Koin Games’ competitive card battler features battles across three locations, 25-card decks, and a collection model that keeps paid variants cosmetic.
I tend to pay attention when a card game asks me to read both the board and the person across from me. Origins Trading Card Game caught my eye for that reason: both sides make their decisions during the same turn, and placement matters across three locations. Koin Games is aiming for short competitive matches with an eclectic cast.
Robin Hood, Mulan, the Queen of Hearts, and Winnie-the-Pooh are among its reimagined characters. The premise is that the familiar names survived in our world, but their stories became distorted. With portals opening, Origins brings these figures into its own setting, drawing on myths, literature, and folklore for its roster.
Simultaneous Decisions Across Three Lanes
Both participants choose their plays in the same turn, and matches are advertised to last around seven minutes. The appeal is having to consider what the other person might be committing while you make your own choices. A promising play still needs to account for an opponent who is changing the board alongside you.
Location effects add another variable. Koin advertises a pool of more than 100 locations with different rules for the full game, while a recent update introduced rarity categories that determine how frequently each appears.
Learning the common locations should help you build a few reliable plans, while the less frequent ones give you something else to work through.
The cards themselves can manipulate positioning. Twister Toss, for example, moves an ally to another space and swaps the cards if that destination is occupied. Wooden Stake illustrates a different kind of timing: it can target a character at full health, but fails if that character is still undamaged when the spell is revealed.
Building a Deck Around One Legendary
Standard decks contain 25 cards: 12 different non-legendary cards, with two copies of each, plus a single legendary. Within those limits, you can mix cards freely. That gives you room to experiment with roster combinations.
The mandatory pairs are an interesting constraint. Every non-legendary choice takes up two slots, which should encourage you to think about how often a situational card will be useful. Card draw also has a limit: drawing from an empty deck inflicts damage.
Free Base Cards and Collectible Variants
Origins uses the term “free-to-compete,” and Koin’s explanation is specific: every functional base card is intended to be obtainable for free. The studio says acquiring them shouldn’t require a lengthy grind. Paid packs contain alternate cosmetic editions of those cards.
For anyone who enjoys trying unfamiliar decks, that is the part worth watching. Access to the full range of gameplay cards would make it easier to test an idea without first spending money to assemble it. The unlock process will matter here, especially for someone arriving after several sets have been added.
The collecting side draws on physical TCGs, with limited editions, alternate artwork, and digital grading. Koin describes grading as another layer of rarity, using a scale from 1 to 10 in half-point steps. Cosmetic variants will be tradable through the Steam marketplace, with their collectible status offering no gameplay advantage.
A Demo Ahead of Early Access
Origins is primarily a PvP game, with bot practice available but no dedicated single-player mode at present. The demo’s September update also added a collector tutorial and test packs, letting newcomers explore the collection system alongside battles.
Origins Trading Card Game is scheduled to enter Early Access in Q4 2026 on Steam for Windows PC and macOS. A free demo is already available, and the developers say deck and mission progress will carry over. There is no exact launch date or fixed timetable for leaving Early Access.
