Findings

Last Updated: 2026-03-31T00:00:00.000Z

Summary

Initial analysis of the Scopone Scientifico Phaser 3 codebase. This document is populated by the Planner agent as research is performed.

Total source files: 9 TypeScript (6 in src/), 3 Java (Capacitor boilerplate)
Largest file: GameScene.ts (~1340 lines) — rendering, input, effects, audio, UI
Game logic is framework-independent: game/ modules have zero Phaser imports
No test framework: only tsc --noEmit for type-checking
No linter/formatter: code style enforced manually
AI plays all 3 non-human seats using the same heuristic
Procedural audio: all sound is Web Audio oscillators — no audio asset files

AI cheats with perfect information: scoreDump() and opponentThreatScore() in ai.ts iterate opp.hand directly — bots can see all opponent cards. Must be replaced with imperfect-information card tracking.
No mastery/difficulty levels: All 3 AI seats use the same heuristic at the same strength.
No card tracking: No module tracks which cards have been played or remains in the deck.
No minimax: Pure heuristic scoring, no look-ahead or game tree search.
Allied bot is selfish: Compagno (player 2) plays identically to opponents — no cooperative strategy.

Sources: Wikipedia (Scopa article, Scopone section), Pagat.com (Scopone page by John McLeod)

4 players, 2 fixed teams of 2 (sit opposite): Team A = players 0+2, Team B = players 1+3
40-card Napoletane deck: 4 suits (bastoni, coppe, denara, spade), values 1–10
All 40 cards dealt (10 each), no initial table cards — the "scientifico" variant
Play passes around the table (counter-clockwise in Italian tradition; this game uses 0→1→2→3)
Each turn: play one card face-up to the table

If the played card's value matches a table card, the table card must be captured (single card, not a sum)
If multiple table cards match the played value, exactly one is captured (player chooses)
If no direct match, the player may capture a subset of table cards summing to the played value
If the played card matches both a single card and a sum, the single card must be captured (not the sum)
There is no obligation to play a capturing card — a player may choose to play a non-capturing card instead. But if the played card CAN capture, it MUST capture.
Scopa: capturing ALL remaining table cards awards +1 point (except on the very last card of the round)

Category	Rule
Carte	Team with majority of captured cards (20+ of 40). Tie = no point.
Denari	Team with majority of coins/denara suit cards (6+ of 10). Tie = no point.
Settebello	Team capturing the 7 of denara. Always awarded.
Primiera	Team with highest prime value. Prime = best card per suit using special scale. Tie = no point. Must have all 4 suits.
Scope	+1 per scopa achieved during play.

A team missing an entire suit cannot win primiera (even 3×21=63 loses to 21+16+16+16=69 with all 4 suits).

7 of coins (settebello) is the single most valuable card — contributes to all 4 fixed scoring categories
Avoid giving scope: leave table total ≥ 11 when possible
Anchor strategy: leave a card on table that your team controls (you hold duplicates of that value)
Whirlwind: consecutive scope — clearing the table forces opponent to play, partner captures, repeat
Sevens > sixes > aces in priority for primiera control
Paired/unpaired tracking: if all captures are single-card matches, the last card matches the last table card. Sum captures disrupt this pattern, important for end-game planning.

The findCaptures() in engine.ts correctly implements:

Direct match priority over sum captures ✓
Multiple direct matches: takes ALL matching cards (slight deviation — pagat.com says choose ONE, but Wikipedia says take all. The codebase takes all direct matches. This is the existing behavior and must not be altered per success criteria.)
Sum subsets via power set enumeration ✓
applyMove() auto-captures when possible ✓