● Beginner's guide
How to play Disney Lorcana
Everything a brand-new Illumineer needs — the goal, a turn, and every keyword, in plain English.
▶ Watch & learn
Seven short official videos in learning order — from the basics through abilities and a final recap.
01 The goal
Be the first to 20 lore.
You gain lore mainly by sending characters on quests. The first player to 20 lore wins the game.
02 What you need to start
A deck of 60+ cards using up to 2 of the 6 ink colors, with a maximum of 4 copies of any one card.
New? Start with a pre-built starter deck — it has everything you need to play.
Or grab a starter on Amazon
A ready-to-play 60-card deck plus a booster. The simplest way to learn.
View on Amazon → 2-Player Starter SetTwo ready-to-play decks in one box — perfect to learn with a friend.
View on Amazon → Gateway (learn-to-play)A guided, step-by-step intro that teaches the game to two new players.
View on Amazon → Illumineer's TroveStorage box, booster packs, dice and accessories — more cards to grow your collection.
View on Amazon →As an Amazon Associate, InkSight earns from qualifying purchases. Prices vary on Amazon.
03 The parts of a card
Every Disney Lorcana character card uses the same layout. Tap a numbered point — or use Prev / Next / Take the tour — to learn what each part does.
Anatomy of a Disney Lorcana character card
The card on the left is Elsa — Spirit of Winter from The First Chapter. Every Disney Lorcana character card shares the same layout, so the eight labelled regions apply to every character you'll ever play. Tap a point to begin.
Card image © Ravensburger / Disney — used for educational illustration. Layout shown applies to every character card; Action, Song, Item and Location cards use a similar layout with different stat icons.
04 A turn, step by step
Every turn has three phases. The first player skips their very first draw.
Ready
Ready (untap) all your exerted cards. Characters that were dried become available again.
05 Core actions
Build your ink
Once per turn you may put one card with the inkwell symbol into your inkwell. Ink pays for everything and readies again each turn.
Quest for lore
Exert a ready character to gain lore equal to its ◊ Lore value.
Challenge a character
Exert a character to challenge an opposing exerted character. Both deal damage equal to their Strength. A character with damage equal to or greater than its Willpower is banished. You can't challenge a ready character.
Summoning sickness
A character can't quest, challenge, or sing the turn it's played — its ink is still wet. It dries at the start of your next turn (unless it has Rush).
Sing for free
Songs are Action cards. Pay their ink cost — or sing them for free by exerting a character whose cost is equal to or greater than the song's cost.
Play locations
Locations are cards you play with ink. Pay a small move cost to move characters onto them; they passively generate lore or grant effects.
Alter your hand
After your opening 7, you may "alter your hand" once — put any number of cards back, shuffle, and draw that many replacements.
Ready to build?
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