Overview

Origin is a strategy game about mankind’s expansion from Africa across the planet. Players place Tribe Pawns with three characteristics (Speed/Height, Strength/Width, Color) on a world map, spreading civilization through Evolution, Migration, and Swapping. Points are scored by completing objectives, hunting, controlling straits, and developing knowledge through Innovation tiles. Published by Matagot, designed by Andrea Mainini.

Components

• 1 Main board (world map)
• 1 Rewards board
• 36 Tribe Pawns (varying in Height/Speed 1-3, Strength/Width 1-3, Color: White/Brown/Black)
• 36 Villages (9 per player color)
• 30 Innovation tiles (Levels 1-5)
• 6 Hunting tokens (values 4-8)
• 11 Strait tokens (values 3-5)
• 48 Cards: 14 Action (yellow), 14 Permanent (orange), 20 Objective (purple)

Setup

1. Place Main board and Rewards board at center.
2. Place one short, weak Pawn of any color on the Origin territory in Africa.
3. Each player chooses a player color and takes 9 matching Villages.
4. Shuffle Action and Permanent card decks; place face down on Rewards board.
5. Deal 3 Objective cards to each player; each keeps 1, returns 2. Reshuffle Objectives.
6. Randomly place Innovation tiles face up on Rewards board spaces; reserve the rest.
7. Randomly place Strait tokens on the 11 Straits.
8. Place Hunting tokens on each green territory (1 unused, returned to box).
9. Smallest player goes first; play clockwise.

2-3 players: Remove one set of 9 Medium Pawns (play with 27 Pawns).

Turn Structure

On each turn, a player MUST perform one of 3 actions, then collects Rewards. Additionally, may play up to 1 card of each color at any time during the turn.

1. Evolution

Take a new Tribe Pawn from the reserve and place it (with your Village) on a vacant territory adjacent to any occupied territory. The new Pawn must share at least 2 characteristics with its neighbor. The one different characteristic can be: different Color, Height +1, or Strength +1 (never inferior).

2. Migration

Move one of your existing Pawns (with Village) up to its Height value in territories (1, 2, or 3). May pass through occupied territories. Must end on a vacant territory.

3. Swap

Move one of your Pawns toward another player’s Pawn of inferior Strength. Movement follows Migration rules. Both Pawns (and Villages) switch places. Cannot swap with the neutral Origin Pawn.

Actions

After the mandatory action, collect Rewards based on the destination territory’s color:

Territory Color	Option A	Option B
Yellow	Take 1 Innovation tile from yellow column + draw 1 Action card	Draw 3 Action cards, keep 1, return 2
Orange	Take 1 Innovation tile from orange column + draw 1 Permanent card	Draw 3 Permanent cards, keep 1, return 2
Purple	Take 1 Innovation tile from purple column + draw 1 Objective card	Draw 3 Objective cards, keep 1, return 2
Brown	Take 2 Innovation tiles from brown column	Take 1 Innovation tile from any column
Green	Take the Hunting token (one-time)	–

Innovation tiles must be stacked: a Level N tile requires an existing Level N-1 tile beneath it. Level 1 tiles can always be taken.

Hunting tokens: Claimed immediately when placing/moving to a green territory. Permanent.

Strait tokens: Claimed when a player has villages on both sides of a Strait. Permanent.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Game ends when either the Tribe Pawn reserve is empty, or no player can take a legal action.

Final scoring:

Source	Points
Completed Objective cards	Variable (per card)
Hunting tokens	Face value (4-8 each)
Strait tokens	Face value (3-5 each)
Innovation tiles	Highest level tile scores: L1=1, L2=3, L3=6, L4=10, L5=15
Villages on the board	Various bonuses

Highest total wins.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Evolution placement: if adjacent to multiple occupied territories, only needs to match 2 characteristics with one neighbor.
• Pawns and Villages can never be removed from the board once placed.
• Swap: the displaced player does not lose possessions and does not gain Rewards.
• Strait control is checked only at time of placement, not later.
• Cards: Action (immediate effect, discarded), Permanent (requires matching Innovation level, lasts all game), Objective (scored at game end).
• May play up to 1 card of each color per turn.

Player Reference

Turn: Choose 1 action (Evolve / Migrate / Swap) → Collect Rewards → Play cards (optional)

Pawn traits: Height (Speed 1-3), Width (Strength 1-3), Color (White/Brown/Black)

Evolution rule: 2 of 3 traits must match neighbor; difference must be Color change, Height+1, or Strength+1

Innovation stacking: Level N requires Level N-1 underneath