How to Play Coup with Standard Cards

Coup is a fantastic game of power and deception. The commercial version can be purchased for $10 and up, depending on the edition of choice. Or, you can save some cash, and instead use a standard deck of cards to play Coup. All you have to do is apply specific card ranks to each character and influence in the traditional game.

Before I go any further, make sure you understand the rules of the game. The following links provide additional information about the card game Coup:

How to Play Coup
History of Coup Card Game
Coup Strategy
Coup Game for Android
Coup Game for iOS
Alternate Coup Rules (to Encourage Treachery!)
Coup Resistance to Betting Money

How to Play Coup with Standard Cards

Playing Coup with a standard deck is a simple matter of assigning rank to specific cards. The most appropriate way to do so is to utilize the Jacks, Queens, Kings, Aces and Jokers from a normal deck. You’ll need three of each to mimic a traditional Coup deck.

Note that this format requires 3 Jokers to be used, necessitating an extra Joker from a second, identical deck. If you do not have a second, identical deck, you can use any other card in place of the Joker. I would suggest the 2, since the Joker supplants the Ambassador, which allows the player to draw 2 new character cards and then discard any 2 back to the court (unless replacing Ambassador with Inquisitor—see below).

Finally, you’ll need a way to keep track of coins. Pen and paper will work, but can interrupt game flow. You can grab a pile of pennies, or make it more interesting by using your favorite candy; preferably something small that comes in large quantities, and not perfectly round so they won’t roll off the table, such as Skittles. Non-chocolate is also encouraged, so they won’t melt (learned that the hard way!) Just try not to eat your wealth before the game is over!

Replacing Characters and Influences with Standard Playing Cards

Jack = Captain Take 2 coins from another player, or block someone from stealing coins from you.

Queen = Contessa Block an assassination attempt against yourself.

King = Duke Take 3 coins from the Treasury. Block someone from taking foreign aide.

Ace = Assassin Pay 3 coins and try to assassinate another player’s character.

Joker = Ambassador Draw two character cards from the Court, choose which (if any) to exchange with your face-down characters, then return two to the Court.

Coup Inquisitor

In some newer editions of Coup, an additional character card is included in the set for optional use. If used, the Inquisitor will replace the Ambassador (Joker) character. Thus, should you choose, you can alter the Joker’s influence to follow these rules, instead.

Joker = Inquisitor (instead of Ambassador) Draw one character card from the Court and choose whether or not to exchange it with one of your face-down characters. -OR- Force an opponent to show you one of their face-down character cards. If the player has 2 face down cards, they will choose which one to reveal to you. If you wish it, you may then force them to draw a new card from the Court. The old card is then shuffled into the Court.

If you have a good handle on the game and really want to spice it up, you can replace any of the above influences with on of the cards from the Coup promo and/or expansion decks. See our List of Coup Cards and Influences to learn more.