My mother doesn’t like card games or board games. I know this because I tried to introduce her to many people but to no avail. When we asked her to help us test the Disney Lorcana Gateway, she happily agreed. However, I got a weird look on my face.
Thankfully, that face disappeared as I played. Because while Disney Lorcana is a relatively complex game for beginners, Disney Lorcana Gateway served as a great step-by-step introduction that my mom could explore and challenge in about 10 minutes. Even though she’s not a tabletop gamer, Gateway’s structure helped her understand the rules and how to play the cards almost instantly.
As a preface, I already know how to play Disney Lorcana, but my verbal instructions followed almost exactly the rules listed in the Gateway booklet. I read through each line of text, explaining the parts of each card and how to place and drain ink to play the character. Five minutes later we were slowly making our way through the first round of the game.
What I was happy to see was that my mother’s confidence increased with each session. On the first turn, when I explained the rule of placing ink to play a character and depleting it, there was some confusion about the value of the cards and which characters could be placed in the inkwell. By turn 3, she was starting a quest before I could tell her what she could do. By turn 4, she was challenging my character to stop her from gaining lore.
Read: Disney Lorcana is designed to inspire joy – Interview
Image: Game Hub
In the end, I won the first game, but she was only slightly behind, having 14 knowledge to my 20 knowledge. And I want to stress that I’ve played a lot of Disney Lorcana games, am an avid Magic: The Gathering player (and often lose), and this is my first time playing a TCG. It was.
This solidified in my mind that Disney Lorcana Gateway is a truly great introduction, no matter the player’s experience level. This is a very smart addition to the Lorcana lineup, creating a familiar entry point by simplifying the game to its core.
At first you only need to understand the character cards and action cards, and these are very easy to understand. Each part of the card is complex and contains a lot of information for beginners, but Gateway slows down the learning pace and gives you time to absorb all the details.
Once you know your character and action cards, the game will prompt you to open other packets that introduce new mechanics (songs, items, Floodborn characters). At each step, you can check off a list of lessons or watch a video to learn more about these card types and their functions. Although this is not comprehensive (I won’t go into details about locations here), this lesson provides a foundation for almost every part of Disney Lorcana and paves the way for future games.
Image: Game Hub
Beyond the step-by-step process, the most appealing thing about the Disney Lorcana Gateway is its primary board. I love a good tabletop game, especially one that has a good map or playing space to make the gameplay easier to understand. This is a great visual way to engage players and make gameplay feel more special.
At Disney’s Lorcana Gateway, we’ve introduced premium mats that are great play companions, whether you’re learning to play or not. It is large enough that it can be stretched across the table, allowing both players to lean on it as they plan for victory. There’s an inkwell and space for played cards, a deck and a discard pile, and this board also comes with premium damage tokens.
I love structures, so spaces arranged like this tickle my brain. I was also very happy to see the back of the wax paper folded lore meter that I normally use to track my progress on Disney Lorcana. Having a standee and a set board makes it easier to observe your lore and determine when to attack your enemies.
All of these elements are what make Disney Lorcana Gateway so memorable. It’s a very useful introduction for those who have never played the game before. And for those who have played it, it’s a great little box to carry around and introduce your friends to. For those who have already played Lorcana, there isn’t much “new” to this set, but I’m glad it exists and that I was able to use it to introduce my mom to the TCG. I’m very happy.
I don’t think she’s a board gamer yet, but the look in her eyes when she defeats my explorer Mickey Mouse clearly shows that change is possible.
5 stars: ★★★★★
disney lorcana gateway
Designer: Ryan Miller, Steve Warner
Publisher: Raven’s Burger
A copy of Disney Lorcana Gateway was sent to GamesHub for this review. GamesHub reviews are rated out of 10.
