How to Play Scopa
Description
An Italian game of capturing table cards by value — and clearing the table entirely earns a scopa. The satisfaction of that clean sweep is immediate.
Objective
Capture cards from the table and score more points than your opponents.
Setup
Two to six players, using a 40-card Italian-style deck.
Deal three cards to each player, and four cards face up to the table.
Rules
On your turn, play a card from your hand. If it matches the value of a single table card, or several table cards that add up to it, capture all of them.
Can't make a capture? Place your card face up on the table instead.
Sweep the table completely clean in one capture and it's a scopa — worth a bonus point, and you get a reminder card set aside to prove it later.
Once hands are empty, redeal three more cards each from the stock and keep going until the deck runs out — whoever captures last sweeps up anything left on the table.
Winning
Score points for capturing the most cards overall, the most cards of the coins suit, the seven of coins specifically, the best spread of high cards across the four suits, and each scopa along the way.
Play to an agreed target score (commonly 11, sometimes higher).