How to Play Scopa Card Game & Rules

Think of Scopa as a fast-paced Italian cousin of fishing-style card games.

The goal is to snag those cards off the table, especially those shiny diamonds! If you do it right, you’ll even get a “Scopa” (that means “sweep”) and score extra points. Scopa is known as one of the more complicated games with a few niche rules, but once you’ve got your head around the basics, you should be plain sailing.

All in all, it’s a fun game that’s great for passing the time, making friends, hanging out, family games night, lunch break downtime, and so much more.

An Important Note for Playing Scopa

Interestingly, Scopa is played using a special deck designed with Scopa in mind – a deck that consists of 40 cards with Latin patterns on them, different from the traditional Western card sets.

To play, you can either get your a proper Scopa deck or just take a traditional deck of cards and remove the 10s, 9s, and 8s of each suit, and you’ll be good to go!

Quick Setup

• Get your players: This game is best played with 2 – 6 players. However, if you want to play in teams, this is more than welcome, and usually makes for much more fun!

• Ditch those extra cards: Grab a regular deck, but toss out all the 8s, 9s, and 10s. You’re left with the perfect Scopa deck!
• Who deals first? Doesn’t matter, just pick a way – coin flip, youngest player, everyone draw a card and highest or lowest value is dealer, whatever works.
• Deal and reveal: Each player gets 3 cards face-down. The dealer flips 4 cards face-up in the middle.

How to Play Scopa & Rules

A little more detail now.

So, choose a dealer who then shuffles the deck and deals out one card at a time to each player, making sure they’re hidden. Each player gets three cards. Don’t show anyone else your hand!

The dealer now deals four face-up cards in the center of play. We call this the Play Area. If this area contains two or more Kings, everything must be reshuffled and dealt with from scratch.

Starting with the player to the dealer’s right, going clockwise. Each player plays one card from their hand with the intention of capturing cards from the center Play Area. Capturing these cards is how you increase your score.

You capture cards by either;

• Matching your played card with one of the cards in the centre. For example, you play a 2, and you can pick up a two.
• Matching the total sum of two or more cards in the center with the value of your card. For example, if there’s a 4 and a 6, and you play a ten, you get to capture both!

Matching and Capturing: It’s Like Card Math!

Let’s break this down a little more with a few examples. Here’s how you snag those cards off the table:

• Single Number Match: See a 5 on your card, and a 5 on the table? That’s an easy grab! Lay your card down, and both are yours.
• Combination Match: Got a 7, and see a 3 and a 4 on the table? Do some quick card math – that adds up to a match! Snatch ’em all up. But remember, you can only do this if you DON’T have a single 7 in your hand!
• Scopa!: The Super Sweep Feeling lucky? If your card matches the TOTAL value of all the cards on the table – WHOOSH! That’s a Scopa! Grab those cards so fast it makes a breeze.

Example: Your 8 powers you to snatch up a 3, a 2, another 2, and a 1. That’s both a match AND a Scopa – double the fun!

What are the card values in Scopa?

Cards are worth varying points in Scopa, as follows;

• Ace = 1
• 2 – 7 = Worth their number value
• Jack = 8
• Queen = 9
• King = 10

Scoring sweeps or Scopas

Now, this is where things get interesting.

If you’re able to take all four cards in the center, this is called a “sweep” or a “Scopa.”

If you match both the value of the card or a set (see the two ways of winning above), then you get to pick only one of them to capture.

If you can capture a card, then you have to take it.

If you’re unable to do any of the above, then your card goes down in the centre, face-up, alongside the other four cards, and it can now be captured by yourself or others in future rounds.

Whenever you capture a card(s), they don’t join your hand but instead get placed face down next to you, waiting to be counted up later. Consider them out of play.

Traditionally, you’ll mark sweeps or scopas by pacing these cards in your pile sideways and face up.

Continue this style of play, going around all players one at a time until all three cards have been played by everyone. Then, the dealer will deal out three new cards to each player (keeping whatever cards are in the center in the center, and the rounds continue once again following the structure above.

When there are no more cards to deal, the remaining cards in the center go to the player who last captured them, and it’s time to move on to scoring.

How to score points in Scopa

Take a deep breath because things are going to get a little bit complicated once again. Extra points are awarded as follows;

• The player who captured the most cards overall wins an extra one point.
• Every sweep (or Scopa) gains one extra point per sweep.
• The player with the most cards in the coins (Diamonds) suit wins an extra point.
• The player with the best prime gets a point. A prime is simply a set of four cards of the same suit, like having all four Queens. If multiple players have a prime (set of four), the player with the prime of the highest value wins the point (A prime of sixes would beat a prime of threes).

However, this isn’t as straightforward as it seems. Prime values are as follows;

How to win Scopa

To win Scopa, you need to be the player who wins 11 or more points. You’ll keep playing the game until this score is reached. If two players reach 11 at the same time, then another game is played to determine the winner (where all players keep playing).

Remember, you’re not looking to get the highest value cards possible, but instead, you’re trying to win Diamonds (coins), sweeps, and as many cards as possible. Play your cards wisely to maximize what you can get. You’ll be surprised with how much strategy can actually be involved in a game like this!

Fun Tip: Don’t get too fancy trying to capture a ton of cards at once. Snag what you can, when you can – or someone else might beat you to it!

That’s the basics! Scopa has more advanced rules, but this gets you playing fast.

Ready to try your hand at this Italian classic?

Is Scopa Easy to Learn? Yes and No!

Here’s the thing about Scopa: the basics are super easy to pick up. Matching cards, grabbing diamonds – even a kid can get the hang of it.

But what makes it fun is there’s a sneaky layer of strategy underneath. Should you go for a quick grab, or risk it for a big “Scopa” sweep?

It feels a little weird at first, not gonna lie. But once you’ve played a few rounds, that “aha!” moment happens and it all clicks. From then on, it’s easy to play casually, or really get into the competitive side. That’s why Scopa never gets old!

Can I play Scopa with two players?

Definitely! Scopa’s actually perfect for two players. It gets fast-paced and a little more sneaky when it’s head-to-head. Bigger groups can be fun too, but the two-player version is where it all started.

(Fun fact: “Scopa” means “broom” in Italian because you’re basically sweeping up those cards!)

Where to play Scopa online?

A great way to practice playing Scopa is to play it online against others or the computer. Or, you know, just to play for fun. There are a few places to play it online, so give them a try and see which platform you prefer best!

• ScopaCards.net: A great place to play Scopa using the traditional Italian Scopa cards. Features a live chat of people looking for games. Can choose to play against other people around the world (get your friends to the site to play against them) or choose from one of the six AI opponents.
• VIPGames.com: Click the green button at the top of the page to start playing. You’ll need an account (sign in with Google, Facebook, or email). Has a more modern interface and playing experience.
• BoardGameArena: A great website for playing traditional board and card games online. Sign in with Facebook or Google to start playing against other players around the world for free.
• DigitalMoka: An Android app with over 1 million downloads – an Italian app, an authentic experience, with some fun animations to bring the game to life while playing against the computer. Rated 4.6 stars out of five.
• SolitaireParadise: An easy-to-use, free, no-sign-in way to play Scopa online. Choose variables like setting your high score and which version you want to play. You only play against AI opponents, but it’s still good fun.