In our latest Geek Pick of the Week, we’re putting the spotlight on the new trading card game that brings Disney’s characters/worlds together: Disney Lorcana.
As the Holiday season approaches, we’re bringing back our Geek Pick of the Week. Each week leading up to Christmas, we’ll be highlighting a cool product we’ve found that we feel would be the perfect gift for geeks of all kinds. Use these to help fill in your own wish list or find the perfect gift for the nerds in your life. Click HERE to read more about previous Picks of the Week!
Launched just back in September, Ravensburger’s latest game gives Disney’s iconic characters and settings the Trading Card Game (TCG) treatment. My love of card games is fairly well documented at this point and I was more than curious to see how this one would turn out.
In the build up to launch, there were many things that piqued my curiosity. The art, for one, is really impressive and features some gorgeous new takes on all your favorites. On top of that, I was digging the idea for the world they established within the context of the game. This isn’t simply a game set within a “Disney” world, but creates it’s own lore (hence the name) to go along with it. They explain it better than me:
The Disney Lorcana TCG is a brand-new trading card game (TCG) set in the wondrous realm of Lorcana, where players take on the role of Illumineers and wield magic ink to summon a team of Disney characters known as glimmers, who appear in both familiar and fantastical ways.
Beyond all that, however, the thing I was most interested in was the accessibility factor. Designed for kids as young as 8 years old, Disney Lorcana is engineered to be easy to learn and welcoming to players who’ve never touched a TCG before. That’s a big deal for me.
Much as I love card games, getting into new ones can oftentimes feel daunting. There are a LOT of rules in any given game and many of them try to be actively different from everything else out there, making it even more difficult to adjust to.
Disney Lorcana, however, goes the opposite direction and wants to be as open/inclusive as possible. Built off similar mechanics to Magic: The Gathering (and developed as a “competitor” to the long-running game), it feels like a stripped down, bare necessities, approach to those rules. The result is a game that will feel instantly familiar to players of other TCGs, without making newcomers’ eyes cross as they work their way through the rule book.
Ravensburger was more than kind enough to send me a handful of starter decks/packs; which was fortunate because they’ve been sold out everywhere. While I haven’t played as much as I’d like, I’ve been very impressed with the game so far. It is super easy to get into and fun. I love that I can enjoy it with just about anyone because it isn’t terribly hard to explain the rules as we play through a match.
Even in the few rounds I’ve played so far, I can definitely see the potential depth for more experienced players to take advantage of. Overall, however, I’d say it’s still on the easier side of things and might not appeal to hardcore TCG players.
I don’t think it’ll ever reach the same level as Magic: The Gathering, but I’d also argue it’s more in line with games like Pokemon (or even some of the Star Wars ones). It features solid enough mechanics to appeal to general gamers, but is still centered on a specific fandom. So yeah, if you got a Disney fan on your shopping list this year, Disney Lorcana is a pretty solid gift-choice (or stocking stuffer with the booster packs).
Here are the Disney Lorcana cards available both online and wherever card games are sold:
* Three Disney Lorcana TCG starter decks, each including a ready-to-play game deck and quick start rules as well as a lore counter, game tokens and a randomized booster pack ($16.99 USD)
* Disney Lorcana TCG booster packs of 12 randomized game cards each, including one foil card and two cards with rarities of rare, super rare, or legendary ($5.99 USD)
* Disney Lorcana TCG’s gift set includes two collectible oversized foil cards and two playable foil game cards in addition to game tokens and four booster packs ($29.99 USD)
* The Illumineer’s Trove is the ultimate treasure for both collectors and players. It includes one full-art storage box, two full-art deck boxes, eight booster packs, a premium player’s guide and damage counters. ($49.99 USD)
While these sold out relatively quickly when they first launched (collectors gobbled them up), more are starting to hit the shelves. Plus, this month brings the game’s first expansion, giving you more gifting options!
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