Scopa

Scopa (sometimes called La Scopa) is an Italian game of the fishing family. The name Scopa translates to "Sweep" in English and describes one of the scoring categories in the game. It is believed this game is derived from the earlier game Laugh and Lie down, which was described in Francis Willughby's Book of games published in 1665. Scopa is commonly played with the special 40 card Italian deck, but can also be played using a standard French deck, removing certain cards from this deck. To create this deck, all cards of denominations 8, 9 and 10 should be removed from the deck and set aside, out of play, leaving a forty card deck.

Possible initial deal in Scopa

Scopa is designed to be played by from two to four players, each playing independently, however a partnership version of the game is also described below in the variants section. Determination of seating positions and first dealer can be performed in a variety of methods, with drawing for high cards a common method. In this method, the players would each draw a card from a shuffled deck, taking seats at the table in order of cards drawn (from highest to lowest). For purposes of this draw, the cards are ranked as follows (from high to low): King, Queen, Jack, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, Ace. The player drawing the highest card of all is set as the first dealer. After each hand the role of dealer should rotate to the next player in turn.

Once all players are seated and the first dealer determined, the dealer thoroughly shuffles the deck and offers it to the player at his immediate left to cut. After the cut, he then begins dealing the cards in a counter-clockwise direction, starting with the player at his immediate right. He continues dealing the cards, one-at-a-time until each player has three cards. He then places four additional cards face up on the table. He places the remainder of the pack face-down to the side for use later in the hand. The player to the dealer's immediate right has the first turn, and the turn to play rotates around the table in a counter-clockwise direction from player to player. If, two or three Kings are dealt to the table as part of the initial layout, the deal is considered invalid and all the cards are gathered, reshuffled and dealt for a new hand by the next dealer in turn.

A player, on his turn, will play one card from his hand to the table. A player will generally attempt to capture certain cards from the table in order to earn points during the hand. Cards can normally be captured from the table in two ways:

If the card played is of the same rank as a card found on the table, the player can capture both the card from the table and his card played which was of that same denomination. In fact, a card which is of the same rank as another card on the table must make this capture. If there are two or more cards of this same ranking, the player can choose which of these cards to capture along with his played card.
If two or more cards already on the table sum to the value of the card played by the player, he can capture his played card as well as one specific set of cards which sum to that total. For purposes of this summing, each card in the deck has a counting value:

Card Summation Value

King 10

Queen 9

Jack 8

2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 Face value as marked on card

Ace 1

Card	Summation Value
King	10
Queen	9
Jack	8
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7	Face value as marked on card
Ace	1

In the event that a card played can either capture a similarly ranked card or a sum of two or more other cards, the player must opt to capture the same ranking card on the table.

Any cards captured are placed face-down in a special scoring pile for that player. If a player is unable to make a capture during his turn, he simply places a card from his hand face-up on the table, adding to the cards already found there (if any).

If a player manages to capture, due to the play of his card to the table, every card on the table, he is said to have made a Scopa (or Sweep). To indicate this, one of the cards from a Scopa are usually placed face-up in that player's scoring pile for review at the end of the hand. Each Scopa a player manages to perform during a hand earns that player one point. However, a Scopa cannot be scored on the very last play of the entire hand, even if that player manages to capture all the cards based on his card played on that last turn.

After each player has had three turns (and thus having no cards remaining in his hand), the dealer deals three more cards to each player from the remaining deck, but does not deal any additional cards to the center of the table after the initial deal.

The game continues in this manner until the entire deck has been dealt and the players have played the last remaining cards in the hand. After all cards have been played, the player who was last able to make a capture from the table is entitled to take any remaining, uncaptured cards on the table and add them to his capture pile.

Scoring categories in Scopa

After all cards have been played in the hand, the hand is scored and any points earned by each player are added to his accumulated ongoing score. The following shows the scores possible during the hand:

Most Cards:
Most Cards in the Suit of Diamonds:
Seven of Diamonds:
Primiera:

Card	Primiera Point Value
Seven	21
Six	18
Ace	16
Five	15
Four	14
Three	13
Two	12
King, Queen, Jack	10

Scopas:

Thus, after each hand each player adds any points earned during the hand to his ongoing summed point total. If, at the end of a hand, a player has managed to accumulate a total of 11 or more points over the course of several hands, that player is the winner. If multiple players manage to score 11 or more, the player with the highest total is declared the winner. If there is a tie for the player with the highest total, an additional hand must be played after which the player, at the end of that hand with the highest total is declared the overall game winner.

Simplified Primiera: Some players prefer to simplify the calculation of the player to earn the point for the Primiera during a hand. When using this variant, the point is granted to the player who manages to capture the most sevens during the hand. If multiple players tie for the most sevens captured, no player scores the point for the Primiera on that hand.

Team Scopa: Scopa is sometimes played as a partnership game by four players in two partnerships. This variant is played identically to the standard version, with the exception that each participant plays in partnership with another player. This partnership of two players will thus combine all points earned during the hand, and the first team to score 11 or more points at the end of a hand is declared the winning team. As in most other partnership type games, each player should sit directly across the table from his partner.

