Coup

1 Overview

Coup is a 2–6 player social deduction card game of bluffing and deduction. Each player holds two hidden influence cards representing characters with special abilities. Players take turns taking actions — claiming to have characters they may or may not actually hold. Get caught bluffing and lose an influence. Force others to lose both their influences to eliminate them.

Games last 15 minutes and play is brutal and satisfying. Perfect for groups who enjoy Mafia or The Resistance but want something faster and card-based.

2 Characters

• Duke: Take 3 coins (Tax). Block Foreign Aid.
• Assassin: Pay 3 coins to force a player to lose an influence.
• Captain: Steal 2 coins from another player. Block stealing.
• Ambassador: Draw 2 cards from the Court deck, keep what you want, return the rest. Block stealing.
• Contessa: Block an Assassination.

The deck has 3 copies of each character (15 cards total in a 6-player game).

3 Setup

Shuffle the character deck. Deal 2 cards face-down to each player — these are your influence. Give each player 2 coins from the treasury. The remaining cards form the Court deck (face-down in the center).

4 Actions

On your turn, take one action:

• Income: Take 1 coin. (No character required, cannot be blocked.)
• Foreign Aid: Take 2 coins. (Can be blocked by Duke.)
• Coup: Pay 7 coins, force target to lose an influence. (Cannot be challenged or blocked. Mandatory if you have 10+ coins.)
• Tax (Duke): Take 3 coins.
• Assassinate (Assassin): Pay 3 coins, force target to lose an influence (can be blocked by Contessa).
• Steal (Captain): Take 2 coins from a target player.
• Exchange (Ambassador): Draw 2 cards, keep 0–2, return rest.

5 Challenging

Any player can challenge a character claim at any time. The challenged player must reveal the claimed character card:

• If they have it: Challenger loses 1 influence. The revealed card is shuffled back and replaced.
• If they don't have it: Bluffer loses 1 influence.

6 Blocking

Some actions can be blocked by claiming the appropriate character. The blocker states "I block with [character]." The original player (or anyone) can then challenge the block the same way. If the block stands, the action fails with no other effect.

7 Winning

When you lose your second influence card, you are eliminated. The last player with at least one face-down influence card wins.

8 Strategy

Be Consistent

Pick a "character identity" early and stick to it. Consistent behavior makes your real cards harder to read. If you claim Duke every game, opponents won't know when you're bluffing.

Challenge Sparingly

Challenges are a 50/50 gamble. Don't challenge unless the odds or the game state demand it. Bad challenges lose you influence for nothing.

Target the Wealthy

Players with 7+ coins can Coup on their next turn regardless of what cards they have. Steal from them, or eliminate them before they can Coup you.