I've seen some really, really young kids playing - sometimes with mom or dad's help. As long as they aren't super scared of the villains, and can understand simple instructions, they're probably fine. It's a really fun game. Playing a full game takes a lot of time and a lot of running around - I played one full game the night I started playing and it took about five or six hours. Now I usually just do one round each time I visit MK to pick up new cards. (You don't really 'earn' the cards - you can get a free pack each day. You do get an extra pack after defeating Hades at the end of a full game.)
Basic gameplay is pretty simple: You find your portal on the map you get with your cards. At the very beginning, the CMs at the Firehouse tell you where you'll be starting. Once you arrive at the portal, you unlock it by touching your MagicBand, park ticket, or key card to the lock that will be close by. Then your sorcerer stands on the metal circle in the ground and watches the story unfold. Once a villain, or one of his/her henchmen, appears, the sorcerer will hold up a spell card (or multiple spell cards) to cast at the villain. Sometimes Merlin will instruct the sorcerer to use the Sorcerer's Crest, which is the back of a spell card. Once the villain or henchman is defeated, you'll be shown where your next portal is.
If your kids get really into it, they'll want a binder or at least some plastic card holder sheets to organize and protect their cards. Don't buy the huge overpriced one Disney sells, go to a comic book store or someplace similar and buy a nicer, smaller one for less money.
Sometimes, folks like me hang out in Tortuga Tavern to trade cards. I tend to give away all my common/uncommon spares to kids.
