Review – Disney Villainous: Bigger and Badder board game delivers

Making villains’ dreams come true is the main goal in Disney Villainous, the critically acclaimed series of board games and expansions developed and published by Ravensburger. Polygon had a chance to look at the fifth installment, a standalone title titled Disney Villainous – Bigger and more Badder. It’s filled with New ideas and characters, as well as promise. It is clear that the franchise has a lot of potential.

In Disney Villainous games players take on the roles of classic Disney villains from all across the studio’s 85-year history. Every villain has its own board, card, objective and gameplay to complete their plan. Each expansion comes with its own set of villains and can be used alone or in combination with other entries.

Get bigger and more dangerousDisney Villainous now has three more characters, making the total series 24. It’s also the first expansion to include Pixar characters as they appear in Pixar Amazing Things’ Syndrome and Toy Story 3’s Lotso. Madame Mim. The Sword in the StoneThe new list is completed by.

Image: Ravensburger

In Disney Villainous, Players progress individually on their respective sideboards using the various actions available in each of their turns. Those actions include drawing power, playing and discarding cards, activating abilities, and performing a Fate action, which allows players to draw cards from an opponents’ deck and play an Effect, Item, or Hero that will harm them in some way. A player’s Villain deck holds the cards they’ll use for themselves, while a Fate deck holds the cards others will draw and use against them. The key strategy is not to hold onto cards in the hopes that they might eventually help — Disney Villainous This game is all about maximising your turn’s actions. It can be extremely satisfying to combine multiple cards, get extra actions and make huge moves. Your progress may be affected if you slow down others players.

Disney Villainous is at its most compelling when it’s telling a story. Card mechanics are intended to emulate story beats. Playing a card can make it feel as if you’re discovering their stories for the first-time. Madame Mim’s goal is to beat the wizard Merlin in a battle of wits. In The Sword in the Stone transforms into different animal forms, each trying to take down the other. You can find them all here. Get bigger and more dangerous, Mim plays different Transformation cards that give her the ability to beat Merlin’s corresponding Transformations. Mim’s gameplay is the most enjoyable, due to its speed and springiness. The more of Mim’s Transformations you play, the more you can accomplish in a single turn, creating opportunities for some incredibly satisfying combos.

Toy Story 3Lotso, who is manipulative, puts toys where he wants them, and rules with his plush fist. You can read more Get bigger and more dangerousHe can control Heroes. He can progress fairly quickly toward his objective, with a deck full of helpful cards that reduce Heroes’ strengths and move them where he needs them to go, but he also has an equally punishing Fate deck, packed with opportunities to knock Lotso back several steps in his process. When playing with more vigilant players, Lotso can be a hard villain to win with, as it’s quite clear when he’s on the verge of winning, and he can be significantly slowed down in a single Fate.

The most intriguing new character you can play is Syndrome. His cards tell the movie’s story of a villain testing and strengthening a superweapon by trying it against Heroes. The game design successfully evokes the feelings of development and upgrading, in one of the more potent forms of storytelling in Disney Villainous’ collection. Syndrome is the first Disney Villainous, and his goal is to appear heroic. He positions himself to take down the Omnidroid as well as all Heroes on the board. Madame Mim has the advantage when it comes fun, because removing Heroes is slow-going.

Image: Ravensburger

Ravensburger is still a leader in graphic design. The series’ visual style is to create painted reinterpretations of various scenes, done here by Lucas Toquato, Johnny Morrow, Pix Smith, and Jesse Larsen. The most impressive artwork is usually derived from classic 2D animation. But this time the excellent stylized design of Amazing Things really pops in Syndrome’s deck. Evocative, minimalist game movers leave a little something to be desired, as Syndrome’s piece repeats certain design elements from past movers. Lotso’s piece loses any pretense of minimalism by depicting his actual head. And while Madame Mim’s powder purple-backed cards are a gorgeous addition to any Villainous box, Syndrome’s rust orange feels a bit boring next to the five other brown and orange decks in the series.

Some of these are, admittedly, small gripes, but they’re fitting when discussing Disney Villainous, a series that is known by fans for its attention to detail. Key moments are immortalized, and minor characters get their day — Madame Mim has less than 10 minutes of screen time in her original movie, but her gameplay here is still fascinating. The artwork and stories are treated with great care. Get bigger and more dangerous feels impressive; not just for how innovative an expansion it is, but because it’s a statement of assurance to the loving fans who always want more.

Minor flaws aside, Disney Villainous – Bigger and more BadderIt’s the Villainous franchise at it best. It’s creative and fresh and it opens doors to new characters in ways that feel promising for the future of the series. New tiles, tokens, and mechanics are interesting, but most importantly every single character, whether you love them or not, tells a compelling story that’s fun to play. It’s immersive tabletop gaming. It’s exciting to see what comes next for Disney Villainous, but this is a pretty good place to be right now.

Disney Villainous – Bigger and more BadderThe game is now available at Target only, and it will go on sale later this year. Ravensburger provided a copy of the board game for review. Vox Media also has affiliate relationships. They do not affect editorial content. However, Vox Media might earn commissions from products sold via affiliate links. Here are some links to help you find. additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.