Post #2 Coup, a Session Report

Coup is a card-based game about deception, deduction, and brutal defeat.

In class this week, we played board games. This is the first game we played, here is a link to it on boardgamegeek. The second game we played was Jenga, and it is interesting to note that we were playing a new in box original release copy from 1983. Here is a link to that game on boardgamegeek. This session report, however, is about the game Coup, because this was a new experience for me.

In a dystopian future civilization, 5 warlords simply could not live with each others’ presence anymore, and decided to kill each other in a game called Coup. These warlords were Derrick, Joseph, Clarisse, Leon, and Jacob.

Derrick claimed one of his two influence cards was a duke. He took 3 credits. Joseph did the same. But warlord Clarisse took 2 credits as foreign aid, which Derrick blocked, which was a rightful decision if he was telling the truth that he was a duke.

Leon made the claim that he had an Ambassador and took two influence cards and put two back. This made it unclear what his influencers were.

Duke Jacob took his 3 credits as a duke should, as did Derrick. But Joseph used his captain to take 2 credits from Derrick. Meanwhile, Clarisse and Leon each took one credit through normal means of income. Jacob and Derrick each took 3 credits as dukes.

Warlord Joseph was feeling bloodthirsty and got fed up that nobody had yet attacked, so he struck out at random, having enough credits to perform a coup. It was me, Jacob, that lost influence as a result. My duke was killed, in Joseph’s bloody coup. It was revealed that I was not lying about being a duke.

Clarisse and Leon, both did not want to become targets, so they took 1 credit each as normal income.

This time, it was Jacob’s turn to perform a coup as he had amassed at least 7 credits by now, and he retaliated against Warlord Joseph, and killed his duke in return. He was not lying.

Warlord Derrick did not want to kill his prey too early, he likes to toy with his victims. He performed a coup on Leon, who lost his Contessa, which meant he became vulnerable to assassination attempts. Joseph, still licking his wounds, took one income.

Clarisse, however, was wasting no time. She knew that Leon was vulnerable, so she assassinated Leon. Leon contested that she was lying, but she was not. Clarisse had an assassin as one of her influence cards. Warlord Leon was murdered. He lost all his influence. Jacob took one income.

Warlord Derrick claimed he had an ambassador as well as a duke and took two influence cards and put two back. Warlord Jacob was not sure of what Derrick’s previous cards were, and determined that he had been playing a little too safely. Jacob challenged Derrick that he was lying. But it turns out that Derrick was an ambassador, and Jacob lost his second influence card and was terminated.

Joseph attempted to take foreign aid, but was blocked by Derrick’s duke. Clarissa took one income, Derrick took 3 as a duke. Joseph, remembering his military prowess as a captain, took 2 from Derrick. Clarisse took one income, but was then quickly assassinated by Derrick, and she lost her ambassador.

Joseph took one income, Clarisse assassinated Derrick back, which he contested. But Clarisse did indeed have an assassin, which she had used earlier. “Curse my poor memory!” Derrick exclaimed! As Derrick lost both his influence cards, one for his failed contesting of Clarisse, and one for Clarisse’s assassination. Derrick was terminated.

Joseph was now free to take foreign aid, as there were no more dukes on the table. He got two credits. Clarisse did the same. Joseph took one income, not needing any more credits. Clarisse, was unaware that this was her last turn, she took 2 credits under foreign aid.

Joseph performed a coup on Clarisse and finished her off. Warlord Joseph had won.

All in all, it was fun. I’m sure it would have been more fun the 2nd or 3rd time playing, because it was everyone’s first time playing except for Derrick.