Italian Card Players

Well winter is arriving when we start seeing this men daily in the centre, well nearly daily. During the warmer months they are in the local park enjoying the Sun & also playing boccie ball as well as cards. At least they are keeping their minds occupied & getting out of the house. We figure the wives are pleased to see them out & not under their feet. LOL
Scopa is an Italian trick-taking card game, and one of the two major national card games in Italy.[1] 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 3, 5, or 6 players. The name is an Italian verb meaning "to sweep", since taking a scopa means "to sweep" all the cards from the pool. Watching a game of scopa can be highly entertaining an activity, since maintaining that lively and colorful, and somewhat strong-worded, banter in between hands is a vital part of the game.However, skill and chance are more than the outcome of the game. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scopa