NotCoup is a card game for 2-6 players.
NotCoup is a bluffing game, a variant of Coup, with the objective of being the last player with any cards in their hand.
First, remove all but the following cards from your deck:
King
Queen
Jack
Ace
Joker
This should leave a deck of 18 cards: 4 faces of each suit and 2 Jokers.
Throw all of the remaining cards into a heap, face-up, in the middle of the table. These will be used as score counters, representing how many points each player has.
Shuffle the remaining deck, and deal 2 cards to each player. Each player takes 2 points from the pile.
Set the remaining deck aside to be used as stock.
Decide amongst yourselves who goes first. Play proceeds clockwise.
On a player's turn they can either take a game action, or claim a card is in their hand and take a card action.
Certain actions can be countered if a player claims they have a particular card in their hand.
Any time a player claims they have a card, anyone at the table can call shenanigans on them. If a player is challenged on their claim, they have 2 options:
1. Reveal the card they claimed in their hand, return it to the deck and draw a replacement, and carry out their declared action. The challenger fails the challenge.
2. Admit they lied and do not have that card. They fail the challenge.
Whoever fails a challenge must permanently reveal a card from their hand by discarding it face-up on the table in front of them. A discarded card obviously is no longer usable in play. So, while you can still claim your other card is the same type, you can't use your discarded card to defend that claim.
Now, let's get to those game actions! Remember: on your turn, you can ony take 1 action.
Income: This action cannot be countered. Take 1 point.
More Income: This action can be countered by the King. Take 2 points.
F.U.: This action cannot be countered. Pay 7 points to the pile. Target player must discard a card from their hand face-up on the table in front of them. If you have 10 or more points when taking an action, you MUST take this action on your turn. If you have a problem with cussing, rename this action to "Discard".
Now for the card actions. Remember, you can take any 1 action you want, even if you don't have that card- but declaring a card action is also claiming to have that card.
King: Take 3 points. Counters More Income.
Queen: Counters Joker.
Jack: Take 2 points from another player. Counters Jack.
Ace: Draw 2 cards. Return 2 cards back to the deck. Counters Jack.
Joker: Pay 3 points to the pile. Choose another player. That player discards a card face-up on the table in front of them.
Obviously, the joker is the most dangerous of the bunch, that's why it has half as many as any other card type. (Rather, that's why it was assigned to the short-counted non-pip-card.)
One last rule: You cannot target yourself with any action which would cause you to take from your own points pile, or to discard your own card. Should be obvious, but some people are clowns.
Once a player has no cards in hand, they are eliminated from play.
So, yeah, that's about it! Winner is the last person holding a card!
Haven't had enough? Here's some variants!
3 or less: If you have 3 or fewer players, and feel that there is too high signal-to-noise to deduce an opponent's hand, you could further remove 1 card of each type except Jokers.
Square Jokers: If you feel the reduced probability of a Joker makes them too random, you can increase their population to match the other cards. You can do this by adding Jokers from another pack, (It's not like you're planning on playing knock euchre any time soon anyways, amirite?) or by reassigning the Joker's card action to a 4-suited card, such as the deuce.
Teams: Each player draws a card from the shuffled points-pile, and places it face-up next to their hand cards. The color of the card denotes your team. Alternatively, players can just decide their teams by picking partners. Players on the same team can't target each other.
Co-op: The players who are on the same team win if all opposing team members are eliminated.
Snake Nest: The players still play to the last man standing. A new game action is added: Switch: Pay 2 points to the pile and force another player to switch teams. (This can be represented by turning your team card sideways.)
Heist: The players choose an action type that costs points to act as the "crime" action. Every time a player pays points for the crime, those points are paid to a separate pile called the bank. A new game action is added: Steal: Take the whole bank unless you have a king. If you take this action and are challenged for ownership of a King, you fail if you have it, and pass if you don't. Some actions pay better than others. For example, if there are no Jokers in play, and the joker action is the crime, then the bank will likely remain empty unless someone bluffs. At the preference of the players, multiple actions can be selected as crimes, allowing the bank to grow faster.
Slow Start: Games going too quickly? Tie an anchor to the players! Everyone starts with 1 point instead of 2. Still too fast? First player starts with 1 point less.
