In Coup, players represent government officials in the corrupt not-too-distant future world of The Resistance. Each player aims to manipulate their way to absolute power by manipulating the influence of powerful figures and undermining the influence of other players.

Throughout the game, you will carry out actions based on the powers of the cards you have in front of you (which represent characters over whom you have influence). But there's a twist: your cards are secret, and you only have to claim that you hold the right card to perform a particular action. If you really do hold the card, there is no problem. But even if you don't, you will still be able to perform the action in question unless another player is confident enough to call your bluff.

The aim of the game is to be the only player left when all others have been eliminated.