Disney Lorcana is a trading card game where you play Disney characters and send them on quests to earn lore. You ink cards to pay for your characters, and the first player to reach 20 lore wins. This guide walks you through it one step at a time, with no experience needed.
Download the free printable quick guide (PDF)
Two pages you can print and keep next to the table while you learn.
Want the full official rules? Visit Ravensburger's official Disney Lorcana How to Play page.
Prefer to watch? Official how-to-play videos
Ravensburger, the company that makes Disney Lorcana, has an official playlist of eight short videos that teach the basics, from setting up a game to how characters and abilities work. They were made in 2023, and the rules have been updated since, so if a video and the current Comprehensive Rules ever differ, go with the Comprehensive Rules.
Video playlist: How to Play Disney Lorcana. Ravensburger North America on YouTube.
What do you need to play?
- A deck of at least 60 cards. Your deck uses one or two of the six inks.
- A way to track lore. Dice, pencil and paper, or the official Disney Lorcana Companion app all work.
- Damage counters. Small dice or tokens work fine.
- An opponent and a table. Most games are one on one.
Just opened some booster packs? You can play right away with Pack Rush, a quick game that only needs two booster packs each. It's explained below. Our Lorcana collection has booster packs, and stock changes, so ask us at the counter if you don't see what you want.
How do you build a deck?
Every card belongs to one of six inks: Amber, Amethyst, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire and Steel. Each ink plays a little differently, so pick the two that fit how you like to play.
Deck rules
- At least 60 cards. There's no top limit, but you need to be able to shuffle it yourself.
- No more than 4 copies of a card. Two cards with the same name but different versions count as different cards.
- Only 1 or 2 of the six inks.
- A card with two inks counts as both of them, so both inks have to be ones your deck uses.
Playing in a store tournament? Constructed events use either the Core format, which only allows cards from recent sets, or the Infinity format, which allows every set. Ask us at the counter, or check the official Resources page for the current rules.
What do the cards do?
| Card | What it is | What to look at |
|---|---|---|
| Character | Your fighters. They quest to earn lore and challenge other characters. | Cost, Strength, Willpower and lore value. |
| Action | A one-time effect. Do what it says, then it goes to your discard pile. | Cost and what it does. |
| Song | A special action. Instead of paying ink, you can turn one of your characters sideways to sing it. | Its cost, because the singer needs a cost at least as high. |
| Item | Stays in play. Many have abilities you can use right away. | Cost and its ability. |
| Location | Stays in play. Your characters can move there, and you gain lore from it each turn. | Move cost, Willpower and lore value. |
Cards with an inkwell swirl around their cost can also be used as ink. More on that below.
How do you read a character card?
- Cost. The number in the top left. It's how much ink you pay to play the card. A swirl around it means you can ink the card.
- Lore value. The diamond. It's how much lore you gain when this character quests.
- Name and version. Together they make the card's full name.
- Abilities. The text box. Keywords and special powers live here.
- Strength. How much damage the character deals in a challenge.
- Willpower. How much damage the character can take before it is banished.
How do you set up a game?
- Decide who goes first with any fair method, like a coin flip or a die roll.
- Shuffle your deck, then offer it to your opponent to shuffle or cut.
- Set your lore to 0.
- Draw 7 cards. Don't like your hand? You may put any number of cards on the bottom of your deck and draw back up to 7. You can do this once, and the player going first decides first.
- If you swapped any cards, shuffle your deck again.
- The first player takes the first turn and skips their first draw.
What happens on your turn?
- Ready: stand all your sideways cards back up, including your ink.
- Set: characters you played last turn are no longer drying, and you gain lore from any locations you have.
- Draw: draw 1 card.
- Main phase: do any of these, in any order, as many times as you can: ink a card (once), play cards, quest, challenge, move a character to a location, and use abilities.
- End: say your turn is over. Your opponent goes next.
How does ink work?
Your inkwell is a pile of face-down cards, and each one is worth 1 ink.
- Ink a card. Once each turn, put 1 card from your hand into your inkwell face down. It has to have the inkwell swirl around its cost. Show it to your opponent first so they can check.
- Pay for a card. Turn ink cards sideways to pay a card's cost. They stand back up at the start of your next turn.
Example: a card costs 3. Turn 3 ink cards sideways, and the card comes into play.
Drying: wait a turn
A character you just played is drying. It can't quest or challenge until your next turn. Items and locations can use their abilities the turn you play them.
How do you quest and challenge?
On your turn, each dry character can do one of these. Both turn the character sideways, which is called exerting it.
- Quest. Turn a dry character sideways and gain lore equal to its lore value. A character with a lore value of 2 gains you 2 lore.
- Challenge. Turn a dry character sideways and pick an opposing character that is already sideways. Both characters deal damage to each other equal to their Strength, at the same time.
