The game is inspired by Scopa, a traditional Italian card game in which players collect cards through matching and strategy. In this adapted version, instead of numerical values, children match cards based on emotions. This maintains the original game’s turn-taking and decision-making dynamics while shifting the focus toward emotional recognition and expression.

Skill focus

Primary Skill Focus

• Empathy 

Complementary/Secondary Skill Focus

• Emotional awareness regulation and communication
• Valuing people and nature
• Problem-solving

Age group	Student number	Duration
6-10 years old	2-6 children	20-30 minutes

How to play – brief game rules

Setup:

• Prepare a deck of Emotion Cards (at least 32 cards), ensuring that each emotion appears multiple times (e.g., 4 cards for Joy, 4 for Sadness, 4 for Fear, etc.), so that several players can hold or play the same emotion.
• Emotions can be represented either with written labels or simple drawings/icons, depending on the age group.
• Prepare a deck of Situation Cards (at least 20 cards), each describing a short, age-appropriate scenario (e.g., “A child lost their favourite toy,” “Someone feels nervous before a big test,” “A friend was left out of a game”).
• Shuffle both decks and place four Situation Cards face-up on the table.
• Each player receives three Emotion Cards in their hand.
• The remaining Emotion Cards form the draw pile for the game

Gameplay:

1. Players take turns choosing one of their Emotion Cards and trying to match it with a Situation Card on the table.
2. To claim the match, the player must explain why the emotion fits the situation (e.g., “I match ‘Fear’ with ‘A child lost in a supermarket’ because when we get lost, we often feel scared.”).
3. The player then suggests a way to help the person feeling that emotion (e.g., “To help them, I could tell them to find a security guard or stay calm and ask for help.”).
4. If the reasoning is valid and convincing, the player collects the matched cards and places them in their personal pile.
5. A new Situation Card is drawn from the deck to replace the one taken.
6. The next player repeats the process.

Winning the Game:

• The game ends when there are no more Situation Cards left.
• Players count their matched pairs, but the focus is on who provided the most meaningful and insightful responses, not just who collected the most cards.

Special Rules:

• If a player cannot match any of their cards, they may trade one card from their hand with the draw pile.
• Empathy Bonus: Any player at the table (not only the one whose turn it is) may challenge a match if they believe a different emotion would fit the situation better. The challenging player must propose an alternative Emotion Card and briefly explain their reasoning.
• If the group agrees that the alternative emotion is a better match, the challenging player wins the pair instead of the original player.