Roman Card Games
Roman card games are played with a unique deck of cards, much different than those played with in North America. Italy features up to 16 different regional decks of cards, yet only three variations remain popular: the Roman deck; Napoletane (the most popular); and the Sicilian deck. The Romagnole style of cards is popular in and around the city of Rome. The most popular games used with Roman cards are Scopa (meaning "Sweep" in Italian) and Briscola (meaning "trump" in Italian).
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Standard Deck of Cards
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The standard deck of cards in the Romagnole style features only 40 cards compared to 52 in a North American deck. The suits are also different: instead of featuring Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs, and Spades, the Roman deck (and the other Italian variations) features Swords, Coins, Cups (or Goblets), and Clubs (or Sticks). The cards are not numbered, but rather feature images similar to tarot cards. The deck includes Aces to Sevens and then face cards, which are the King (Re), the Horseman (Cavallo), and the Infantryman (Fante).
Scopa - Overview
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Scopa is ideally played with two or four players, but three people can play if a card is removed from the deck. The object of Scopa is to collect cards that equal the sum of the cards in your hand. The game begins with each player given three cards. Then, four cards are laid face-up on the table. Playing clockwise, players attempt to pick up cards that equal what is in their hand. For example, a player has the Six of Coins and the Six of Cups is on the table. The player can pick up the Six of Cups with their Six of Coins and then place both cards in their personal pile. Face cards have the following numerical values: King is 10, Horseman is nine, and the Infantryman is eight.
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Scopa -- Scoring System
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Four guaranteed points are available in each round: one for the most cards collected, one for having the most Sevens, one for collecting the Seven of Coins (known as the "Beautiful Seven"), and finally collecting the most Coins. Additional points are given to players who manage to "sweep" the table, a player who takes all the cards that are face-up on the table. The player who scores 11 points is crowned the winner.
Briscola - Overview
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Briscola requires players to win "tricks," and can be played with either two or four players. Using the Roman deck of cards, tricks are won in two ways: by playing a card with a higher numerical value, or by playing a "trump" card. The trump is decided at the beginning of the game during the deal. The dealer gives each player three cards and then flips up the next card. This suit is the trump. Players should always have three cards in their hand; therefore after every round of play, each player takes another card.
Briscola -- Scoring System
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Points are derived in the following manner: Aces are worth 11; Threes are worth 10, Kings are worth four, the Horsemen are worth three, and finally the Infantrymen are worth three. The total number of points available is 120; therefore, a player can win by collecting 61 or more points.
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