Overview
Coup is a game of bluffing, deduction, and manipulation for 3-6 players set in a dystopian future. Each player has two face-down influence cards representing characters at court. Players take actions – some requiring specific characters – and may bluff about which characters they hold. Other players can challenge claims or counteract actions. Lose both influence cards and you are exiled. Last player standing wins.
Components
- 15 character cards (3 each of Duke, Assassin, Captain, Ambassador, Contessa)
- 6 summary cards
- 50 coins
Setup
- Shuffle all 15 character cards and deal 2 face-down to each player. Players may look at their own cards but keep them face-down.
- Place remaining cards as the Court deck in the center.
- Give each player 2 coins, kept visible.
- Place remaining coins as the Treasury.
- The winner of the last game starts; otherwise choose randomly.
Turn Structure
On each turn, a player chooses exactly one action (no passing allowed). After declaring an action, other players may challenge or counteract it before it resolves.
Resolution order:
- Player declares action
- Other players may challenge or counteract
- Challenges resolve first
- Then the action (or counteraction) resolves
Actions
General Actions (always available)
| Action |
Effect |
| Income |
Take 1 coin from Treasury |
| Foreign Aid |
Take 2 coins from Treasury (blockable by Duke) |
| Coup |
Pay 7 coins to Treasury; target loses 1 influence (cannot be blocked) |
Mandatory Coup: If you start your turn with 10+ coins, you MUST Coup.
Character Actions (require claiming a character)
| Character |
Action |
Effect |
| Duke |
Tax |
Take 3 coins from Treasury |
| Assassin |
Assassinate |
Pay 3 coins; target loses 1 influence (blockable by Contessa) |
| Captain |
Steal |
Take 2 coins from another player (blockable by Ambassador or Captain) |
| Ambassador |
Exchange |
Draw 2 from Court deck, choose which to keep, return 2 |
Counteractions (claiming a character to block)
| Character |
Blocks |
| Duke |
Foreign Aid |
| Contessa |
Assassination |
| Ambassador |
Stealing |
| Captain |
Stealing |
Scoring / Victory Conditions
- When a player loses both influence cards, they are exiled (out of the game).
- The last player remaining wins.
- There is no second place.
Special Rules & Edge Cases
- Challenges: Any player can challenge any character claim (action or counteraction). The challenged player must reveal the relevant character card. If they can, the challenger loses 1 influence, and the revealed card is shuffled back into the Court deck with a new random card drawn. If they cannot show the character, they lose 1 influence and the action fails (coins returned).
- Double danger of Assassination: If you challenge an Assassin and lose, you lose 1 influence for the failed challenge AND 1 for the assassination (potentially losing both cards in one turn). Same if you bluff Contessa to block and are challenged.
- Coins paid for a failed action (successfully challenged) are returned. Coins paid for a counteracted action (e.g., blocked assassination) remain spent.
- Players may never reveal cards voluntarily, give/lend coins, or make binding agreements.
- 2-player variant: Starting player gets only 1 coin. Alternative setup: divide cards into 3 sets of 5; each player picks 1 card from their set, discards rest; deal 1 more from the third set; remaining 3 cards form the Court deck.
Player Reference
| Character |
Action |
Blocks |
| Duke |
Tax (3 coins) |
Foreign Aid |
| Assassin |
Assassinate (pay 3, target loses influence) |
– |
| Captain |
Steal (2 coins from a player) |
Stealing |
| Ambassador |
Exchange (2 cards from Court) |
Stealing |
| Contessa |
– |
Assassination |
- 10+ coins = must Coup
- Coup costs 7 coins, cannot be blocked
- Losing a challenge = lose 1 influence
- Last player standing wins