Итальяндық карта ойыны: Скопа

Italian card game

Scopa (ˈskoːpa; ) is an Italian card game, and one of the three major national card games in Italy, the others being Briscola and Tresette. It is also popular in Argentina and Brazil, brought in by Italian immigrants, mostly in the [[Scopa#Scopa a Quindici variation. Scopa is also played in former Italian colonies such as Libya and Somalia or some other countries like Tunisia and even Morocco, with changed appearance in the cards. It is played with a standard Italian 40 card deck, mostly between two players or four in two partnerships, but it can also be played by three or six players. The name scopa is an Italian noun meaning 'broom', since taking a scopa means 'to sweep' all the cards from the table. Watching a game of scopa can be a highly entertaining activity, since games traditionally involve lively, colorful, and somewhat strong worded banter in between hands. However, skill and chance are more important for the outcome of the game.

Scopa was already widespread throughout Italy in the 18th century, but there is no earlier evidence of its origin.

A deck of Italian cards consist of 40 cards, divided into four suits. Neapolitan, Piacentine, Triestine, and Sicilian cards are divided into Coppe (Cups), Ori or Denari (Golds or Coins), Spada (Swords) and Bastoni (Clubs) or Mazzi (Clubs in Sicilian), while Piemontesi, Milanesi and Toscane cards use the 'French' suits, that is Cuori (Hearts), Quadri (Diamonds, ), Fiori (Flowers) and Picche (Spades, ). The values on the cards range numerically from one through seven, plus three face cards in each suit: Knave [Fante in Italian] (worth a value of 8), Knight [Cavallo in Italian] in the Neapolitan type decks, Queen [Donna in Italian] in the Milanese type decks (worth 9), and King [Re in Italian] (worth 10). A Knave is a lone male figure standing. The Knight is a male figure riding a horse; the Queen is a female figure. The King is a male figure wearing a crown. To determine the face value of any numeric card, simply count the number of suit icons on the card. Since the Coins/Diamonds are important in winning some points, the cards of that suit are also nicknamed as "bello" (handsome): so, "il settebello" is the Seven of Coins/Diamonds, "l'asso bello" is the ace of Coins/Diamonds.

Traditionally, one card from a sweep is turned face up in the captured cards, to remind players while calculating points that a scopa was won, and to taunt them. Many players deal the initial table cards in a 2x2 square.

There are many variants and minor variations of scopa. Since there are no formal rules, it is good manners to agree with the other players on the rules that are to be used before starting a game. Many of the variations here can be combined. For example, a common variant in the Milan area combines "Scopone scientifico", "Scopa d'Assi" and "Napola".

When playing with a standard 52 card pack with French suits, 12 cards need to be removed from the deck. Easiest for most new players is to remove the face cards, and therefore play with cards ranging numerically from one through ten. More traditional is to remove the eights, nines, and tens from the deck, which yields the 40 card "Milanese" deck. With the Milanese deck the Jack is 8, the Queen is 9, and the King is 10 (note that in some Neapolitan decks, the Jack is called "Lady" and is worth 8). Regardless of which cards are removed, the diamonds suit is used for the Italian coin suit, making capturing the most diamonds and the seven of diamonds each worth a point. Alternatively, it is possible to play an 8 player game of scopa using all 52 cards. 4 cards are placed face up on the table, and 3 cards are dealt to each player for 2 rounds (52 = 4 + 3 * 8 * 2). Jacks are treated as value 11, Queens as 12, and Kings as 13. It is recommended to play multiple games so that each player has the opportunity to deal and to mitigate first player advantage. Points can be rewarded for ties, and the player with the most points after all the games is the winner.

The game of Scopone (sometimes referred to as Scopone scientifico) is based on Scopa. In this game, which must be played in two teams of two, players are dealt all nine of their cards at the start of each round. Play proceeds around the table until all players have played all of their cards. In another form of the game, Scopone a 10 carte, the players are dealt ten cards each so that none are left. Scopa d'Assi is mostly played in the latter variant.

In this variation (also known as Scopone trentino), a team capturing the ace, two, and three of coins achieves the Napola (aka Napula) and is awarded additional points equal to the highest consecutive coin they obtain, e. g. if a team captures the ace, two, three, four, and five, and eight of coins, that team is awarded 6 additional points. 3 points for the Napola, 1 point for each other carta di denari (card in the suit of coins). Settebello ( 7) is then worth 2 points (one for the card and one for being in the sequence) as is Re Bello ( K), if the variation below is played. Because of the higher number of points awarded per game, the game is played until one team has 21 points, rather than 11. Sometimes a team that manages to capture all 10 coins in a single round wins the game immediately.

In the Re Bello version, the King of coins also counts as a point, just as does the seven of coins. In some regions of Calabria (especially near Cosenza), a point is awarded for the seven of cups in addition to the seven of coins. In Napoli, if a player gets all four sevens in a hand, as well as scoring a point for the primiera they get an additional point Le palle del cane .

Scoring works similarly to standard Scopa, with points being awarded for having captured the most cards, the most diamonds, the '7', holding the best 'prime', and an extra point for each scopa (sgobba ). Additionally:
Three points are awarded for capturing 'A23', known in Ligurian as a bassa and in Italian as la piccola. This bonus can be extended by having captured further cards in the sequence, so that 'A234' is worth four points, all the way up to 'A23456' which is worth six points. Five points are awarded for capturing 'JQK', known in Ligurian as l'erta and in Italian as la grande. With such a high degree of point awarding combinations and the possibility of scoring dozens of points in a single hand, Cirulla games are tense affairs, where seemingly desperate situations can be reversed in a matter of minutes. As a result, the game is typically played until a player (or team, if playing the 4 player partnership variant) reaches 51 points. However, if a player or team manages to capture all diamonds in one round, they win the game immediately.

A number of variant point systems are used for calculating the prime, most of which produce the same order of hands. One notable variant that does not produce the same order is to count 0 points for each face card.

Some play to 16 or 21 points, or even to an arbitrary score agreed to at the beginning of the game.

There is a playable version of scopa within the Nancy Drew game The Phantom of Venice. There are apps for Android smartphones and the Nokia internet tablet running the Maemo operating system, as well as for iOS iPads and iPhones.