Scopa D'Assi: Scopa D'Assi is another variant of Scopa which is played very similarly to the standard game. The only difference in this game is that the Aces have a special role in this version. In Scopa D'Assi, playing an Ace allows the player of that card to capture all the cards on the table. Capturing all the cards in this manner, however, does not qualify as a Scopa. If an Ace is already on the table (for example having been dealt to the table on the first deal), the player may only capture the other Ace but not any other cards currently found on the table.

Scopone: Scopone is another fishing type game which has been directly adapted from the base game, Scopa.

Scopone is designed to be played by four players, playing in two partnerships. Each player should be seated at the table in such a manner such that he is seated directly across the table from his partner.

In this variant, the entire deck is dealt out, such that each player is dealt nine cards to his hand and four face-up cards are dealt to the center of the table.

The game proceeds as in the standard game, however each player will play from his larger hand until all cards have been played and scores are calculated for the hand.

Scopone Scientifico: Scopone Scientifico is played almost identically to standard Scopone. The only difference is that each player receives 10 total cards to form his initial hand, and no cards are dealt to the table. Thus, the first player will be forced to play a card to the empty table. One other difference with Scopone Scientifico is that, while in most other variants of Scopa and Scopone, a Scopa cannot be scored on the last play of the hand, in this variant, if the player of the last card of the hand manages to take all the cards on the table through legal play of his card, he will earn a Scopa and the corresponding bonus point for so doing. In all other aspects Scopone Scientifico is played identically to standard Scopone.

Capture in Scopa di Quindici

Scopa di Quindici: Scopa di Quindici is played similarly to standard Scopa, with a similar goal (to earn points by capturing cards from the center layout). However it contains one key change that makes this a distinctly different game.

In Scopa di Quindici, captures are not made from the central layout in the same way as in the standard game. In this variant, a capture can be made only if the card played, summed with one or more other cards from the table totals exactly to 15. In this case, these cards can be captured and added to that player's capture pile.

In all other aspects, Scopa di Quindici is played identically to standard Scopa as described at the top of this page.

Cirulla: Cirulla is another Italian game of the fishing family of card games. Cirulla (also called Cirolla) combines elements of standard Scopa as well as Scopa di Quindici. This game is designed for four players, in two partnerships of two players each. The game is usually played with a French suited deck but using the Italian or Spanish card denominations. This deck can thus be created from a standard deck by removing all cards of rank 8, 9, and 10 leaving a 40 card pack.

Determination of partnerships and identity of the first dealer can be performed using a variety of methods, with draw for high cards commonly used. Each partner should sit directly across the table from his partner. After each hand the role of dealer rotates around the table in a counter-clockwise direction.

The dealer, after the shuffle and cut, then begins dealing the cards, one by one and face-down in a counter-clockwise direction, starting with the player at his immediate right. He deals in this way until each player has a total of three cards. The dealer then places four cards face-up in a row at the center of the table. He places the remainder of the deck aside for later use during the hand. If the capture total of all four cards in the center of the table total exactly 15 or 30, the dealer may capture all these cards, also scoring a bonus (see below). If, however, there are two or more Aces the cards are all gathered, reshuffled and a new deal is performed by that same dealer.

Capture types in Cirulla

The player to the immediate right of the dealer has the first turn, and the turn rotates in a counter-clockwise direction around the table. On a player's turn, he must play one card remaining in his hand to the center of the table. As in most other forms of Scopa, the goal of the players is to attempt to perform captures from the center of the table. The following are the methods by which a player may capture cards:

If there are is a card already in the center layout of the same denomination as the card played, the player may capture that card, taking both his card played and the matching card and adding those cards to his capture pile.
If there are two or more cards already on the table which add to the same value as the card played, these cards, along with the card played may all be captured by that player, added to his capture pile.
If the card played, along with one or more cards already on the table add to a capture value of exactly 15, all these cards may be captured, and added to that players capture pile.
Playing an Ace to the table allows a player to capture all the cards already on the table, providing there is not already an Ace on the table. If there is already an Ace on the table, the player may only capture this additional Ace. If there are no cards currently on the table (and thus no cards to capture), the player must simply play the Ace to the center of the table, capturing nothing.

For purposes of capturing, each card has an additive capture value. The following chart shows these capture values for each card used in the game:

Card	Capture Value
Ace	1
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7	Value Marked on Card
Jack	8
Queen	9
King	10

If a player is able to make a capture, he must do so (and any other player noticing the player has not made an available capture may demand the player thus make the capture), however if there are multiple options for capture, the player can choose which such capture he prefers. If a player on his turn is unable to manage a capture, the played card is simply played face-up to the table and left for potential capture by that or another player on another turn. Of course if the center area currently contains no cards, the player has no other choice than to play one card from his hand to start a new center layout.

After each of the players has played all three of his initially dealt cards, the dealer then deals another three cards to each player from the still undealt stock (but does not add any additional cards to the center layout). After these additional cards are played, the dealer continues to deal these hands in three card increments until the stock has been depleted.

After the last card has been played, any cards remaining face-up on the table are automatically captured by the last player to have made any type of capture during the hand (however this does not earn the bonus points for a Scopa).

