How to Play Scopa
Sweep the table — Italy's card game of cunning captures.
Also known as Sweep · Escoba (Spain/Latin America)
Learn Scopa: matching cards, sum captures, sweep bonuses and scoring. See why a seven must take a seven before a five and a two.
A single match takes priority
You play 7♦ onto a table holding 7♣, 5♥ and 2♠. You must take 7♣. Although 5 + 2 also equals 7, a matching single card takes priority over a sum capture.
| Situation | Result |
|---|---|
| 7♣ + 5♥ + 2♠ | Take 7♣ only |
| 5♥ + 2♠ only | Take both; a sweep |
| Sweep on the final play | No sweep bonus |
The second example earns one Scopa point unless it is the final play of the round. Diamonds represent coins in the app.
Practise this game in your browser🎯 Objective
First to the target score wins: 11 unless you change it at setup (1 to 21). If several players reach it in the same round, the highest total wins, and a tie on that total plays another round.
🃏 Scopa Setup & Rules
- Uses a 40-card Italian deck (remove 8s, 9s, 10s from a standard deck).
- Deal 3 cards to each player and lay 4 face up on the table. When the hands run out, deal 3 more each from the deck.
- Everyone plays for themselves, even with 4 players. The opening table stands as dealt, even when three or four Kings land on it.
▶ How to Play Scopa
- Play one card from your hand. If a table card has the same value, you must take it (a single match comes before any sum).
- Or capture a group of table cards whose values SUM to your card's value.
- If your capture clears ALL table cards: Scopa! It scores a point, except on the last play of the round.
- Capturing is compulsory; only a card that can take nothing is added to the table.
- Deal new hands when all hands are empty. Last player to make a capture takes remaining table cards.
🎬 Watch: How to Play Scopa
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📖 Detailed Guide
Setting up the game
- Scopa seats 2 to 4 players, everyone for themselves, and uses a 40-card Italian-style deck, with eights, nines and tens removed.
- Each player is dealt three cards and four are placed face-up on the table.
- Card values run from Ace as 1 through to the court cards at 8, 9 and 10.
- Hands are replenished three at a time as the deck is used up.
Capturing
- On your turn you play one card and use it to capture from the table.
- A card captures any single table card of the same value, and if such a match exists you must take it.
- Otherwise, a card captures any group of table cards whose values add up to it — a seven can take a five and a two together.
- If you cannot capture anything, your card simply joins the table for someone else to take.
Scopa sweeps
- Clearing every card from the table with a single capture is a scopa, and it scores an immediate point.
- The last player to capture in a round collects any cards still lying on the table, but that does not count as a scopa.
- A sweep on the very last play of a round does not count as a scopa either.
- Leaving awkward totals behind is the main defensive skill — a table an opponent cannot clear is a table that cannot be swept.
Scoring
- After each round, a point goes to whoever captured the most cards and another to whoever captured the most coins or diamonds; a tie scores for nobody.
- The seven of coins, the sette bello, is worth a point on its own to whoever captured it.
- A further point goes for the primiera, your best card from each suit by Primiera values (7=21, 6=18, A=16, 5=15, 4=14, 3=13, 2=12, face cards 10); a missing suit adds 0, and a tie scores for nobody.
- Add one point per scopa, and play rounds until someone reaches the target score (11 unless changed at setup); if several reach it in the same round the highest total wins, and a tie on that total plays another round.
📊 Scopa Scoring
Cards (most) = 1 pt; Diamonds/Coins (most) = 1 pt; Settebello (7♦) = 1 pt; Primiera = 1 pt (your best card in each suit: 7=21, 6=18, A=16, 5=15, 4=14, 3=13, 2=12, face cards 10; a missing suit adds 0); Scopas = 1 pt each. A tie for most cards, most coins or Primiera scores for nobody.
❓ Scopa — Frequently Asked Questions
How many players do you need for Scopa?
Scopa is played with 2–4 players. On Vanikar, empty seats can be filled with AI opponents so you can always start a game.
What is a scopa, and how is it scored?
Capturing every card on the table in one play. It scores 1 point on its own, and the card is turned face up in your pile to count it. A capture on the last play of the hand never counts as a scopa.
Do you have to capture a single card if you can in Scopa?
Yes. If a card on the table matches the one you play, you must take that card rather than a combination adding up to it. If several single cards match, you choose.
What is the Primiera in Scopa?
A point for the best card in each of the four suits, counted on a special scale where the 7 is worth most, then the 6 and the Ace. A player missing a suit scores 0 for it and almost never wins the Primiera.
Who gets the cards left on the table in Scopa?
Whoever made the last capture of the hand takes them. They count for cards and coins but not as a scopa.
📱 Scopa in the app
A step-by-step look at a real game on the table.
