Photo by Tony Costa
I was just a little girl the first time my nonna pulled out a deck of cards to show me how to play a game called Scopa. We'd visit every Sunday, so I could always look forward to another after-supper game. Memories of playing it inspired a few scenes in my first novel.
The game's name comes from the Italian word for broom, as the winner gets to sweep all the cards from the table. And unlike a standard deck, these are slightly reminiscent of the tarot with 40 cards, divided into four suits: denari (coins), coppe (cups), spade (swords), and bastoni (clubs).
Cards display values between one and seven with four face cards rounding out eight through ten: fante (the knave), which is worth a value of eight; cavallo (the knight) in the Neapolitan-type deck or donna (the queen) in the Milanese-type deck, which are both worth nine; and re (the king), which is worth ten.
Many of these decks, which vary regionally, are richly illustrated and have become collector items. I recently had a chance to see several styles shared by Toronto-based Tony Costa, who took time out with Joseph Cafiso of Woodbridge, Ontario, for a discussion on all things Scopa.
Both are members of Toronto-based Villa Charities, an organization dedicated to enriching lives through experiences and services that honor Italian culture and heritage. Tony serves as vice chair, and Joseph is a member of the Cultural Advisory Group. Both men are Italian-born. Tony emigrated with his parents as a young boy from Calabria, while Joseph came from Ragusa, Sicily. They shared the game's objective with me and how it ties them to their Italian identities.
How did you start playing Scopa?
Tony: Card playing was part of what my family did when my friends and relatives would visit. It was done mostly in the wintertime, and it wasn't really done throughout the summer because the summer had other activities. Throughout my adolescence, we would play; I only started playing poker and all the other stuff later in life.
But I grew up with Scopa, Briscola, and Tresette. People played for beverages. Whoever won the game would get a glass of wine, for instance, or a bottle of beer. Some people would never win and weren't even allowed to drink water. That was part of the game. You had to win to drink something. So that's how I grew up with it.
Italian cards are similar but yet distinct by region. You can travel throughout Italy and find different types of cards. I've collected 10 regional versions. When I met my wife and started going to her place, for instance, my late father-in-law used to play with the Milanese ones, so I had to learn those cards when we started playing. When I was traveling fairly often, whenever I saw a new set that I hadn't seen, I would purchase it for my collection.
Joseph: I was in my early teens when I learned with my grandparents. We used to have a farm that we'd go to in the summer, and we spent the evening playing by the moonlight in the early '60s.
Later, I played with my friends. I don't play it as often anymore, but it's interesting how I have two boys, and my boys know how to play it, even though they were born and raised in Canada. They played with their friends at school.
I used to be a teacher, and at this particular school, about 20% of the student population was of Italian origin, so we organized Scopa tournaments. I was amazed by the number of people who loved to play, and they used to play just for fun.
Now, if I play, it will be with my peers. We play it at Christmas time, usually when we get together to play Tombola, the Italian version of Bingo, and other card games.
What is the objective of the game?
Tony: Basically, you're going for four points. The way you do that is everybody gets three cards, and four cards are put on the table. If you have a card like the four, and there's a four on the table, you can take that card. Once you get through the three cards, you take another three. Or you can do combinations; in other words, if there's a two and a four on the table and you have a six, you can take your six and pick up the two and the four together.
If there happens to be only one card left on the table and you happen to have that card, let's say there's a four on the table and you have a four in your hand, you can take the four, and that becomes a Scopa. That's a point in and of itself. And hence the name of the game, Scopa.
You're trying to accumulate as many of the denari as possible because one of the points goes to the individual who accumulates most of these denari cards. That's one. The second thing you want to do is try to get the seven of denari, which is a point in and of itself. So whoever accumulates that seven gets a second point. The third point goes to the one who has the most cards picked up. The fourth point is something they call a primera, a combination of four cards with an inherent value to each card. You have to put together your four highest cards, one of each suit. You can't have more than one of each suit. And whoever has the highest value in those four cards gets the fourth point.
I've seen some games where you get five or six plus your four points, and the game doesn't last very long because it's up to 11 points.
Joseph: Some people play to 11. I've known people who play up to 15. For some reason, it has to be an odd number.
How does Scopa connect you to your culture?
Joseph: It started as part of family recreation, a way to get together and stay together. Nowadays, we have so-called family games, whether it's Monopoly or Risk or other games, and you still have Checkers and so on. Playing cards goes back centuries. But for me personally, it's just a way of being together with friends and family and having a good time because when you play, you also talk about all kinds of things. You talk about food, the weather, and relations. I mean, you joke around, you tease one another. It's a way to connect, be together, and strengthen bonds between friends and family.
Tony: Once in a while, I'll take out the cards. I have three daughters, three sons-in-law, and a bunch of grandkids. My daughters and I have played since they were little, but now I've introduced it to my non-Italian sons-in-law, who enjoy it. And some of my grandchildren are also starting to play it. So it's a way of keeping our culture—one small thing within our culture, but it's an important one, similar to our food. This is one of our pastimes.
What advice would you give someone new to the game?
Tony: Enjoy its simplicity because it isn't a very difficult game to play. We had a get-together at Villa Colombo, where some people had never even seen a deck of cards of this nature. Within one session, they understood the game, and they were able to participate. Now, mind you, they needed some help, but by the time that second and third evening came, they needed no more lessons; they were squaring off with the best of us who had played before. So enjoy it as an opportunity to be with other people. Don't take it seriously.
Scopa is a good beginner's game; you can pass hours and hours. People gravitate to this because it doesn't require money. It doesn't require you to buy expensive equipment. You just need a deck of cards. You have hours and hours of fun for a couple of bucks in a day.
Joseph: It's a social game, and it has that way of putting people together, especially for people who live alone or don't have family or too many friends. It is a great way to meet people. And without any pressure, financial or otherwise, you can have a good time and have a few laughs.
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