Coup - Review

Coup is a game of deduction and deception, where players take an action on each of their goes and battle it out to be the last person standing. Each player starts with two character cards (influence) which they keep secret from everyone else. On each of their turns, players choose an action to do. There are three basic actions: Income and Foreign Aid, which both let you gain money, or Coup, which forces a player to lose an influence. There are four other actions, each associated with a different character. Players can choose to do an action that isn’t associated with their characters, but if another playing correctly calls their bluff the immediately lose an influence! Some of these actions can also be blocked, so there are a lot of different player interactions happening. This is a great game for people who like bluffing games, such as the Resistance, One Night Ultimate Werewolf, and Poker, but if bluffing isn’t your thing, then you probably want to give this a miss.

A slightly battered box - the sign of a well-played and well-travelled game!

Set up: 10/10

Setting up the game is dead simple: shuffle up the cards and deal out two to each people, before giving each player two coins. Set up with two players is slightly different, as you separate the deck out into three parts, with one of each character in each third. Each player takes one of the smaller decks, choosing a character to keep, whilst the third forms the main deck.

Mechanics: 8/10

The game mechanics are easy to learn, on their turn, each player takes an action. They’re provided with a card that has a list of actions they can do; they must choose carefully, as some actions can be blocked. When you choose an action associated with a character, another player may call your bluff. If you’re lying, you must immediately lose an influence of your choice, turning one of your cards over and losing the action. If you’re telling the truth, you reveal one of your cards, and if you reveal the character you’ve been accused of not having, the accuser immediately loses an influence of their choice! Players can also lose influence through the Coup action, where the player performing the Coup pays seven coins to force another player to lose an influence, which cannot be blocked, or through the Assassinate action, which can be blocked by the Contessa. The game continues until only one player has influence left, who is declared the winner. Coup is one of those games where it’s easier to learn by playing, after your first game you should know what to do, but mastering which actions to choose, and when, takes more practice.

A lists of the different actions available to all players in Coup.

Scoring: 10/10

There is no scoring in this game, it’s simply a case of the last one standing wins! Determining who wins couldn’t be simpler!

Replayability: 1/10 or 7/10

Unlike my other ratings, I’ve given Coup two. The main reason being how divisive Coup is a game, some people love it, some people hate it. It also tends to play best with four or five people; with two or three people playing, you lose a lot of the player interaction, with six people playing, the game can feel a little bogged down and it can be very easy to work out what influence everyone has, as there are very few cards not in play.

The five different character cards - who will you claim?

Speed: 8/10

Coup is a very fast game, taking between five and fifteen minutes to play, depending on how many people are playing. It can also end very quickly for some players, if they get targeted early or caught out in a lie they can quickly lose influence and be out of the game.

Overall, I love Coup. As I mentioned previously, this made its way into my top three travel games of 2022. It’s a great, fast game, that anyone can pick up and learn to play. Its main downfall is everyone not liking (or not being good at) deception games, in which case you may find it becomes less interesting. I’d recommend picking it up and giving it a go; Coup is relatively cheap, and you can usually pick a copy up for between £10-£15.

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Happy gaming!

Chris