Introduction

Back to the Beginning is a game of telling a story backwards. It can be

used to create entire stories, or to quickly create intriguing and complex
backstories for characters you play in other games. As the time goes
backwards, the stakes increase with every moment.
To play, you need a writing implement, a deck of cards and a single die.
This game can be played solo or with a friend, but larger groups are
untested waters. Having another person can enrich the game, as two
heads bouncing ideas is very good for a game like this.
There are 3 fundamental blocks to playing the game:
1 – Building the Story Deck
2 – Resolving Events Resolving Events Reflection
3 – Reflecting on the story
Events are the pivotal moments that happen in the story. You will
resolve events starting from the most recent event and moving After you’ve resolved your entire deck, it is time to reflect on it. You can
backwards in time. move events around in the timeline to make it more cohesive. You can
Building the Story Deck To resolve an event, first draw a card from your deck. Each card is
also split the story into arcs, maybe even start a new one from where
you left off.
connected to a prompt. See the table at the bottom.
The first order of business is to build a story deck. Each story in the After jiggling the pieces of the story together until they fit, it’s time to
game is measured in length, from 5 to 20 cards. It’s easiest to think Then, take your die and roll it. Compare the result of the die to the table write it out. Go into more depth of what happened between events, and
about the multipliers of 5 (5, 10, 15, 20). You can go higher, it’s just a on the right. This provides you with a detail you can use if you want. what caused them to happen. Write out the details of what happened to
very long game at that point. Write a sentence or two about the event. 1 Foe the dynamics between characters, and where does it leave your
To build the deck, separate and shuffle each suit. Each suit has a Flipping. If a prompt is difficult or you want to think 2 Family protagonist(s).
different theme attached to it. about it more, you can flip the card. You flip it up later 3 Friend
And there you have it, a story or a backstory hopefully filled with
Draw cards from different ♣ Clubs ♣ Misfortune to connect it to a different event down the line. Some 4 Item
interesting twists and turns!
suits to match the desired ♠ Spades ♠ Conflict prompts involve flipping the card, and are marked with 5 Conviction
♦ Diamonds ♦ Fortune [Flip]. 6 Memory Thank you for reading / playing!
content and length for the
story you want to tell. ♥ Hearts ♥ Bond Foreshadowing. After resolving an event, you can flip the card and put
You choose the type of ending you will have. Shuffle the deck until your it back to your deck. Shuffle your deck, see that the new card is not on Back to the Beginning 2nd edition is a copyrighted property of Artificer Games. Unauthorized
distribution, resale or plagiarism of this game is strictly forbidden. Derivative content, such as
desired suit of cards is at the top of the deck. You can also take a card to top, and continue. Once you draw the same card again, you can either hacking or integration is explicitly permitted.
the side to have a specific ending you want and put it to the top of the foreshadow the original event or discard the card. Fonts used: Crimson and Arial Created by: Artificer Games
Thanks to: Jack (Original idea, you know who you are) and Paul Czege
deck after shuffling. You don’t put either types of flipped cards back into the deck. Compass by Aaron Burden, edited by Arty. Page texture from myfreetextures.com

♣ Clubs ♣ ♠ Spades ♠ ♦ Diamonds ♦ ♥ Hearts ♥

A You die (or seemingly die) You fight with someone you shouldn’t You get something you always wanted You forge an unbreakable bond
2 Your public image is ruined You lose something you cherish [Flip] You gain a simple, happy memory You meet someone influential
3 You are arrested You do something you regret You get a keepsake You go to a familiar place
4 Something is stolen from you You doubt yourself You find something valuable You go home
5 You are haunted by your past [Flip] You fight an unexpected foe Your confidence is rewarded You find or make a family
6 You are faced with an uncomfortable truth You have a lapse of judgement You discover a truth You make an ally
7 You become lost You accidentally hurt someone You become stronger You make a friend
8 You are injured You make a foe You feel content in yourself You let go of something [Flip]
9 You are imprisoned You discover a weakness within yourself You avoid an accident Someone helps you
10 You have a near-death experience You cut someone out of your life You learn something new You help someone
J You are traumatized You lose hope You win some event You meet a friend again [Flip]
Q Someone close to you dies Your heart is broken You discover a talent you have You find love in an unusual place
K You lose something irreplaceable [Flip] You are betrayed [Flip] You get a burden off your shoulders [Flip] You find love in an expected place