Onstage

About this board game

Onstage is a 30-minute, must-follow trick-taking game for 3–5 players, in which theater companies compete to recruit the best performers for their troupes.

Each player uses a hand of cards from a 36-card deck, with values 1–9 in each of four suits. By winning tricks, you claim performer tokens from the line of performers onstage. The changing lineup is central to the game: the trump suit is determined by the most valuable performers currently onstage, so trump can shift as performers are recruited and manipulated.

• Four suits, with performer values of 1, 2, and 3
• Featured, supporting, and lead actors represented by those performer values
• Cards with values 1, 4, and 7 that manipulate performers onstage and in line
• Changing trump and scoring opportunities during each hand

The contest has an unusual scoring opportunity. If you finish a round as the only player with no performer tokens, you claim all performers currently onstage as your score for that round. Between rounds, each player keeps one card, while used performers return to the back of the current line before the next hand begins in a new turn order.

Onstage rewards careful timing and adaptation as the performer line changes and the trump suit shifts. After every player has played an equal number of rounds, the player with the highest score wins.

A two-versus-two team variant is also included. Partners combine their scores at the end of each round, but they may not discuss their hands during play, adding a team challenge without open communication.