How to Play Scopa — The Classic Italian Card Game

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I.The Basics

Scopa (Italian for "broom") is a fishing-style card game where you capture cards from the table by matching their values. It dates back to at least the 1700s and is played in every bar, kitchen, and beach town in Italy.

Players: 2, 3, or 4 (4 play as two teams of two, partners sitting across from each other)
Deck: Italian 40-card deck — or a standard deck with the 8s, 9s, and 10s removed
Goal: Capture cards to score points. First to 11 points wins (some play to 16 or 21)
Time: About 5–15 minutes per game

Why "Broom"?

When you capture every card on the table in one move, you've swept the table clean — that's a scopa, and it's worth a bonus point. Players traditionally mark it by placing one captured card face-up in their pile.

II.The Deck

Scopa uses a 40-card Italian deck with four suits: Coins (denari), Cups (coppe), Swords (spade), and Clubs (bastoni). Each suit runs 1 through 10.

No Italian deck? No problem — take a standard 52-card deck and remove the 8s, 9s, and 10s. Diamonds stand in for Coins.

Card Values

Every card is worth its face number. The face cards count as 8, 9, and 10:

1Ace = 1

2–7Face value

🧍Knave (Jack) = 8

🐎Knight (Queen) = 9

👑King = 10

Important

There are no point values on the cards themselves during play — the numbers are only used for matching and capturing. Points are tallied after the round ends.

III.Setup

Choose a dealer (cut the deck; lowest card deals). The deal rotates to the right each round — Scopa is traditionally played counter-clockwise.
Deal 3 cards face-down to each player.
Place 4 cards face-up in the middle of the table.
Set the rest of the deck aside — you'll deal new hands of 3 from it as hands run out.

Redeal Rule

If three or more Kings land in the initial four table cards, the cards are reshuffled and redealt (it makes sweeps nearly impossible).

IV.How to Play

Starting with the player to the dealer's right, take turns playing exactly one card from your hand. When you play a card, one of three things happens:

1. Capture by exact match

If your card's value equals a single card on the table, you capture that card. Take both and place them face-down in your capture pile.

2. Capture by sum

If your card's value equals the sum of two or more table cards, you capture all of those cards.

3. No capture — discard

If your card can't capture anything, it stays face-up on the table, joining the pool for future captures.

Example Turn

The table shows 2 4 6. You hold a 6.

You may capture the lone 6 (exact match) or the 2 + 4 (sum). You cannot take all three — one capture per turn, and an exact match doesn't sweep the rest.

The Golden Rule

An exact single-card match always takes priority over a sum. If the table shows a 3 and a pair adding up to 3 (an Ace and a 2), and you play a 3, you must take the single 3 — you cannot choose the combination.

Capturing Is Mandatory

If the card you play can capture, it must capture. You can't lay a card on the table as a discard if it matches something. (You may, however, choose to play a different card from your hand.)

Scopa! — The Sweep

If your capture clears every card off the table, shout "Scopa!" — you've earned a bonus point. Place one of the captured cards face-up and sideways in your pile so everyone remembers it at scoring time.

Exception

A sweep on the very last play of the round does not count as a scopa.

Continuing the Round

When all players have emptied their 3-card hands, the dealer deals 3 more cards to each player (no new table cards).
Repeat until the whole deck has been played out.
After the final card is played, any cards left on the table go to the last player who made a capture (this does not count as a scopa).
Now count points (next section). If nobody has reached 11, the deal passes to the right and a new round begins.

V.Scoring

At the end of each round, players (or teams) go through their capture piles. There are four standard points up for grabs, plus one point for every scopa:

Point	Italian	How to Win It	Value
Most Cards	Carte	Capture the majority of the 40 cards (21+)	1 pt
Most Coins	Denari	Capture the majority of the 10 Coins cards (6+)	1 pt
Seven of Coins	Settebello	Capture the 7 of Coins — the most prized card in the deck	1 pt
Best Primiera	Primiera	Best four-card "prime," one card per suit (see below)	1 pt
Sweeps	Scope	Each time you cleared the table during play	1 pt each

If a category is tied (e.g., 20 cards each), nobody gets that point. Games are played to 11 points; if both sides cross 11 in the same round, the higher total wins.

How Primiera Works

Each player picks their single best card in each of the four suits, using this special ranking, and adds up the four values. Highest total takes the point:

Seven	21 points
Six	18 points
Ace	16 points
Five	15 points
Four	14 points
Three	13 points
Two	12 points
Face cards	10 points

Shortcut

Don't want the math? Just remember: sevens are gold, sixes are silver. Whoever hoards the most 7s (then 6s) almost always wins primiera. If a player has no cards in one suit, they usually can't win the point.

VI.Strategy Tips

Guard the sevens. The 7 of Coins is a guaranteed point, and 7s decide primiera. Capture them whenever you can; never discard one carelessly.
Don't feed the sweep. Before discarding, ask: can my opponent's likely cards sum-capture everything I'm leaving? Leaving a lone card totaling 8, 9, or 10 late in a hand is risky — face cards are everywhere.
Count the table. If the table cards total more than 10, no single card can sweep it. Experienced players deliberately keep the table "heavy" when opponents threaten a scopa.
Remember what's gone. There are exactly four of every rank. If three 6s have been captured, your 6 can only be matched by one card in the world.
Track Coins. Six Coins cards wins the denari point — keep a rough count as the round unfolds.
Dealer plays last in each hand of 3, which usually means the leftover table cards at round's end. That's a real edge — worth remembering when the score is close.

VII.Popular Variants

Scopone

The serious four-player version. Each player is dealt 9 cards at once (with 4 on the table), or in Scopone Scientifico, all 10 cards with an empty table. Deep memory and partnership signals make this the tournament game of choice.

Scopa d'Assi (Asso Piglia Tutto)

"Ace takes all" — playing an Ace captures everything on the table. In most house rules this doesn't count as a scopa, but it's a devastating tempo play.

Re Bello

The King of Coins becomes a scoring card worth 1 point, just like the settebello.

Napola

Capturing the Ace, 2, and 3 of Coins earns a bonus point — and the run extends: hold the 4 as well and it's worth 4 points, and so on up the suit.

Scopa a Quindici

Instead of matching values, you capture table cards that sum with your played card to exactly 15. The basis of the popular Latin American game Escoba.

VIII.Glossary

Scopa: "Broom." A sweep of all cards on the table — worth one point.
Settebello: "Beautiful seven." The 7 of Coins, worth a point on its own.
Denari: The Coins suit (Diamonds in a French deck). Majority wins a point.
Carte: The "cards" point, for capturing 21 or more of the 40 cards.
Primiera: The "prime" — best four-card combo, one per suit, sevens ranking highest.
Mazzo: The deck. Also the undealt stock during a round.
Scopone: The four-player, full-deal variant beloved by serious players.

Quick Reference — One Round at a Glance

Deal 3 each + 4 on table → play one card per turn → match one card or sum several → sweep the table for a scopa → redeal 3s until deck is gone → last capturer takes leftovers → score carte, denari, settebello, primiera + scope → first to 11 wins.