So you have collected a big stack of Disney Princess Cards, but what do you do with them? Here is how to play the Disney Princess Trading Card Game from Topps and a few other game ideas.
There are 2 official games to play with the Disney Princess Trading Cards: the normal game and the advanced game. Both of these use the princess symbol on the top right hand corner of the cards (there is a castle, a heart, a butterfly, a flower and a bird) as well as the ratings for Kindness (in the pink heart) and Bravery (in the blue shield).
We found some of the instructions in the starter pack (also available here) a little confusing so here is how we play.
The Normal Game
Aim of the game
The winner is the first player to:
win cards with each of the 5 princess symbols
or
to get 5 cards with the same princess symbol.
If you have the starter pack and you are playing with just two people then have the game mat on side 1 (the pink and blue side). If you want to play with more than 2 people or without the game mat then that is fine too, but it might be more confusing the first few times you play. The game mat helps you lay out the cards to see how close you are to winning.
How to play
1. Deal the cards so everyone has the same number. The official rules say a minimum of 8 cards, but we like to play with a stack of about 20 each, this makes it more likely that you will be able to get a set to win.
2. Flip a coin to choose who is going to start.
3. The players take the top card in their pile to use for each round.
4. The player whose turn it is chooses whether they are going to play that round on Kindness or on Bravery depending on which one they think they are more likely to win with e.g. for the card below they should probably pick Bravery.
6. The other player(s) say what their rating is for Bravery and whoever has the highest score wins that round. If players have the same score they both win that round.
7. The winner of the round puts their card down on the game mat or in front of them laid out in the same way as on the game mat (each symbol in a different row).
The loser(s) of the round puts their card to the back of their pile.
8. Players take it in turns to choose to play on Kindness or Bravery until someone has won.
The Advanced Game
Aim of the game
The advanced game uses the other side of the game mat and the stand up cards from the starter pack. The aim is to get as many of the 5 stand up cards as possible. This game takes longer than the normal game and requires a larger collection of cards. The official instructions say you need to make sure each player has at least 5 of the same symbol and from at least 3 different films. We have found that by having a stack of about 30 cards each we don’t need to worry about checking for this first as there will be enough variety for someone to win.
How to Play
The rules are the same as for the normal game.
The first player to get 5 of a particular princess symbol gets the matching stand up card.
Whichever player gets more of the stand up cards wins.
Key Skills used: Mathematics. Playing the Disney Trading Card games have been brilliant at getting my 5 year old really familiar with her numbers 1 to 20. To play well they need to be able to read the number and work out whether it is higher or lower than other numbers.
Other Games To Play with the Topps Disney Princess Trading Card Game Cards
The more cards we have the more inspired we have become to come up with other games we can play with them. Here are a few ideas:
Snap
Aim of the Game
Win all the cards
How to Play
I’m sure everyone knows how to play snap (divide cards evenly, players put one card down at a time face up, first person to say snap when there are matching cards takes the cards, whoever gets all/ most of the cards wins).
In this version you can snap when 2 cards in a row are from the same film. Those that know their Disney Princess films best have an advantage in this game, but each film has slightly different colour cards so it’s not as hard as it sounds.
Key Skills used: This game helps develops quick thinking and reflexes.
Tell Me A Story
There are two versions of Tell Me A Story we play: basic and advanced. The basic version uses all the cards you have from one film, the advanced version uses a random selection of cards.
Aim of the game
Tell a story using the cards as inspiration.
How to play the basic game
Select all the cards you have for one particular film and give the cards to your child.
The child needs to put the cards in the order of the film and then tell the story using the cards as prompts.
Key Skills used: Uses memory skills to recall the film plot
How to play the advanced game
Decide how long you want to play for, the more cards each player has the longer it will last. 10 cards each works well with 2 players, 6 if there are 3 players, 5 if there are 4 players. Each player places their cards face up in front of them.
The first player puts a card in the middle and starts a story. Each player then takes it in turns to pick one of their cards and place it in the middle to continue the story.
The game can get quite silly so we really enjoy playing it.
Key Skills used: Literacy including observation from looking at what is in the pictures and creative story telling.
Who Am I?
This game uses only the cards with single characters on and you need a hairband or hat so the card can be worn.
Aim of the game
Guess which character you are, the winner is the player who guesses which character they have on their card first.
How to Play
A card is selected at random for each player and put on their head without the person knowing which character they are.
Starting with the youngest player each person takes a turn to ask a question to help them guess their character. The questions can only be answered with a “yes” or a “no”.
Key Skills used: Communication & Language, uses reasoning and memory skills to identify the character.
Disclosure: We were sent a selection of card packs from Topps in return for an honest review. The instructions on how to play are taken from the Topps guide. Read the original post with more about the cards here.
Key Skills used: Communication & Language, uses reasoning and memory skills to identify the character.
Disclosure: We were sent a selection of card packs from Topps in return for an honest review. The instructions on how to play are taken from the Topps guide. Read the original post with more about the cards here.
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