How to play
Scopa (“sweep”) is Italy’s favourite card game, and one of the easiest to pick up: you capture cards from the table by matching numbers. This version is for two players, with a standard deck cut down to 40 cards. Since there are no Italian suits, diamonds stand in for the coins suit, and the seven of diamonds is the famous settebello.
Choose Computer or Friend in the menu. In friend mode you share the device; the screen hides the cards and asks you to pass the phone when the turn changes. Then pick a target of 11, 16 or 21 points.
The cards. Ace through 7 count their face value. The Jack is 8, the Queen 9 and the King 10. The small badge above each card in your hand shows its capture value.
The deal. Each player gets three cards and four go face up on the table (if three or more Kings land on the table, the hand is redealt). The dealer changes every round, and the non-dealer plays first.
Your turn. Play one card from your hand:
- If the table holds a card of the same value, you capture it. When there is a matching single card you must take that card, never a combination.
- Otherwise, if two or more table cards add up to your card’s value, you capture them. Tap your card, then tap the table cards you want; the capture happens as soon as they add up.
- If nothing matches, your card stays on the table.
Capturing is compulsory when it is possible, so a card that can capture is always highlighted. When both hands are empty the dealer gives three more cards each, with no new cards for the table. After the last card of the round, whatever is left on the table goes to the player who made the last capture.
Scopa. If your capture clears the table, that is a scopa, worth one point. The very last play of the round cannot score a scopa.
Scoring
At the end of each round four fixed points are awarded, and a tie means nobody gets that point:
| Point | Who gets it |
|---|---|
| Cards | most cards captured |
| Diamonds | most diamonds captured |
| Settebello | whoever took the 7♦ |
| Primiera | best card in each suit, scored 7 = 21, 6 = 18, Ace = 16, 5 = 15, 4 = 14, 3 = 13, 2 = 12, face cards = 10 |
Each scopa adds one more point. The summary after every round shows all five lines and who won each. The match ends after a round in which a player has reached the target and is ahead; if both players reach the target with the same score, another round is played.
Strategy
Keep the table high. Leaving the table total above 10 means no single card can sweep it. A table of 8 + 9 is safe; a lone 4 next to a 3 is an invitation to a scopa with a 7.
Count the sevens and sixes. They decide the primiera point, and the 7♦ is a point on its own. Capture them when you can, and avoid leaving a 7 or 6 where the opponent can take it with a sum.
Watch the diamonds. Ten diamonds in the deck, so six already win the point. Taking a 2♦ in a sum is often worth more than a King of clubs.
Remember what has gone. With 40 cards and three per hand, by the last two deals you can usually tell what the opponent is still holding. The last capture of the round also collects the leftovers, so try to be the one who captures last.
About the computer player
The computer sees the table, its own hand and the number of cards left in the deck, never your cards. It values captures by card count, diamonds, the settebello, sevens and sixes, and a sweep bonus, and when it cannot capture it tries to leave a table that no single card can sweep. In 80 simulated matches to 11 between two copies of this player, each seat won more than a quarter of the matches, so going first is not a decisive advantage.
If you enjoy Scopa, try Scorpion Solitaire or Spades next.
