Commune Coup takes about a minute to explain and years to stop arguing about. You hold two secret roles, you claim whatever action suits you, and the rest of the table decides whether to believe you. This guide covers the full rules: setup, the five roles, every action, every block, and how a challenge actually resolves.
What you need to start a game
A game runs with two to six players. In the app you either create a private room and share the six-character code, or drop into a public table and pick a name. Bots fill any empty seats.
Each player starts with:
- Two influence cards, dealt face down. Only you can see them. Each card is one of the five roles.
- Two coins from the treasury.
The court deck holds the remaining role cards face down in the middle. That deck matters later, when the Ambassador comes calling.
You lose an influence every time one of your cards gets flipped face up. Lose both and you are out of the game. The last player with a face-down card standing wins the table.
The two actions anyone can take
Some moves need no role at all. Nobody can challenge them, because you are not claiming to be anyone.
- Income. Take one coin. Safe, dull, and sometimes exactly right.
- Foreign aid. Take two coins. Stronger, but any player claiming the Duke can block it.
Then there is the move that ends arguments:
- Coup. Pay seven coins and force any player to lose an influence. A coup cannot be blocked and cannot be challenged. If you start your turn with ten or more coins, you must coup.
The five roles and what each one does
Here is the whole court. Every role grants an action, a block, or both. You can claim any of them whether or not the card sits in your hand. That is the entire game.
Duke: tax and the foreign-aid block
The Duke takes three coins as tax. He also blocks foreign aid, so a table full of Dukes starves anyone reaching for the easy two coins. Old money, older grudges.
Assassin: pay three, remove an influence
The Assassin pays three coins to make a target lose an influence. The target can survive by claiming the Contessa. An assassination that goes through is the fastest way to break a table open.
Captain: steal two and block stealing
The Captain steals two coins from another player, and blocks anyone else trying to steal from him. Two Captains at the same table cancel each other out with a raised eyebrow.
Ambassador: exchange cards and block stealing
The Ambassador draws two cards from the court deck, looks at them with his own hand, keeps what he likes, and returns the rest. He also blocks stealing. This is how a losing hand quietly becomes a winning one.
Contessa: block the Assassin
The Contessa blocks assassination and nothing else. Hold one and you can sit calmly through a threat that would end anyone else. Claim one when the Assassin comes for you, and hope nobody calls it.
How a challenge works
Any time a player claims a role, another player can say they are lying. This is the heart of Commune Coup.
- A player takes a role action or a block. For example, "I tax as the Duke."
- Any other player challenges.
- The challenged player either reveals the matching role or admits the bluff.
- If they had the card, the challenger loses an influence, and the revealer shuffles that card back and draws a new one. Their claim stands.
- If they did not have it, the bluffer loses an influence, and the action fails.
Blocks can be challenged the same way. Claim the Contessa to stop an assassination, and the Assassin can dare you to prove it. Get caught bluffing a block, and you lose the card you were trying to save with.
How to win
Winning comes down to three levers you pull all game:
- Coins buy coups and assassinations. Enough of either removes players regardless of their nerve.
- Bluffs let you act as roles you never drew, and block threats you cannot actually stop.
- Challenges punish the greedy and the careless, and every successful one thins the field.
A coup always works, so the game has a clock. Anyone can end anyone with seven coins. That pressure means you cannot sit quietly forever, hoarding coins and hoping. Sooner or later you have to claim something you might not have.
Ready to sit down? Commune Coup is free on the App Store, and a full game fits inside a coffee break.
Once you know the rules, the real work starts: reading people. Our guide to bluffing strategy covers when to lie, when to challenge, and how to win at Commune Coup. New to the whole idea? Start with what the Coup card game is.