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Playing games and sports with 'giocare a'

In English you simply play something: you play football, play chess, play cards. Italian needs a small extra word. When giocare names the game or sport you play, it is followed by the preposition a: giocare a calcio, giocare a tennis, giocare a scacchi.

English speakers often leave the a out and say gioco calcio, because nothing in English suggests it should be there. To an Italian ear this sounds clearly wrong. Once you learn the pattern, it works for almost every game and sport.

Word list
calciomA1 football giocare a calcio tennismA1 tennis giocare a tennis basketmA2 basketball giocare a basket footballmA2 football giocare a football golfmA2 golf giocare a golf pallacanestrofA2 basketball giocare a pallacanestro ping-pongmA2 table tennis giocare a ping-pong scacchimA2 chess giocare a scacchi tennis da tavolomA2 table tennis giocare a tennis da tavolo tennis tavolomA2 table tennis giocare a tennis tavolo videogiocomA2 video game giocare ai videogiochi carta da giocofB1 playing card giocare a carte gioco da tavolomB1 board game giocare ai giochi da tavolo hockey su ghiacciomB1 ice hockey giocare a hockey su ghiaccio lotteriafB1 lottery giocare alla lotteria pallamanofB1 handball giocare a pallamano pallavolofB1 volleyball giocare a pallavolo volleymB1 volleyball giocare a volley badmintonmB2 badminton giocare a badminton baseballmB2 baseball giocare a baseball beach volleymB2 beach volleyball giocare a beach volley dadomB2 die giocare a dadi slot machinefB2 slot machine giocare alle slot machine macchinetta mangiasoldifC1 slot machine giocare alle macchinette mangiasoldi nascondinomC1 hide and seek giocare a nascondino roulettefC1 roulette giocare alla roulette rugbymC1 rugby giocare a rugby
How it works

The construction is giocare + a + the name of the game. In most cases there is no article. You say giocare a calcio, not giocare al calcio. Think of a as meaning at, as in the old English phrase to play at something.

The verb changes as usual, but a always stays right after it: gioco a, giochi a, abbiamo giocato a. The same is true after sapere and other verbs followed by an infinitive: sai giocare a, voglio giocare a.

Ogni sabato gioco a calcio con gli amici.
(Every Saturday I play football with friends.)
The words
Team sports

Italian has Italian names and English words for many of these, and both take a. Football is calcio. Basketball is pallacanestro or, more commonly in everyday speech, basket. Volleyball is pallavolo or volley. The others are pallamano (handball), rugby, baseball, hockey su ghiaccio and beach volley.

Mia sorella gioca a pallavolo nella squadra della scuola.
(My sister plays volleyball on the school team.)
D'estate i ragazzi giocano a basket al parco.
(In summer the boys play basketball in the park.)
In Canada tutti sanno giocare a hockey su ghiaccio.
(In Canada everyone knows how to play ice hockey.)
Racket and club sports

These include tennis, badminton and golf. Table tennis can be ping-pong, tennis da tavolo or tennis tavolo, the last being the official name used by clubs.

Preferisci giocare a tennis o a ping-pong?
(Do you prefer playing tennis or table tennis?)
Mio nonno gioca a golf la domenica mattina.
(My grandfather plays golf on Sunday mornings.)
Board, card and children's games

Chess is scacchi, which is always plural. For cards, a single card is a carta da gioco (a playing card), but the game itself is simply giocare a carte, also plural. Hide and seek is nascondino.

Sai giocare a scacchi?
(Do you know how to play chess?)
Dopo cena giochiamo a carte con i vicini.
(After dinner we play cards with the neighbours.)
I bambini giocano a nascondino in giardino.
(The children are playing hide and seek in the garden.)
Watch out
A match or a card takes no preposition

The a goes before the name of the game only. When the object is a match or a specific card, giocare is used directly, just like English.

Domani giochiamo una partita di calcio.
(Tomorrow we're playing a football match.)
Hai giocato la carta sbagliata!
(You played the wrong card!)
Some games take an article

Everyday names of things rather than names of sports usually combine a with the article: giocare ai videogiochi, giocare alla PlayStation. With sport names, just a is the rule.

Mio fratello gioca ai videogiochi tutto il pomeriggio.
(My brother plays video games all afternoon.)
Playing with someone uses con

The person you play with comes after con, as in gioco a tennis con Marco. Do not confuse it with the game itself.

Summary

When you say what game or sport you play, put a after giocare and usually no article: gioco a calcio, giochi a scacchi?, giochiamo a carte. Drop the a only when the object is a match or a card, as in giocare una partita.