Coup

I  thought I would start my board game reviews with a simple social game that I very much enjoy. Coup is a fast and easy sci-fi, hidden role bluffing game that is fast to learn and easy to teach. 

Gameplay:

Each player is dealt 2 cards and 2 coins to start, on a player’s turn they perform 1 action shown on a reference sheet that each player gets given. There are several general actions and then a special action for each type of card a player could have. The layer selects an action regardless of what cards they have in their hand. Another player may call them out and say they do not have the card and if they’re right the first player losses a card permanently if not the accuser losses a card permanently, and the last player with at least one card wins. Now of course there are lots of other rules on the cards and interactions but they’re all about this simple and spelled out well on the cards and reference sheets.

Pros:

This game lends itself to fast and easy gameplay that anyone can pick up in a few minutes play in a few more and master in a game or two and the games only take 10-30ish minutes depending on the number of players and how many games they’ve played so you can fit in multiple games with time to spare. It makes for a great party game with lots of talking and socializing and plenty of room for people who are tired or drunk to fit in. It serves as a great ice breaker for people who don’t know each other and allows for great moments of tension as people bounce bold faced lies off each other or sometimes play it straight letting people accuse them and eliminate themselves. However the game plays out it will usually have people laughing and then moving on to a new game. I’ve had hours of fun out of and gotten more use out of this game than any other I’ll be reviewing simply because of how easy it is to take places in its tiny box and how easy it is to teach new people without taking up too much of people’s time. Fun, fast, easy, good instructions, simple, lots of players, clever, small and social. See above

Cons:

Simple and light, if you’re looking for deep strategy game, you’ve come to the wrong game. The Theme of a Sci-fi dystopian future is very week and although the art on the cards is excellent, the art is really the only part of the game that has theme. That being said the theme is not too important for such a simple game and it never decreased my enjoyment. Also the card art is very hunger games-esq and fans will probably appreciate that.

Summary:

Number of Players: 2-6

Ideal Number of Players: 4-6 (3 is OK, 2 is bad)

Listed Time: 15 minutes

Actual Time: 10-30 minutes

Size/Weight: Small/Light

Instructions: Easy/Simple/Well laid out

Components: Quality but the card backs will get worn/marked with extended play as they are white and Grey.
Theme: Light

Complexity:  Simple and easy

Strategy: Low

Tactics: Moderate

Competitiveness: Light

Accessibility: High

Fun: High

Social: High

Types: Social, Bluffing, Party, Hidden Roles, Easy, Travel