Scopa

For more than four hundred years, Scopa has been played at kitchen tables and in squares all across Italy. This card game belongs to the country as much as sunshine and pasta, and now you can put it on your own table at home. You play with an Italian deck of 40 cards, and it only takes a moment before the charm gets you. The idea is simple, and that is exactly what makes it so good. On your turn you place a card in the middle and try to capture other cards. Collect the most cards, hunt for those coveted points and call out 'scopa' when you sweep everything off the table. The first player to reach 11 points wins the game. With 2 to 6 players there is always someone to take on. Scopa is perfect for an evening with the family or a pleasant hour with friends. You can explain the rules in a couple of minutes, so everyone aged 8 and up can join in right away. Before you know it you are on to a second round, and a third. That is how playing together begins.