Risky Reward: Challenging an opponent, even if you fail it, earns you 1 point automatically. This gives people even more enticement to make riskier challenges while acting as a boobie-prize when they fail. It also accelerates point movement.
Buyout: A player who loses a challenge may pay 5 points instead of discarding. This gives players more reason to hoard coins, while also making the game draw out longer.
Shuffle Time: If you like the strategy of using the ace to deduce the hands of others by frequently redrawing cards, but dislike the abject risk of doing so by bluff alone, you can add a slower version of that tactic to play. Redraw: Pay 1 point to the pile, draw 1 card from the deck, and return 1 card to the deck. Now you can still do it without bluffing, and you can still do it after getting caught bluffing on ace possession.
Zombies: Instead of being eliminated, a player who has discarded their hand continues to play as a "zombie". Zombies can not use card actions on their turn, but can still use game actions and challenge card actions. The winner is the last non-zombie player.
Transformer: This version of the game features alternate card actions. You can also optionally replace any single card action with one of its equivalents from the following list. The Transformer variant has each player take their first turn to decide which action will be used for 1 card type. Once all types have been decided, play begins. The original forms of each card action remain valid options.
Variant Kings:
Gambler King: Take as many points from the pile as you have already (5 points maximum). If you are successfully challenged, the points taken are given to the challenger.
Reluctant King: Takes 4 points from the pile. Then any other players may also claim King. Once all claims have been made, challenges are resolved for new claimants in clockwise order from you. Then you give 1 credit to each remaining claimant.
Friendly King: Take 3 points from the pile and give 1 point to another player.
Fancy King: Take 1 point from the pile and can then take a different action of your choice. If you have 10 points after taking a coin, you must take the F.U. action as your additional action.
Variant Queens:
Wall Queen: Take 1 point from the pile and then place it in front of you. While that credit is in front of you, you can not be the target of any action other than F.U. You can still spend that point as if it were in your pile.
Alliance Queen: Take 2 points. Place one in front of you and one in front of another player, both sideways. As long as these points are in place, you and that player may not target each other with any action unless you are the final two players. Either player can spend the point as if it were in their pile.
Survivor Queen: When you must discard for any reason other than F.U., and there is at least 1 card in the deck, set this card aside as the lost life and draw 1 card from the deck to your hand. If challenged, the card claimed as the Queen is revealed. You may claim your remaining card is a Queen in response to a failed challenge of your bluffed Queen.
Variant Jacks:
Wild Jack: Take 1 point from each other player.
Friendly Jack: Take up to 3 points from another player, give those points to the player with the fewest points. In the event of a tie for fewest coins, choose 1.
Asshole Jack: Take 2 points, placing one in front of yourself and one on another player's card in play. If a player claims the use of a card with a point on it, they must first give 1 point to you, otherwise they can not use that card. If a card with a point on it is discarded, put both points into your pile.
Graverobber Jack: At the end of any turn on which a player is eliminated, take all their points before they are returned to the pile. If multiple players claim Jack, the points are divided equally amongst those players with any excess going to the treasury.
Variant Aces:
Assface Ace: Take 1 card from the deck and 1 card from another player. Give 1 card to the deck and 1 card to that player.
Expensive Ace: Take 1 card from the deck and looks at it. You may pay 1 point to take an additional card from the deck. You may pay to draw as many times as you want and can afford. Return the number of cards you drew back to the deck.
Rich Ace: Take 1 card from the deck and 1 point from the pile. Return 1 card to the deck.
Super Ace: Pay 1 credit, then take 3 cards from the deck. Return 3 cards to the deck.
Variant Jokers:
Expensive Joker: Pay 4 credits. Target player must discard a card.
Extortion Joker: Target can choose to gives you 2 points or they must discard.
Mega Joker: Pay 5 points, all other players must discard.
Slow Joker: Pay 3 credits. Target takes a point and places it in front of themselves. On their turn, if the point is still there, they must discard and return the point to the pile.
Friendly Joker: Give another player 3 points. That player discards.
Teamwork Joker: Pay 2 points and target another player. If not successfully challenged, then any other player can pay 3 points, and the target discards. If no other player pays, the action fails. Cannot be blocked unless another player pays.
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