Abuse of power runs rampant in the corrupt world of Coup, in which each player is the head of a family in an Italian city-state. In the game of Coup, your goal is to successfully manipulate and bluff your way to power by destroying the influence of your rival families. This card game pits players against each other by forcing them to lie, cheat, and steal while fighting to be the last one standing. If ruthless competition and backstabbing sounds like your idea of a fun time, then Coup is the card game for you.

Make Your Move

Each player beings Coup with two coins and two character cards, which are also known as influence. The game goes in turns, with each turn giving you three distinct options. Your first option is called taking Income, which allows you to take one coin from the treasury. 

The second option is called taking Foreign Aid, which allows you to take two coins from the treasury. However, Foreign Aid can be blocked by the Duke character, so it’s important to make sure there are no Dukes on the board before risking being blocked.

The final option is to launch a coup against one of your opponents, which costs seven coins. This forces that player to give up one of their influence, shedding whichever character card they choose. There is no defense against a coup, so it pays to make friends rather than enemies and avoid becoming the target of anyone’s wrath.

Get To Know The Characters

The card game comes with a card deck of fifteen different cards, which consists of three copies of five distinct characters. Each character has their own special powers or defenses that can help you take down the other players or protect from deadly assassinations.

The Duke is one of the most powerful cards in the game. He has the special ability to take three coins from the treasury at a time as well as block other players from taking foreign aid. The Assassin, on the other hand, is another powerful player in that they can attempt to assassinate another player’s character for only three coins.

While having an Assassin card may seem like a sure fire way to win the game, the Contessa character can save a player from assassination by blocking it. The Captain character is another powerful choice that can both take two coins from another character as well as block any attempts by other players to steal their coins. Lastly, the Ambassador can both block people from stealing and allow you to swap out one or both of your character cards for another.

Bluff, Bluff, Bluff

The real luck of this card game comes from your ability to bluff. All of your character cards are hidden, which allows you to perform pretty much any action you want if you’re willing to back it up. Other players are allowed to challenge you, however, forcing you to reveal your character card. 

If you don’t have the card, you will lose one of your character cards. If you do, then the challenger loses one of theirs. A challenge can still hurt you, though, as you will be forced to put the card you reveal back in the deck to be shuffled and redrawn. The last player to still have one remaining character card wins Coup!

Coup: Rebellion G54

There is a sequel card game to Coup called Coup: Rebellion G54 that has similar rules but many more cards. This card game has a much larger deck with 25 characters, five of which you choose to play each game with. This can allow for much more variety with each game, giving you countless advantages and strategies to navigate on your path to victory.

Bluff Your Way To The Top With Coup

Coup is playable by 2-6 players, which makes it the perfect card game for parties or as an icebreaker. It’s also suitable for ages 13 and up, as its mechanics are simple enough for most kids to understand. Playing time lasts around 15 minutes, but you’ll definitely want to play multiple rounds as you get used to the way the game works. Coup is a delightfully competitive and tense card game that offers plenty of opportunity for fun. Practice your poker face and buy Coup today!