The world in which we move is Lorcana, its center is the great Illuminary, in which so-called lore stars – containing fragments of Disney‘s stories – rain down steadily on an open book, the lore book. Next to it is a small instrument, the inkcaster. This contains magical ink which, together with the light of the Legend Star, can animate the creatures and objects in the tome as glimmer.

Six magical inks exist in the Lorcana universe, which assign different characteristics to the animated characters.

Similar to already established card game systems, Lorcana can be played from two players upwards.

Each player involved needs a self-made or pre-made deck.

Theories currently circulating on the internet state that a self-made deck must contain 60 cards, no more than four copies of a card and a maximum of two types of ink.

The most important aspect of the game is the so-called lore, which can also be understood as “life points”. In a game, besides having fun, the main goal should be to be the first person to reach the 20 lore points in order to win. This is where strategic points come in, as your own characters become vulnerable if you use them to gain points, but more on this later.

Ink is the source of energy used to cover the cost of your hand cards. Every card with the Inkwell symbol can be placed face down into your Inkwell. The more cards in the Inkwell and in the available pool, the more options you have in your turn. Keep in mind that the cards placed in the Inkwell will not be available for the rest of the game. Each card in the pool counts as 1.

The playing cards used always follow the same structure:

At the top left are the costs of the card. If it is surrounded by a hexagon, the card can be used as ink. In the middle is the representation, below that the name and type of the card. In the lower field are the abilities and effects of the card.

Next to the name are the values of the card, strength and willpower, and the lore value (this is relevant to receive lore points).

There are currently four known card types for Disney Lorcana: Character, Action, Item and Song.

• Actions are played once and are placed in the discard pile.
• Items remain on the board until they are removed and bring long-term advantages, similar to Magic the Gathering.
• Characters are used to fill the Inkwell, complete challenges or quest.
• Songs are similar to actions, but can also be “sung” by a character, so you don’t have to pay the cost (ex. A character with a cost of X or more can be used to sing the song).

In the game, your turn is divided into two phases: the start phase and the main phase.

In the first phase, you can make the cards that have been exerted ready again, or if you want to speak in Magic jargon, untap them. After that, any effects of the cards kick in and you draw a card.

In the main phase, you can put a card into the Inkwell. This is then used to play hand cards. The abilities of items or characters can also be used. Characters can either quest; challenge an exerted card of the opponent, or use an ability where they are turned into the exert state. The exert function is indicated by a turn of the card. Questing is the way to win the game. A character can be turned to exert to gain lore points if a lore value is given to the character.

Here is a break-down of a turn:

Starting phase

1. Setting your own cards ready
2. Dealing with all effects that occur at the beginning of the round
3. Draw a card

Main phase

1. Place a card in the Inkwell
2. Perform any (also any number of) actions: Play a card, use a character ability, use an item ability, quest or challenge.

The Inkwell is – as already mentioned – the source with which you play your hand cards. The hexagon in the upper left corner of the card shows how many cards you have to exert in the pool to be able to play them. Characters come into play in the ready position, but cannot be used on the same turn unless they have such an ability.

To stop your opponent from reaching 20 lore points and winning the game, you must destroy their characters.

This is done by exerting one of your own characters and choosing a character card of your opponent that is also turned to exert. A character that is ready cannot be designated as a target. Damage is dealt and marked with tokens on the cards involved. All you need is to look at the strength of the characters and distribute the corresponding number of tokens. It should be noted that the damage points caused can only be cancelled by special effects. A character is defeated when the damage taken exceeds their willpower.

That’s it! You are now ready to jump into the world of Lorcana and create your own glimmer! Disney Lorcana will release in autumn this year. Until then, you can preorder the products in our webshop and subscribe to our Lorcana newsletter. That way, you will be kept up to date with everything Lorcana!