After all the cards in the deck have been dealt and played, scoring for the hand occurs with both members of each team combining all captures cards in one pile before calculating the score for that team on the hand. The following are all the scores and bonuses that can be earned during a hand of Cirulla:

If the initial four cards dealt to the table total exactly 15, the dealer immediately captures these cards and earns a bonus of 1 point for his team.

If the initial four cards dealt to the table total exactly 30, the dealer immediately captures these cards and earns a bonus of 2 points for their team.

If the three cards dealt to a player are found to have a total capture value of 9 points or less, that player's team earns a bonus of 3 points (but must show the cards after knocking on the table to announce the bonus which is scored at the end of the hand). This applies to the first three cards dealt at the beginning of the hand as well as each additional set of three cards dealt to each player.

If the three cards dealt to any player are all of the same rank, that player's team earns a bonus of 10 points. If a player has a hand dealt, fulfilling both these criteria (total capture value under 10 and all three cards of the same suit), that player still only scores a total of 10 points. This would apply not only to the initial three cards dealt to each player, but each additional deal of three cards during the hand.

For the purposes of the scoring of bonus points for the cards initially dealt to the table or to a player, the seven of hearts is considered a special wild card (called matta) and can thus, for the purposes of evaluating such a bonus, be set by that player to have any capture value from 1 (Ace) to 10. If used in this way, to allow a player to score an initial bonus, that card, the seven of hearts, then takes on the represented value for the remainder of the game, including for purposes of capturing cards from the table.

In order to help record these bonus scores earned by a player, they are usually scored like a scopa, with an appropriate number of cards faced in the capture pile as would be done for a scopa (see scoring below). A player usually announces these bonuses by knocking on the table and showing the cards forming the bonus.

If a player manages, through any play, to capture all the cards from the center table, leaving it empty after his play (called a scopa), he earns one point for his team. The one exception to this is a scopa can never be earned on the last play of the entire hand, and the automatic capture of leftover cards by the last player making a capture also does not score a scopa for the capturing player.

The team capturing the most total cards during the hand earns 1 point for their team. If both teams capture the same number of cards, this point is not scored.

The team which manages to capture the most cards in the suit of diamonds scores 1 point for their team. If both teams capture the same number of cards in the suit of diamonds, neither team scores this point.

The team which manages to capture the seven of diamonds is entitled to add 1 point to his team's score.

If one team manages to capture the Jack, Queen, and King, all in the suit of diamonds, that team scores 5 points (called la grande).

If a team manages to capture a sequence of three or more consecutive cards in the suit of diamonds, starting with Ace and ascending upwards, this team scores 1 point for each such card in the sequence, to a maximum of six points. For purposes of this sequencing, the sequence rank of the cards in the deck are as follows (shown in ascending sequence from low to high); Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, Jack, Queen, King. This is called la piccola.

If one team manages to capture the entire suit of diamonds during a hand, that team immediately wins the entire game, regardless of the current score of either team (called cappotto).

The team that calculates the highest "Primiera" earns one point. The Primiera is a combination of cards chosen from a team's captured cards. From these cards the teams select one card from each suit, in an attempt to maximize it's "Primiera Value". The following chart shows the value of each card that might be considered:

Card Primiera Value

Seven 21

Six 18

Ace 16

Five 15

Four 14

Three 13

Two 12

Jack, Queen, King 10 Each

A team must have at least one such card in each suit in order to score the Primiera, if a team has no captured cards in one or more suits, that team cannot score for the Primiera. If both teams are tied for the same value Primiera, or both teams do not have representative cards from every suit in their capture piles, neither team scores for the Primiera.

To assist in recalling scores for bonuses and scopas, in the event that a scopa is earned or a bonus, a number of cards from that team's capture pile is usually set face-up (these cards are usually stored face down) and offset in some manner from the rest of the pile, to help in ensuring the team remembers to add the scores for these Scopas to their accumulated total at the end of the hand.

The game continues until, at the end of a hand, after the scoring, one or both teams have scored an accumulated total of 51 or more points. The game then ends with the team with the highest score declared the winner. If the scores are tied, an additional hand must be played to determine the eventual winner.

Cirulla for fewer players: Cirulla can also be played by two or three players. The only difference in these versions being that there are no partnerships and each player thus plays independently, keeping an individual score.

Cirullone: Cirullone is an Italian game that is played very similarly to Cirulla, however using bigger hands (such as is done in playing Scopone). In fact, Cirullone is played identically to Cirulla with the following differences:

Each player is dealt a total of nine cards at the start of each hand. Thus, each player will receive his entire hand right from the start.
The hand bonuses (having three cards with a capture value under 10, or three cards of the same rank), can be announced by any player for any three corresponding cards in his hand fulfilling these requirements. However, after the announcement of the bonus has been made, the three cards used to score the bonus must be placed face up on the table in front of the player and he must play these three cards (on his proper turns) before allowed to play any other cards from his hand.
The game is won by the first team to earn an accumulated score of 101 points or more (or the team with the highest score if both teams manage to reach or exceed 101 points on the same hand).

In all other aspects Cirullone is played identically to standard Cirulla as described above.