Scale 40

Scala 40 (Scala Quaranta) is a card game that spread in Italy in the 1920s , supplanting rummy , a very similar game from which most of the rules were adopted.

The game is played with two stacks of French cards . The number of players can range from two to five and everyone plays, usually, for their own account. Especially when playing with four people, it is also common to play in pairs. Once a dealer has been determined, 13 cards are dealt face down and clockwise to each player. Then a card is revealed; this represents the beginning of the discard pile (it. Pozzo ). The remaining cards are placed face down next to the discard pile and represent the talon (it. tallone ). Each player picks up a card from the talon and adds it to the cards in their hand. From there he chooses this or another card to play it on the discard pile.

In order to interpret (it. Aprire , to open) you need at least one or more tris , quartetti or even scales , which result in 40 points.

The order of the cards in a scale is based on face value and goes from ace to king. The value of the cards is their face value. The figures have a value of 10 points. The ace placed on a scale before the two has a value of one, in a tris or a scale after the king a value of eleven points.

The goal is to complete it (it. Chiudere ), that is all the cards in hand as Tris , Quartetti or Scale play off and put the last on the discard pile. Whoever has completed has "won the hand" ( vinto la mano ). The opponents must reveal their cards and count the points. The number of points for unpacking (it. Sballare ), i.e. for leaving the game, is usually 101, but the players can also set it to 201 or 501.

Game flow

When a combination ( Tris , Quartetto or Scala ) is formed, each card can be replaced by a Joker ( Jolly or Matta ).

After a player has opened, he can also draw a card from the discard pile, but only the one that was laid out by the previous player. If you haven't opened yet, you only draw from the talon.

Furthermore, a player who has opened can add one or more cards to the combinations on the table (it. Attaccare ). You can invest after drawing from the talon.

If there is a joker on the table to form a combination and you have the card to replace it, you can play that card and pick up the joker.

In the event that the cards in the talon are used up, the discard pile is turned over and shuffled to create a new talon. A card is turned over, which then serves as the beginning of a new discard pile.

To complete a player must not be completely without cards. He must have at least one card left to discard.

A player can finish by playing all cards in one turn. In this case one says that he has “finished in hand” ( chiuso in mano ) and the points of the opponents are doubled.

The wild card in hand is usually valued at 25 points and the cards in hand all add up at the end, so there is no fixed value.

Game variants

When playing in pairs, only one of the partners has to lay out 40 points. This also counts for the partner, who can then also interpret with fewer points.

The leading variants allow the use of jokers. You can decide whether jokers are used or not, whether they can be used in the opening or only afterwards, or whether jokers that have been taken from a combination on the table can be used again in a new combination.

Other variants provide that the dealer gets 14 instead of 13 cards and may play on the first turn without drawing in order to have 13 cards like the other players.

In addition, whoever has opened can add cards that complete a tris or scala .

The variant in which it is possible to open with a tris or a scala with a score below 40 is called Machiavelli .

Whoever completes in the hand receives a point bonus (to be specified, e.g. −25), which must be deducted from your own number of points, instead of doubling the opponents' points.

Often a maximum of 100 points per round is played so that the game does not end too quickly even if the cards are unlucky.

In order to keep all players in the game until the end, there is the variant with re-entry (it. Rientro ). If a player exceeds the maximum points he will be reset to the point value of the player with the most points below the maximum. The game only ends when one player manages to get all the others over the maximum in the same round.