Villainous: Introduction to Evil is considered a revamped and streamlined version of the original Disney Villainous game. It features the same gameplay that includes Ursula, Captain Hook, Maleficent, and Prince John. Each player gets to choose a villain they control and try to accomplish their goal of what good villains do. As Ravensburger continues to produce more standalone expansions to help players find their best villain and successfully complete their evil plans, we anticipate the next announcement, trying to guess what new villains will be in their next expansion.
What’s in the Box?
- 4 Villain Movers (Ursula, Captain Hook, Maleficent, and Prince John)
- 4 Villain Decks (30 cards in each deck)
- 4 Fate Decks (15 cards in each deck)
- 4 Realm boards
- 4 Villain Guides
- 4 Reference Cards
- 1 Cauldron
- 40 Power Tokens
How’s It Play?
Each player takes a unique deck matching a specific villain each time they play the game, each of which has different rules and ways to win the game specific to the chosen villain deck. In addition, each player has a unique board specific to their villain with 4 different locations. Players start by shuffling their villain deck and drawing 4 cards to form their starting hand.
Players take turns moving the piece on their player board to new locations and taking those actions. Again, each player has unique boards with different actions. Sometimes cards cover icons, which limit possible actions that can be performed. Players may also gain power tokens, play cards, play a fate card from another player’s fate deck to make it harder for them to complete their goal, move items or allies, or maybe even defeat a hero.
Each player has different ally cards, effect cards, item cards, condition cards, and hero cards all connected to that villain in their Disney story. For example, Ursula has a goal to gain the trident and crown icons in the Ursula’s Lair location to win. Captain Hook has to defeat Peter Pan at the Jolly Roger location. Maleficent has to place a curse, which is a special villain card, at each location. Prince John has to amass at least 20 power and get Robin Hood to the jail.
Each goal has ways where these plans can get tricky and difficult. Peter Pan only appears in the realm furthest from the Jolly Roger, so you have to find out how to get him there before defeating him. Prince John is waiting for Robin Hood to appear, which can occur early or late in the game, and send him to jail. Thus timing for many of these villains becomes essential to doing well.
Now, whenever a player who controls their villain successfully complete their goal, the game immediately ends and that player wins.
The Verdict
Ravensburger continues to pump out expansions, making Villainous a great game that you can continue to enjoy and explore. The bones of the game are fairly straightforward. You are trying to do is move your piece to the different locations on your own board and perform those actions, use your cards to further your goal, and perhaps also use the fate deck from other players to slow them down.
But what makes this game appealing is that you get to play as all the villains, which is a little twist that is fun. Moreover, you get to explore different villains, including their deck of various unique cards, and figuring out how they work to achieve their goal successfully. Each villain can be played very differently as far as what you are trying to do, and many times that due to the theme to match that villain to their story better, and mechanics that may also do the same.
Its a game where players are focused on their own goal, sometimes not really knowing what the other players are doing or where they are at in achieving their goals. But, players can keep an eye on the other players and choose a time to strike with a fate card, making it harder for them to complete their goal.
Captain Hook is a fan favorite with everyone I have played with. His deck is well rounded and balanced. You have clear steps placed out in front of you from the beginning: find Neverland’s Map to unlock Hangman’s Tree, find Peter Pan and move him to Jolly Roger, and then defeat him. The mechanics are clean, using allies to vanquish heroes and then have enough strength to beat Peter Pan.
Maleficent is the second favorite of the four. Maleficent uses curse cards that need to be placed in each of her 4 locations. Curses have two parts. They have a power and a way the curse can get discarded. The player places these cards and hopes they don’t get discarded due to the listed reason for how that might happen. Really, the morse curses you have out the closer you are to winning, but the harder it becomes to do the remaining parts.
Prince John is about getting a lot of power, which just makes his goal kind of boring to play. There are no steps like other characters, you just plan with certain cards and try to get more and more power without spending power on your turns. It’s not as enjoyable as the others because you can’t use the power you gain in any interesting way, you just collect it.
Ursula tends to be the least liked of the villain decks. She has her locations locked at times, which restricts you to 3 locations on your turn rather than 4. This lock token moves around, but it just limits you. She also has to deal with heroes slowly using her binding contracts, as well as needing a lot of turns to move things around. Everything just seems limiting and not exciting like some of the other characters.
Ultimately Villainous: Introduction to Evil would be an initial purchase to start your collection of Villainous to play the game. This version of the game comes with the cauldron that you can use for all other standalone expansions. And, it shows you different mechanics for some of the popular villains of Disney.
Overall, if you are a fan of any of the villains that come in this game, then you should get it, because it comes down to liking who your character is. If you are a fan of Villainous, then you probably have played with these characters already, and if not, it would be worth trying each one in this box to see how different they can be and which you enjoy the most.
You can pick up Disney Villainous: Introduction To Evil from Ravensburger, Target, or your FLGS at an MSRP of $29.99.
Images via Ravensburger
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