Coup: The Card Game Wiki



Coup
Coup is a bluffing card game designed by Rikki Tahta and illustrated by Jarek Nocon.

The main goal of Coup is to be the last player standing with at least one influence left. Each player starts with two influence, represented by two face down cards. Once a player loses an influence, they must choose one of their cards to flip face-up. Once they lose both, they must flip both cards over and are out of the game.

Setup
At the beginning of the game, each player gets two random face-down cards, representing two influence, and two coins. The remaining cards should be randomly shuffled into the court deck.

Actions
On your turn you can either take an action, or use a character ability.

There are three actions: There are also five characters, each with their own special abilities and actions: In order to use a character ability, whether actively or to block another player, a player must claim to have the corresponding character. Players can use any character ability whether they actually have the character or not.
 * Income: Take 1 coin from the treasury. This cannot be blocked or challenged.
 * Foreign Aid: Take 2 coins from the treasury. This cannot be challenged, but can be blocked by duke.
 * Coup: Spend 7 coins to make any other player lose an influence. This cannot be blocked or challenged. If a player has at least 10 coins, then they must coup on their next turn.
 * Duke: Takes 3 coins from the treasury. Cannot be blocked.
 * Captain: Steals 2 coins from any other player. Can be blocked by captain or ambassador.
 * Ambassador: Exchange cards with the court deck. Cannot be blocked.
 * Assassin: Spends 3 coins to assassinate any other player. Can be blocked by contessa.
 * Contessa: Blocks assassinations.

Blocking
Some actions and character abilities can be blocked. If a player takes an action that can be blocked, they will have a chance to be blocked by other players.

If a player attempts to take foreign aid, any player can claim to have the duke and block it. The original player will not receive their 2 coins and their turn will be over. If they successfully challenge the player claiming duke, then that player loses an influence and the original player gets to keep their 2 coins.

If a player attempts to steal 2 coins from another player, then that player can claim to block it with either the captain or the ambassador. Afterwards, the original player's turn will be over, unless they decide to challenge the blocking player. If they do, and are successful, then the blocking player will lose an influence and the original player will be able to steal 2 coins from that player.

If a player attempts to assassinate another player, then the threatened player can claim to have the contessa and block the assassination. If the player claiming assassin does not challenge it, their turn is over and they do not get their 3 coins they paid back. However, if they challenge the contessa successfully, the player being assassinated will lose both of their influence: One for being assassinated, and one for being correctly challenged.

Challenging
Any time a player claims to have a certain character, whether they are taking an action or blocking an action, any other player can challenge them. Once challenged, the player must flip over the character they claimed to have. If they do, then the player who challenged loses an influence for making an incorrect accusation, and the action the original player was trying to take goes through. The card they revealed will be shuffled back into the court deck and they will get a new face-down card. However, if the challenged player cannot, or does not, reveal the card they claimed to have, then they lose an influence and must choose one of their cards to flip over. If they were attempting to take an action, like taxing with the duke, the action does not go through. If they were attempting to block another player's action, then their block will be unsuccessful. (For example, player A attempts to steal from player B, and player B claims ambassador to block. If player B gets challenged, not only will they lose an influence, but they will lose 2 coins to player A's captain.) Thank you for reading





