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Logic Games

Tabletop guide

How to play Coup

Weigh role claims against coins and remaining influence.

Play Coup online in a game of hidden roles, claims, and challenges. Each player protects their influence while using coins and character actions to remove rivals. The interesting decision is often whether a suspicious claim is worth challenging right now.

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01 / The essentials

Coup rules

  • Each player begins with two hidden character cards. You may claim a role whether or not you hold it.
  • Role claims can be challenged, and appropriate roles can block certain actions. Losing a challenge costs influence.
  • Actions include taking coins, taxing, stealing, exchanging, and assassinating. A coup costs seven coins and cannot be blocked. A player with no influence is eliminated; the last remaining player wins.

02 / Build the habit

Coup strategy

Track public facts

Watch coin totals, revealed cards, and previous claims. These are more useful than confidence or hesitation alone. A repeated role claim may be plausible, but it is still a claim until tested.

Price the challenge

Consider the cost of being wrong and the effect of letting the action pass. With one influence left, a failed challenge ends your game; sometimes accepting a small loss preserves better options.

Plan your coin threshold

Coins create a visible threat because seven buys an unblockable coup. Ask whether an action reaches that threshold, prevents an opponent from reaching it, or leaves you vulnerable before your next turn.

03 / Worked example

Certainty has a price

An opponent has seven coins and you have one influence. A future coup can remove you without a role challenge. That public coin count may be more urgent than another player’s questionable claim to a smaller income action. Choose your target and timing with that threat in mind.

04 / Put it into practice

Learn with your table

  1. Use a casual table to learn which role actions can be challenged or blocked.
  2. After each reveal, update your view of the remaining roles without assuming you know every hidden card.
  3. Review one challenge after the game: compare its downside with what you gained if correct.
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A common mistake

A confident claim is not proof, but an unlikely claim is not automatically worth challenging. Separate your estimate of truth from the strategic cost of the challenge.

Can I bluff about a role I do not hold?

Yes. Claiming a role is part of the game’s bluffing system. A successful challenge can expose the bluff and cost influence, so choose claims with their consequences in mind.

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Guide updated . Rules describe the version on Logic Games.