Origin Story – Superhero Trick-Taking & Tableau-Building Board Game

Your superhero origin story is about to begin. Origin Story from Stonemaier Games is a competitive trick-taking and tableau-building game where players develop a fledgling superhero — or perhaps a villain — over five chapters.

Reveal your backstory, gather gadgets and allies, build powerful abilities, develop a rivalry with your archenemy and ultimately unleash your character's defining power. With a clever combination of trick-taking, card abilities and tableau building, every round helps shape your unique origin story.

Designed by Jamey Stegmaier and Pete Wissinger and illustrated by Clémentine Campardou, Origin Story is designed for 1–5 players and takes around 45 minutes to play.

What Is Origin Story?

Origin Story is a competitive superhero-themed trick-taking and tableau-building game played over five rounds. Each round represents another chapter in your character's development.

Players add Story cards to their personal player mat, charge their abilities and use those abilities to influence the game and score victory points. The result is a game that combines the familiar structure of trick-taking with an evolving tableau that gives each character their own developing set of powers.

The game can be played competitively with 2–5 players or solo using the included Automa components.

How to Play

Each game unfolds across five chapters.

At the beginning of each round, players develop their character by adding a new Story card to their player mat. These cards provide abilities that can be charged and activated during play.

Players then compete in a series of trick-taking rounds. You’ll need to manage your hand carefully, decide when to pursue tricks and consider how your character's abilities can change your options.

Your alignment also matters. Depending on the situation, playing towards the superhero or supervillain side of your character can change how you score. In later rounds, Event cards introduce additional rules and challenges.

By the final chapter, your developing character is ready to reveal their ultimate identity and unleash their most powerful abilities. The player with the most victory points at the end of the fifth round wins.

Why You’ll Love Origin Story

• Build your own superhero – Develop a unique character as the game progresses.

• Trick-taking with a twist – Familiar card-game principles are combined with character abilities and tableau building.

• Every game tells a different story – Story cards and Events create plenty of variety between plays.

• Hero or villain? – Your alignment can influence how you approach tricks and score points.

• Meaningful card choices – Decide which abilities to add and when to charge them.

• Great at different player counts – Supports 1–5 players, including a dedicated solo mode.

• Fast to set up – Stonemaier lists approximately 2 minutes setup time and a 45-minute game length.

Who Is It For?

Origin Story is a strong choice for players who enjoy:

• Trick-taking games with a modern twist

• Tableau and engine-building mechanics

• Superhero and comic-book themes

• Games where your abilities develop during play

• Card games with meaningful tactical decisions

• Solo games with an automated opponent

It's particularly interesting for players who enjoy traditional trick-taking but want more progression, powers and strategic choices layered onto the basic card-game framework.

Build Your Origin Story

The heart of the game is your developing tableau.

As the chapters progress, you'll add Story cards to your player mat. These cards represent elements of your character's developing history and provide abilities that can be charged during play.

Your decisions gradually shape how your character performs. One game might see you developing a character focused on particular abilities, while another could push you towards a very different combination of powers.

The result is an evolving engine that makes the five rounds feel like chapters in a single superhero story.

Hero or Villain?

Origin Story gives players an unusual choice in how they approach the trick-taking system.

The hero approach rewards winning tricks, while the villain approach can reward deliberately avoiding them. This means that winning isn't always the obvious objective — sometimes the clever play is knowing when not to win.

That creates interesting decisions during every hand and gives players another way to express their developing character.

Main Mechanics

Trick-Taking
Play cards into tricks, follow suits where required and use careful timing to influence who wins each trick.

Tableau Building
Add Story cards to your personal player mat throughout the game, gradually developing your character's abilities.

Hand Management
Decide when to commit particular cards and how best to use your available hand to support your strategy.

Engine Building
Your Story cards create an increasingly capable character as the game progresses.

Variable Events
Event cards introduce additional rules and situations during later chapters, helping keep games varied.

Solo Play
Included Automa components allow Origin Story to be played as a solo game.

Games Like Origin Story

If you enjoy Origin Story, you may also like:

• Red Rising – Stonemaier's hand-management and set-collection game inspired by the Red Rising universe.

• The Crew – Cooperative trick-taking with changing objectives.

• Cat in the Box – Trick-taking with an unusual card system and clever tactical decisions.

• Scout – Fast-paced hand management and tactical card play.

• Claim – A compact trick-taking game with asymmetric factions.

• Radlands – Tactical card play with a strong thematic identity.

• Unmatched – Character-driven tactical gameplay where each hero plays differently.

Game Information

	Details
Game	Origin Story
Publisher	Stonemaier Games
Designers	Jamey Stegmaier & Pete Wissinger
Artist	Clémentine Campardou
Players	1–5
Playing Time	Approx. 45 minutes
Age	14+
Game Type	Strategy / Card Game / Superhero
Mechanics	Trick-Taking / Tableau Building / Hand Management / Engine Building
Theme	Superheroes & Supervillains
Release	2025
SKU	STM310
Barcode	850064100235
Language	English

Stonemaier's current listing describes the game as a 1–5 player competitive tableau-building, trick-taking game with a 45-minute play time and light game weight.

What's Included?

The Origin Story box contains:

• 5 Player Mats

• 18 Event Cards

• 64 Story Cards

• 5 Alignment/VP Dials

• 52 Playing Cards

• 10 Superhero/Reference Cards

• 36 Stamina Tokens

• 1 Dealer Token

• 16 Vancardian Automa Cards

• 4 Extra-Love Cards

• 2 Double-Sided Player Aids

• Rulebooks for multiplayer and solo play

Origin Story FAQ

How many people can play Origin Story?

Origin Story supports 1–5 players, with a dedicated solo mode included.

How long does Origin Story take?

A game takes approximately 45 minutes.

What age is Origin Story suitable for?

The recommended age is 14+.

Is Origin Story a trick-taking game?

Yes. Trick-taking is one of the game's central mechanics, combined with tableau building, hand management and card abilities.

Does Origin Story have a solo mode?

Yes. The game includes Automa components for solo play.

Is Origin Story competitive?

Yes. The multiplayer game is competitive, with players developing their own characters and competing to score the most victory points.

Can you play as a villain?

Yes. The game's alignment system allows players to develop their character towards a villainous approach as well as a heroic one.

Is Origin Story an expansion?

No. Origin Story is a standalone game. The separate Origin Story: Heroes & Villains is an optional mini-expansion.

Buy Origin Story from Roll The Dice Cornwall

Create your own superhero, build your powers and decide whether your origin story ends with a hero or a villain.

Origin Story combines trick-taking and tableau building into a compact superhero strategy game for 1–5 players — perfect for fans of clever card games, evolving abilities and comic-book themes.