We played Lorcana at Compulsory Merriment yesterday with our demo starter decks from The First Chapter and Rise of the Floodborn. Mandi didn’t win, for a change, but that’s only because the store got busy and we had to go to work before we finished!
If you’ve ever played Magic or Pokémon, you’ll recognize the gameplay in Lorcana. Players gather resources, called “Ink” here instead of Energy or Mana; then they use those resources to deploy famous Disney characters. There are battles, you can do damage, and there are familiar character powers. For example, I killed Chris’ Moana while he was waiting on a customer. Then he came back, cackled maniacally, and played his Hades card to bring Moana back from the dead.
Lorcana is different, though, in its pace and ease of play. You don’t have to worry about playing the right resource colors. Ink is just ink and you only need to make sure you have enough of it. You can only attack another player’s character when they’re tapped… or as Lorcana calls it: “Exerted.” Plus, you win the game by gathering “lore” points, which means you can win by patiently accumulating points and never picking a fight with anybody.
Lorcana is an easy intro into the world of collectible card games. Magic players often ask for advice on how to lure their Significant Others into the game. Here you go: Start with Lorcana to demonstrate the general idea then add MTG’s complexity. Lorcana is also good for Disney fans, family games and for playing CCG’s with people who don’t necessarily want to attack everything they see!
2-6 players, Ages 8+