Coup Philippine Edition takes you back to the days of colonial Spanish rule, with characters inspired by the novels of Jose Rizal, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo.
It is a time of deceit, oppression, coercion, bribery and revolution. Your objective is to destroy the influence of other families, forcing them into exile as your family rises to help lead the country to independence.
The game and its main components
“Ang hindi marunong magmahal sa sariling wika ay masahol pa sa hayop at malansang isda” – Jose Rizal
This is one of Jose Rizal‘s most endearing, timeless quotes. Thus, we celebrate Buwan ng Wika every August to commemorate this nationalist sentiment and address the importance of Filipino in developing our own cultural identity. It is but fitting that we cover a game dedicated to the Filipino language and culture – Coup Philippine Edition.
About the game:
Coup is a fast playing party game for 2 to 6 players. It originally came out in 2012 and has become a classic since; and Coup Philippine Edition is a reskin of the original with essentially the same ruleset, and is published by Gaming Library. A very notable feature of Coup Philippine Edition is that all text is written in Filipino. It is a social deduction game where one has to lie and bluff in order to win. This video shows you how to play the game. Alternatively, you can also watch the how to play in Filipino here.
All text in Coup Philippine Edition is written in Filipino
We also took the opportunity to interview Hans Kenner Fernandez of Gaming Library to get a closer look at Coup Philippine Edition and local gaming.
Ungeek: Hello Hans, what is your designation in Gaming Library?
Hans: (I am the) Chief Meeple.
U: Coup is a popular, classic game. What made you think of making a local version of the popular game?
H: We thought best that a marriage between a good Filipino relatable theme and awesome mechanics would make the game explode. It just made sense for us that Coup featured characters and we believe that they also resemble the characters from Noli Me Tangere
U: What were some specific challenges in making a local version of Coup?
H: It was a high investment on our part because we wanted the quality to be on the same level as the international editions. We worked with the original manufacturer of Coup to make sure everything is consistent. A lot of the challenges came down to the details such as the gold foil on the coins and the box. I’m impressed with Duane Galang, our project manager, cause he really poured his passion into the project and went deep into details.
U: It is interesting that the whole game, including its instructions, are written in Tagalog. What was your objective in making the game essentially local only?
H: It was a decision based on contracts with the designer.
U: Who is your target audience for the game?
H: Everyone who loves Filipino culture. We hope that this game can spark interest in every Filipino all over the world to have more interest in Noli Me Tangere. I really believe it is a great piece of literature.
U: How would you describe the local boardgaming community? How does it compare to it’s Southeast Asian counterparts?
H: We share a lot of similarities with everyone in Southeast Asia. The only difference is for the board gaming community we find it easier to read in English than Filipino. It is such a shame to be honest because other SEA countries can read and appreciate their own language more.
U: Coup can be demoed in AllAboardX gaming spaces. AllAboardX is an interesting concept, could you talk a little bit about it’s purpose?
H: We want it to be an experience hub where people can come together and enjoy sweet and fun memories together in a safe environment. Our goal is that a few years down the road you can still pinpoint to the memory you had with family and friends in All aBOARD and talk about it around the dinner table.
Coup Philippine Edition can be purchased thru Gaming Library and other local game stores.
Coup Philippine Edition features the superb art of Camille Chua Tan