How to keep score in Scopa

After each hand of Scopa you score 1 point for every scopa (sweep), plus 1 each for the most cards, the most coins, the settebello and the best primiera. Keep a running total, and the first to 11 wins.

At a glance

• Players: 2, 3, or 4 in two teams

• Who wins: First to 11 points

• Each hand: Up to 4 points, plus 1 a scopa

• Cards: 40, the Italian deck, as in Briscola

What scores a point

When the last card has been played, whoever made the last capture takes the cards left on the table. Then each player or team counts their pile. This count, the punteggio, gives these points.

A tie for cards (20 each), coins (5 each) or primiera scores nothing for anyone. So apart from sweeps, a hand is worth at most 4 points between you.

How to work out the primiera

The primiera (prime) compares your best card in each suit. Take your highest-value card in coins, cups, swords and clubs, using the values below, and add the four together. The higher total wins the point. If you have no card at all in one suit, you can't win it.

• 7: 21

• 6: 18

• Ace: 16

• 5: 15

• 4: 14

• 3: 13

• 2: 12

• Fante, cavallo and re (the face cards): 10 each

Four 7s make 84, the highest primiera there is. That's why the 7s are worth fighting for, even apart from the settebello.

When the game ends

Keep a running total. The game ends after the hand in which someone reaches 11 or more. If both sides reach 11 in the same hand, the higher score wins. If they're level, play another hand.

For a longer game, agree on 16 or 21 before you start. Some tables let a player call themselves out (chiamarsi fuori) during a hand once they think they've reached the target. If they're wrong, they lose the game.

What people often get wrong

• The last capture isn't a scopa. The cards left on the table at the end go to whoever captured last, but taking them never counts as a sweep.

• Ties score nothing. 20 cards each or 5 coins each means no point for either side.

• The settebello helps three times. It's a point on its own, it counts towards the most coins, and it's the best primiera card in coins.

• Four players: partners sit opposite and pool their piles. Scopone, where all the cards are dealt at the start, is scored the same way.

Variants that change the score

• Re bello: the king of coins is worth 1 more point.

• Napola: taking the ace, 2 and 3 of coins scores 3, plus 1 for each card that carries the run on (4, 5 and so on). Games with napola often go to 21 or 31.

• Asso piglia tutto: an ace takes every card on the table, unless there's an ace there already. Tables differ on whether that counts as a scopa.

• Scopa di quindici: you capture cards that add up to 15 with the card you play. The points at the end are the same.

A scoring example

Ana and Ben are on 7 and 6 when they count the third hand. Ana made two sweeps and Ben one.

Ana's primiera is two 7s, a 6 and an ace (21 + 21 + 18 + 16 = 76). Ben's is two 7s, a 6 and a 5 (21 + 21 + 18 + 15 = 75). Ana goes from 7 to 11 and wins the game. Ben finishes on 8.

Keep score in Tallynight

Scopa is set up for you: rounds, highest score wins, to 11. After each hand, type everyone's points on one keypad, and the table keeps the totals, who's in front and who deals next.

• Offers to end the game when someone reaches 11

• Play to 16 or 21 by changing the target, and keep it as a favourite

• Add each team as a player for four-player Scopa

• Tap any hand to fix a miscount

• Get Tallynight on the App Store: free, no ads.

• Print a Scopa score sheet if you'd rather keep score on paper.

Questions

How do you score primiera in Scopa?

Take your best card in each of the four suits: a 7 is 21, a 6 is 18, an ace 16, a 5 is 15, a 4 is 14, a 3 is 13, a 2 is 12 and a face card 10. Add the four, and the higher total wins 1 point. With no card in one suit, you can't win it.

How many points do you need to win Scopa?

11 is the usual target. If both players reach it in the same hand, the higher score wins. Some tables play to 16 or 21 for a longer game.

How many points is the settebello worth?

1 point on its own. The 7 of coins also counts towards the most coins and is the best primiera card in coins, so it often helps win two more points.

Does a scopa count on the last card?

Not on the last play of the hand. Whoever captured last takes the cards left on the table, but that never counts as a scopa.

What if both players have 20 cards in Scopa?

Nobody gets the point for cards. The same goes for 5 coins each or an equal primiera.

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