Pete, Game Referee’s cheeky effect is confusing Disney Lorcana players

The Disney Lorcana Shimmering Skies set introduced dozens of new cards for players to experiment with and ruin each other’s careful strategies using. One card, in particular, has been causing quite a stir within the community because some players don’t understand how it works: Pete, Game Referee.

The issue is with Pete, Game Referee’s effect. The card’s text states, “Blow the Whistle: When you play this character, opponents can’t play actions until the start of your next turn.” Players are discussing how the card works on Twitter because some believe it’s unclear. While many players take the effect at face value, others can’t decide if the effect must be announced when played or if it impacts how you play and move other cards.

No action cards until your next turn starts

The way Pete, Game Referee’s effect should work is exactly as it reads. Once played, your opponent can’t play any actions, which are a specific type of card similar to Instants in Magic: The Gathering, until the start of your next turn. You don’t need to announce it. The effect is simply in play once the card has been played.

User CitizensofLorcana posted a question about the card’s ruling on Twitter, and User GooglyGlimmers, a well-known judge in the community who understands the nuances of the game’s rules extremely well, provided a clear and concise answer.

What GooglyGlimmers is saying makes complete sense. The official tournament rules provide a guideline for what could happen with this card’s trigger being missed, but it’s not precise enough. As they add later in the conversation, “Well, right now we’re at the point where we don’t know what the expected amount of communication is. It could be that playing Pete and then correcting your opponent when they try to play an action is sufficient. Or you might have to specify the trigger when you play him.”

If it were me who had missed the effect, I’d apologize and take back the action card once it was pointed out. But I understand that there are so many more nuanced situations that could arise because of Pete, Game Referee’s trigger being missed.

While in a casual game at home or a local game store, it would be easy to simply agree to play a missed trigger once you’ve caught it or leave it because the turn has passed. In tournaments, though, a missed trigger is a huge deal and could be seen as the difference between a player winning or losing, especially if an action card allowed an opponent to draw two cards that helped them get the last 2 Lore they needed to win.

GooglyGlimmers outlined that “Missed triggers have their own section in the Play Corrections Guide that technically covers this exact situation. It just lacks the clarity we’re looking for.” Players and judges want specificity when it comes to dealing with Pete, Game Referee’s effect, and what happens if it’s missed, so there’s no room for error when decisions are being made at Disney Lorcana’s highest level.