Example: your character has 3 Strength and 4 Willpower. You challenge an exerted character with 2 Strength and 3 Willpower. You deal 3 damage, which equals their Willpower, so they are banished. They deal 2 damage to you, which is less than your Willpower, so your character stays.
A character is banished when its damage equals or is more than its Willpower. It goes to its owner's discard pile. Damage stays on a character until it leaves play, and it does not heal at the end of the turn.
Only exerted characters can be challenged. A ready character is safe from challenges.
What do locations do?
A location stays in play. It has a move cost, a Willpower and a lore value. Pay the move cost to send one of your characters there. At the start of each of your turns, you gain the lore listed on your locations. Characters can challenge locations too, but locations don't deal damage back.
How do songs work?
A song is an action with a special rule: instead of paying its ink cost, you may turn one of your dry characters sideways, as long as that character's cost is at least the song's cost. That's called singing the song. Some characters have Singer, which makes them count as a higher cost when they sing.
How do you win?
The first player to reach 20 lore wins. You gain lore in three main ways.
- Questing with your characters.
- Locations you have in play, at the start of your turn.
- Card effects that give you lore.
Running out of cards
If your turn ends with no cards left in your deck, you lose. Keep an eye on your deck size in long games.
What do the common keywords mean?
| Keyword | In plain English |
|---|---|
| Alert | This character can challenge Evasive characters. |
| Bodyguard | This character can come into play sideways. Your opponent has to challenge a Bodyguard first, if they can. |
| Boost N | Once a turn, pay N ink to put the top card of your deck face down under this card. |
| Challenger +N | This character gets +N Strength while it is challenging. |
| Evasive | Only characters with Evasive can challenge this character. |
| Reckless | This character can't quest, and you can't end your turn while it is ready and could challenge. |
| Resist +N | Damage dealt to this character is reduced by N. |
| Rush | This character can challenge the turn it comes into play. |
| Shift N | Pay N to play this card on top of one of your characters with the same name. |
| Singer N | This character counts as cost N when singing songs. |
| Sing Together N | Several of your characters can team up to sing this song if their costs add up to N or more. |
| Support | When this character quests, you may add its Strength to another character this turn. |
| Vanish | This character is banished when an opponent's action chooses it. |
| Ward | Your opponent can't choose this card with an effect. |
Are there other ways to play?
Pack Rush is a quick casual game that needs no deck building. Each player takes two unopened booster packs and shuffles all the cards together into one deck. The packs can come from any set. Set the marketing cards aside, then put two of them into your inkwell to start. You draw 5 cards instead of 7, and the first player to reach 15 lore wins. If you run out of cards, you shuffle your discard pile to make a new deck instead of losing.
Disney Lorcana also has games for three or more players, and store events in other formats like Sealed and Draft, where everyone builds a deck from cards they open at the event. This guide covers the standard one-on-one game, which is the best place to start.
What are the best tips for your first game?
- Ink a card early. More ink means you can play bigger cards sooner.
- Check for the swirl before you ink. Cards without the inkwell swirl can't go in your inkwell.
- Play characters early. A new character is drying, so get them out before you need them.
- Quest when it's safe, challenge when it counts. Lore wins the game, and challenges clear the way.
- Say your lore out loud after every change, so you and your opponent agree on the score.
- Card text always wins. If a card says something different from this guide, do what the card says. Ask us if it's unclear.
Quick reference
| Deck | 60+ cards, 1 or 2 inks, up to 4 copies of a card |
| Start | 0 lore, draw 7 (swap any number once), first player skips their first draw |
| Your turn | Ready, Set, Draw, then the main phase, then end your turn |
| Ink | Ink 1 card a turn (swirl needed). Turn ink sideways to pay. |
| Quest | Turn a dry character sideways, gain lore equal to its lore value |
| Challenge | Pick an exerted character, both deal damage equal to Strength |
| Banished | Damage equals or is more than Willpower |
| Win | Reach 20 lore (15 in Pack Rush) |
Printable quick guide
Everything above fits on two printable pages. Print it double-sided and keep it at the table.
Download the printable guide (PDF)
Official Disney Lorcana rules and resources (free)
Ravensburger posts the official rules for free.
- Resources page: the Comprehensive Rules, Tournament Rules and Pack Rush Rules, plus set checklists.
- How to Play page: Ravensburger's short introduction to the game.
- Disney Lorcana Companion app: the official app for Apple and Google Play, which can track lore for you.
Ravensburger updates the rules and card wording over time. The newest versions are always on the Resources page.
Where can you learn and play Lorcana near Newport, TN?
Landfall Outpost carries Disney Lorcana booster packs in our Lorcana collection. Stock changes, so ask us in-store if you don't see what you want. New players are welcome, and we're happy to teach you your first game. Any card game is welcome for open play when we're open: Friday and Saturday 12–8, Sunday 12–6, at 138 North St, Newport, TN 37821. Free on-site parking. See our events page for what's on.