Episode 17: Hidden Mickey

Listen, we all know we’re playing a Disney card game. But how much does Disney actually influence the game?A conversation that’s adjacent to our ongoing series of “Please Know Who You Are Actually Mad At.” Disney undoubtedly has a hand in everything that passes through this game. And we can see creative design guided by the invisible corporate forces from other TCGs that don’t own their own IPs (*cough* Magic cough). Without knowing the inner workings of Ravensburger’s licensing deal with Disney, it may be an impossible question to answer.But even beyond tilting at windmills about brand identity and licensing agreements, there’s a bigger picture when it comes to designing a Disney (TM) card game. From the language we use (challenging, questing) to the victory condition (gaining points instead of losing life) to a core, central mechanic the entire game revolves around (songs, characters), the Mouse is everywhere, even if he’s hidden from plain sight.