Strange World’s In-Universe Card Game Is Fully Playable

Disney’s Strange World arrived on Disney+ and other digital platforms late last week, giving a whole new audience the opportunity to watch the animated epic. In addition to building out its expansive world and its lovable cast of characters, the film also weaved in a whole other element — an in-universe card game. The game, known as Primal Outpost, proves to be a fixation of Ethan Clade (Jaboukie Young-White) — and apparently, the creative team put a lot of thought into its creation. 

“We wanted Ethan to be a gamer because our kids are gamers,” co-director Don Hall explained in a recent interview with Polygon. “Every kid, every teenager right now is a gamer.”

“There are actual rules,” Hall said of Primal Outpost. “And there are more cards than what we show.”

“It’s playable!” co-director Qui Nguyen echoed. “It was obviously based a bit on Catan and Magic: The Gathering, like those elements came hand in hand.”

As Nguyen revealed, the rules of Primal Outpost actually purposely mirrored the adventure that the Clade family was going on. “The rules of the game [were] actually secretly the theme of the whole film. It was a nice trick to have Ethan be able to say, Hey, this is what this whole thing is about, living harmoniously with the environment around you.“

What is Strange World about?

Strange World introduces a legendary family of explorers, the Clades, as they attempt to navigate an uncharted, treacherous land alongside a motley crew that includes a mischievous blob, a three-legged dog and a slew of ravenous creatures. In addition to Gyllenhaal, the film stars Gabrielle Union, Lucy Liu, and Alan Tudyk.

“This movie is about being yourself and not what people think you should be or something outside of that, and that’s the way you’re going to make the best contribution to the world,” Quaid told ComicBook.com in an xclusive interview earlier this year. “Enjoy living your life. This classic theme, it’s about legacy. It’s about being yourself. These guys, they came up with a script that, like all Disney movies, I think they’re myths. They point to something you don’t have words for.”

“I think the idea of passing things on to the next generation and how you receive those things, what you do with that, that’s timeless,” Young-White added. “I think it’s really crucial now, especially when we look at the world and the challenges that we’re faced with, it’s going to require full communication and participation of multiple generations of different kinds of people.”

Would you want to play the card game from Disney’s Strange World? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Strange World is set to debut on digital platforms on Friday, December 23rd.