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Coup
A concentrated game of bluffing and nerve where you may claim powerful actions without showing a card. A round takes about 15 minutes, making it easy to play several games in a row.
Rules
Claim any character whether you hold it or not, decide when to expose a rival's bluff, and protect your last Influence in this compact bluffing game.
Protect your two Influences
Whenever you lose an Influence, choose one of your face-down cards and turn it face up. A revealed card provides no ability. You are immediately out when both are revealed, and the last player remaining wins.
Choose one action each turn
A Coup is mandatory at 10 or more coins
If you start your turn with at least 10 coins, you may choose no other action. Pay 7 coins and launch a Coup against one player; the target loses an Influence with no challenge or counteraction.
General and Character Actions
| Action | Effect | Counteraction |
|---|---|---|
| Income | Take 1 coin from the Treasury | None |
| Foreign Aid | Take 2 coins from the Treasury | Any player claims Duke |
| Coup | Pay 7 coins; target loses 1 Influence | None |
| Duke — Tax | Take 3 coins from the Treasury | None |
| Assassin — Assassinate | Pay 3 coins; target loses 1 Influence | Target claims Contessa |
| Captain — Steal | Take up to 2 coins from target | Target claims Captain or Ambassador |
| Ambassador — Exchange | Draw 2 from Court, choose what to keep, return 2 | None |
Contessa has no Character Action on her owner's turn. Her ability is the counteraction against an assassination targeting that player.
Challenges resolve before actions
- If the claimant reveals the matching face-down card, the challenger loses one Influence. Shuffle the proved card into the Court deck, draw a replacement, and continue the original action or counteraction.
- If the claimant cannot or will not prove the claim, the claimant loses one Influence. A challenged action fails, and any coins paid as its cost return to the player.
- Once play continues, a challenge cannot be issued retroactively. A counteraction is a separate Character claim and may itself be challenged.
Who can block what
A counteraction may also be a bluff. If nobody challenges it, or the blocker wins the challenge, the action fails. If the blocker loses the challenge, the blocker loses one Influence and the original action continues.
An Assassination can cost two Influences
Know when the fee returns
If the Assassin claim fails a challenge, the entire action fails and the three coins return. If the Assassin was proved but a valid Contessa blocks the action, the three coins remain spent.
Negotiation and two-player rules
- Negotiation is unrestricted, but no promise is binding. Players may not reveal cards to each other or give or lend coins.
- In the standard two-player game, the starting player begins with one coin while the other player begins with two.
- For the optional two-player variant, divide the Characters into three sets containing one of each. Each player secretly keeps one card from a set and discards the rest, then each receives one card from the third set; its remaining three cards form the Court deck.
Edition and background
Designed by Rikki Tahta, Coup was published in 2012 through La Mame Games and Indie Boards & Cards. The Korean Deluxe edition includes the Reformation expansion, but this guide covers only the international base game.
The Korean Deluxe expansion is separate
This guide does not include Reformation's factions, new role, or additional player-count rules. Follow that box's Korean booklet when using the expansion.
Frequently confused rules
Q. May I claim a Character I do not hold?
Yes. Both Character Actions and counteractions may be bluffs. You prove the claim only if another player challenges it.
Q. Does a Duke revealed to win a challenge become exposed Influence?
No. Shuffle the proved Duke into the Court deck and draw a random replacement, so the claimant keeps that Influence.
Q. Does an Assassin recover the three coins when Contessa blocks?
No. A successful counteraction leaves the fee spent. The coins return only when a challenge proves the Assassin claim false and the action itself fails.
Q. Can a Coup be challenged or blocked by Contessa?
No. Coup is not a Character claim and has no counteraction. Pay seven coins and the target immediately loses one Influence.
Q. Must I launch a Coup as soon as I have exactly seven coins?
No. Coup becomes available at seven coins and becomes mandatory only when you start a turn with at least ten coins.
Sources
Indie Boards & Cards international-edition rulebook text (9-page copy)Indie Boards & Cards official Coup product pageBoardGameGeek — players, time, weight, and editionsWiki cross-reference — Wikipedia: Coup (card game)Wiki cross-reference — NamuWiki: Coup board gameHobby Game Mall Korean Deluxe product page — edition checkRule summaries are reference content written by us, not quotations from the official rulebook. Always check the official rulebook for exact rules. Diagrams are original schematics, not rulebook illustrations.
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Last updated 2026-09-15
💡 Master tip
Track the combinations your opponents may hold and choose your bluffing moments carefully; when the evidence is thin, letting a claim pass can be safer than challenging. Remember that if you start a turn with 10 or more coins, you must spend 7 coins to launch a Coup.
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Character action and counteraction reference
Quick guide to counteractions and the penalties for challenges
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