Tired of always seeing the good guys win in the end? Come and play as the greatest villains Disney in this card-laying game where you will have to distinguish between the development of a Machiavellian plan and the elimination of the heroes that your opponents will send you.

How good it is to be mean

Villainous is a game that made me want to play as soon as I saw it in a video. The hardware looked sublime and the mechanics original. In addition, I often want the bad guys to win in the movies, so I was given the opportunity to satisfy my impulses.

How beautiful it is

The box that contains the greatest villains of Disney is adorned in green and black, representing the shadow of Maleficent stretching out his arms over the world. With this first visual taste, Villainous sets the tone for what awaits us inside.

The first thing you see when you lift the lid is the colorful glow of the different pawns. Each of them represents a villain in a superb sculpture with simple lines evoking the character related to him. The coloured and transparent plastic is of the most beautiful effect and the quality of the pieces is there. So much so that sometimes we are lost in their contemplation when our turn comes.

Then come the player boards corresponding, again, to the different villains. On these sets are represented several iconic places related to the history of the character. The cardboard is thick and resistant, designed to fold in 2 to store it in the box, I have a little apprehension about the solidity of the whole thing after about twenty games. The illustrations that adorn them are all more beautiful than the others and are faithful to the animation classics so dear to our hearts (at least mine).

The last important element is the different decks of cards. Two per character, they represent the different actions you can take but also the heroes that your opponents will put in your paws. Once again, let's highlight the majestic work that has been put into the illustrations and thank Disney Studio for not simply taking images from the films as is sometimes the case.

To complete the whole, there will be a whole bunch of Power tokens used as currency as well as a plastic "cauldron" to accommodate them. Also made of cardboard, there are the 3 padlock tiles and the fatality tile. The whole thing is made of good quality thick cardboard although the cutting is a bit simple.

To each his own objective

When you're a villain, it's every man for himself. And that's something Villainous understood very well.

Indeed, each character has a particular objective related to his story. Thus, Prince John must collect 20 power tokens while Maleficent must curse each of the places on his board.

To achieve their goals, players will move their character from place to place, activating the actions present on their arrival square each time. Actions allow you to:

• Play cards by paying their cost

• Discard cards

• Earn Power Tokens

• Activate the effect of a card already played

• Move an ally or item to an adjacent location

• Move a Hero to an Adjacent Location

• Playing Fatality Cards on an Opponent

This last action is the only one that allows interaction with your opponents. Admittedly, it's not much, but what a pleasure to see the face of your enemy when you thwart his plans at the last minute.

As you can imagine, to win you will have to skillfully juggle between the different actions and play the cards of your hand at the right time. Since card decks and objectives vary greatly from character to character, I couldn't go into more detail. Just remember that the game is simple and can be learned very quickly.

Conclusion

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Villainous is its design. The cards and boards have really beautiful illustrations and the pawns, by their simplicity and color, charm us while evoking with strength and accuracy the characters they represent.

The only real negative point, although slight, is the lack of interaction between the players which gives the impression of playing each in his own corner, especially during the many games.

Since its release, many expansions have been released, each with 3 new villains and can be played without the core box, making them perfect gifts for fans of Disney on a budget.

You can find the entire Villainous range in store and on our website: https://shop.magicfranco.be/jeux-de-societe/1800-disney-villainous.html