces can also help).
| Card | Ace | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven | Fante (8) | Knight (9) | King (10) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | 16 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
The Cards
Scopa typically uses an Italian deck of cards, however to make things easier, you can click where it says "Switch card style" to switch to a more typical international deck. In the Italian deck, there are four suits:
| Coins | Batons | Swords | Cups |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
There are ten cards in each suit: the numbers one through seven; the Fante, or Knave, who wears a floppy hat and is worth eight; the Knight, who rides a horse and is worth nine; and the King, who wears a crown and is worth ten.