Designers: Rikki Tahta

Publisher: Indie Boards & Cards

Genre: Bluffing, Card Game, Deduction, Political

Number of Players: 2-6 (Best with 5) Reformation: up to 10 players

Release Date: 2012

Difficulty: Easy

SCORE: 8.0 / 10

It’s time to set the scene. Welcome to the universe of The Resistance. For our first dive into this universe, we make our first move to a futuristic Italy. The player is the head of one of many powerful families that manipulate an Italian city-state behind the scenes. This is because the city-state is run by a weak and powerless government that is easily manipulated into committing acts of atrocity. Your job? Manipulate, bribe, and lie your way into control of the city-state by eliminating rival families’ influence over the government. Will you be able to force them into exile with ease? It’s time for you to stage your on Coup. 

In Coup, your main goal is to remove the other players’ influence from the game. Their influence takes the form of two separate cards that take the form of one or more individuals in a position of power. They could be two of the same character, but you just don’t know without receiving any information. It is time for you to use your wits in order to figure out what classes the other players control. Listen and interpret the other players moves, all while developing a strategy on your own. You can remove the other players’ influence in a number of ways, with the easiest being an assassination, a coup, or challenging one of their lies. As soon as both cards have been removed, one less person will stand in your way.

All of the tools at your disposal…

As the ever so important future ruler of the city-state, you should put your influence to good use. There are five characters available for use in the base game: the duke, contessa, assassin, captain, and ambassador. If you are able to snag the expansion pack Coup: Reformation, you will also have the inquisitor available instead of the ambassador. But screw the rules! Include both the ambassador and inquisitor for even more fun. As the inquisitor, you are able to exchange one point of influence for another with the court deck or be able to select a card from another player. What you do with the information you have received is now up to you, as you can either have them keep it or you can force an exchange. For the rest of the base game characters’ abilities, feel free to check out this nifty table. Each character has their own special ability, such as the captain being able to steal coins or the assassin killing another card, but each player can also block another action from an opposing class.

A quick “How to Coup a Government” guide.

In contrary to the first issue of the RBG, Coup is actually really easy to play. The easiest way to explain it is like a highly sophisticated and science fiction version of Bullshit. On each individual’s turn, you perform a single action. Now what this action is depends on the character you have influence over, or at least the character you would like to portray. A major benefit of Coup is that you can state that you are any available character and use their action, just as long as you can convince the other players you are indeed who you say you are. If you are called out on and lose, you are forced to lose one of your cards from the game, revealing your lies to the world. There are three types of each character, so if you can pay attention and count cards you will be at an even bigger advantage. There is plenty of bluffing involved, so the game is perfect for any casual card game player…as long as they are comfortable with lying that is.

Despite this, there are a few different strategies that any player can use. My personal technique involves using the duke and inquisitor pairing, as it suits my personal tastes. As the duke, I am able to generate capital quickly, taking tax (3 coins) each turn until I have enough to commit an unblockable coup (7 coins). While I am busy generating capital, I am also able to use the inquisitor to gather intelligence on the rest of my opponent’s influence. Many players use the inquisitor incorrectly, as they force their rivals to change their cards consistently. I have found that it is much easier to “stockpile” the information and either catch them in a lie or sell the information for more capital. Come with a proposal and maybe we can strike up a deal. Why not?

Don’t worry you non-tabletop gamers out there, Coup is definitely not hard to learn and doesn’t take very long to just pick up and play. Each game lasts at most, twenty minutes, making this a perfect card game warm-up or casual game in between your big boxes like Betrayal at the House on the Hill. Anyone actually interested in Coup can learn to play in a matter of rounds and will be easily infected by the game’s addictive nature. My main tabletop friends each keep a copy of Coup in our personal vehicles just so we can play a couple of rounds while we wait for our food to arrive at our favorite hangout. Let’s just say we play Coup more often than any other game you will find on the RBG.

Everything you need right at your fingertips!

To wrap things up, Coup is a fantastic social game with any kind of crowd that doesn’t mind sitting down and yelling at each other. With a complex yet easy game play style similar to Bullshit; Coup will keep your circle of friends entertained for a very long time. Fun fact, Coup also works as a fantastic drinking game! Just be wary though, as you will soon be challenging everyone to come forth with their honesty (or lack thereof). Any player can easily pick it up and learn to be a master of deception in just a mere couple of rounds, forever changing your friendship…you’re welcome. 

Anyway there you have it, the second issue of the RBG! Interested in more tabletop games like Coup? Be sure to watch out for the next issue and follow my Bacon Bits for a sneak peak at what the next issue might hold. Be sure to also check out everything else Nerd Bacon has to offer over in Beyond Bacon.