Forget backgammon! This summer, we’re all playing Scopa—the Italian card game beloved for generations from Naples to Umbria, that is now quietly becoming the latest style set craze. Part strategy, part mental arithmetic the game is deceptively simple to learn and yet maddeningly difficult to master. But do not fret! I can teach you the rules.
Allora, ascoltami, per favore! You’ll need a traditional 40-card Italian deck. Each player is dealt three cards, while four are placed face-up on the table. On your turn, you play one card from your hand, capturing a card (or combination of cards, depending on the variant you’re playing) of equal value from the table. If you can’t make a capture, you simply discard a card face-up. The game’s name comes from its most satisfying move: sweeping every card off the table in a single turn—a scopa!—which earns an extra point. Once all the cards have been played, points are awarded not only for scope but also for collecting the most cards, the most coins, and prized cards like the coveted Settebello, the seven of coins. The first player to reach 11 points wins. Tempting, no?
