Tabletop Thursday Review - Coup

You've fought for, or against, The Resistance, and now it is time for a change in the bureaucracy. It's time for the noble elite to fight their tricky, backstabbing game of thrones and lies. It is time to stage a Coup.

Coup is a turn-based card game that pits you against your political rivals for complete control by any means necessary.

Like other games featured on Board of Dice, Coup begins with players being dealt cards in secret. Each will be assigned two character cards, each with their own effect and ability.

However, unlike some other games, you aren't committed to playing the hand you are dealt. Since the cards are played face down, and remain face down, the real fun and skill in Coup comes from bluffing your opponents.

Want to take out one of the rival's cards, but don't have the Assassin to do so? Just act as though you do. Want to gain a little extra coin? Bluff having the Captain or the Duke.

Each turn, the player chooses an effect from the list. They must pick one of them, but as said before it doesn't have to be one from the cards you possess.

The downside to the bluff is getting caught in a lie. Players can challenge any action taken by a player that involves a character skill. If you try to assassinate an opponent, collect tax or steal from another player, any player can challenge the action. At this time, you must present, to the table, the card whose action you're performing.

If you have the card, the one who issued the challenge must discard one of their characters. If you do not, you must discard one of yours. This is important, as the goal of the game is to be the only remaining player with character cards in play.

Eliminate all opponents through challenges, assassinations and coups and soon you'll be the only one with the influence needed to dominate the political world.

With the set up out of the way...

Coup, which was published after a successful Kickstarter campaign, is a quick-to-play game that can be played over and over again with the same group of people. Each player is given a list of the abilities of each character for quick reference, and soon it becomes more about out smarting each other on the path to victory.

There is an expansion to the game that adds another playable character type, and introduces alliances. Each player is given a card which puts them on what is effectively the red team and the blue team. You can pay to switch your own alliance or someone else's. This is beneficial as players are unable to harm players they are allied with.

With that said, Coup gets a Board of Dice rating of 4/5: When you play a game of coup, you win or you die.

Coup can be found on Amazon and at your local game store.

If you'd like to see a game of Coup in action, check out Geek & Sundry's TableTop, hosted by Wil Wheaton: