Ravensburger Star Wars Villainous: Power of The Dark Side - Strategy Board Game for Ages 10 & Up, 2-4 players

Product Information

After adapting the world of Disney’s original villains for a new board game, Disney Villainous, the wizards at Ravensburger decided to start conquering other universes, first diving into Marvel’s vast store of villains, and now (after much hoping by many fans), they found themselves in a galaxy far, far away with Star Wars Villainous. Building off the core gameplay of the Disney Villainous series, while adding new complexions which both require time to learn but bring new strategies to bare, Star Wars Villainous: Power of the Dark Side is a worthy new Villainous venture and a great addition to the vast world of Star Wars board gaming. Star Wars Villainous: Power of the Dark Side is great new addition to the Villainous family of games from Ravensburger, and while it might take some getting used to for new and old players alike, the inclusion of some complex but rewarding new mechanics elevate the experience. + Great selection of Villains with unique goals Certain cards have a Cost showing an Ambition symbol in the lower left of the card art image, indicating that the card can only be played using an Ambition action, and by spending that amount of Ambition. Moff Gideon needs to have three cards in play at once in the same location on his Sector: Grogu, Doctor Pershing, and Laboratory Samples. When all three cards are in one location, he has to pay five Ambition to win the game.

Choosing villains from the Star Wars universe for this introductory game must have been by no means an easy feat. There are just so many wonderfully evil bad guys to choose from! Thankfully, Ravensburger did a great job with their choices. Gameplay gets a big thumbs up as well, even if it's a lot to take in at first (you'll definitely need to play a throwaway session to get the hang of things). Namely, the addition of vehicles from across the franchise isn't just a glorified ally card; they provide legitimate ways to enhance or hinder gameplay that you'll need to build into your strategy. Unless you want to grind to a halt when someone deploys an X-Wing that reduces the number of cards you can carry, of course. The characters are very true to their inspiration, too. Alongside the nod to Asajj's assassin past, Vader's disregard for his officers is on full display with a special action that allows you to sacrifice the Imperial brass to get rid of enemy vehicles. It's a delight for fans. First unveiled in 2018, Disney Villainous: The Worst Takes All flipped the script in the world of tabletop gaming by allowing players to take on the roles of infamous evildoers from classic Disney animated films. That initial title was developed by Prospero Hall ( now part of Funko Games) and included Maleficent ( Sleeping Beauty), Ursula ( The Little Mermaid), Jafar ( Aladdin), Prince John ( Robin Hood), Queen of Hearts ( Alice in Wonderland), and Captain Hook ( Peter Pan). There was something for every kind of classic Disney animation fan — including compelling, card-based gameplay and a hefty dose of screw-your-neighbor-style competition. The Villainous series is now developed in-house and published internationally by Ravensburger. To slow each other down, players will have access to vehicles — a franchise first. Vehicles brought into play with Ambition will provide villains with new and powerful moves to perform on their turns. Meanwhile, vehicles brought into play with Fate will be flown by in-fiction heroes bent on taking the bad guys down.In April 2020, she started writing for Android Authority, covering listicles, helpful how-to's for Android devices, and content on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. The components in each Villainous game have always been done to a very high standard. The artwork on each of the character boards, Villain Guides, and the cards themselves are beautiful and quite often can give the player a real sense of nostalgia. Of course, the most striking component of any Villainous game are the villain tokens themselves. Beautifully sculpted to reflect the essence of the character they are emulating, these hefty playing pieces are made with great care, attention to detail and are often the visual focal point of the game. The Star Wars Villainous movers are some of the best this series has ever seen (Image credit: Future) If you enjoy the Star Wars licence there are lots of other games to consider but they’re all very different from Villainous and most are as much, if not more, complicated. Perhaps the most accessible is Star Wars: X-Wing, where you fly ready-painted models of iconic ships in deep space dogfights. It looks great and plays great but be aware that it’s the thin end of a wedge, with eye-popping numbers of additional ships available if you want them. Several other elite Jedi hunters became known to Ezra Bridger and his band of rebels -- including the Seventh Sister. Armed with a cadre of ID9 seeker droids, the Spectres first ran afoul of the Mirialan Inquisitor as she stalked Bridger and Sabine Wren aboard an abandoned medical station. With a plan and the bold cunning to carry it out, the Seventh Sister proved a dogged enemy to both the rebels and former Padawan Ahsoka Tano as the latter fought to prevent Inquisitors from seizing Force-sensitive children throughout the galaxy. Deadly with a lightsaber, determined, and manipulative, the Seventh Sister remains a constant, menacing threat to Bridger’s friends.

It's true that the game isn't perfect. For instance, I'd recommend the original Villainous instead if you're unfamiliar with the series (Power of the Dark Side is slightly more complicated than its predecessors). However, that isn't to say newcomers should avoid it - it just requires a little patience. Indeed, perseverance will reward you with one of the better strategy board games for adults you can get right now. Star Wars™ Villainous uses the award-winning Villainous game system with added elements to fully immerse players in the Star Wars™ Universe. Deploy iconic ships like TIE Fighters as you engage with the Millennium Falcon. Use Ambition to power your Villain’s unique abilities, whether you’re playing as a Force user, leader, or manipulator. For fans of Villainous that feel as if they've seen everything it's got to offer, Star Wars Villainous: Power of the Dark Side should reinvigorate the franchise. Thanks to smart, well-thought out additions that build new spokes on the wheel rather than reinventing it, this is a breath of fresh air that'll make you excited to play again.To explain all the intricacies of every action would take a long time (and honestly the instructional booklet does it way better), but here are some of the most basic actions you can take on a turn. You can collect credits, which is the game's currency, play a card from your hand, use Ambition points to play an Ambition card or activate an Ambition ability, or discard as many cards from your hand as you want. If you play a card or discard any cards, you draw new cards until you have a total of four in your hand, unless there's something special changing the maximum number of cards you can have in your hand.

Deep Space is a special area on the far right side of your Villain's board. This area is specifically used for playing Vehicle cards, as well as certain cards that are able to be played to Deep Space or that can be played on top of Vehicle cards.Each Vehicle card provides a new location for your Sector that your Villain can move to at the beginning of your turn, and will provide you with actions and a special Ability. In much the same way, some Fate cards are brutal. If deployed correctly, these can really level the playing field and have opponents cursing your name. In one of my test-sessions, Vader was served with an effect that stops him using Ambition abilities (and thus winning the game) unless he discarded his whole hand of cards… which contained the very cards he needed to win. It was a delicious Catch 22. Similarly, another saw Kylo Ren hit with a well-timed Rey that reset a lot of the player's hard work. Basically, they add real spice to proceedings and give you some much-needed breathing room if you're falling behind.

Though she is still writing for Android Authority, she went on to start writing for MakeUseOf, KOINO IT Solutions, and, of course, Review Geek. The artwork for each Villain, their Sector, and their cards are fantastic!! I’ve never been disappointed by that in DV and its expansions and I’m not surprised I wasn’t either for SWV! Often it’s hard to tell the artwork’s NOT a screenshot from either one of the films or The Clone Wars TV show, it’s just that good. I don’t know who did all of the artwork, but we do know who did Asajj Ventress’: Uzuri Art! You might recognize her and her work, as she continues to stun with great Star Wars, Marvel, and more pieces!Disney Villainous contained six playable characters but Star Wars Villainous follows the Marvel variant’s trend and only includes five: Darth Vader, General Grievous, Asajj Ventress, Kylo Ren and Moff Gideon. It’s a nice selection covering the width and breadth of the Skywalker Saga timeline, whether you’re a fan of the originals, prequels or sequels. The figures for the game are again very well made with lots of care and detail going into each of the characters designs. However, Ravensburger have given a unique twist to these figures by adding a slight swirl to the moulds to give them a battle-worn look. For some of these figures, such General Grievous and Kylo Ren, it works very well and really adds a lot of depth to their designs. For others, such as Darth Vader, it is less effective and, in my opinion, takes away from the overall menacing look these characters should give. It’s worth noting that these designs are completely random, so whilst one set may have a more noticeable swirl design, another set may be more subtle. The figures are still, however, very impressive and will look great set up on any table. May The Force Be With You The only thing that differs between players is their villain’s unique objectives. For example, all eight of General Grievous’ Lightsaber Tokens are positioned away from the Sector and in easy reach as the Separatist commander will have to collect them throughout the course of the game. STAR WARS VILLAINOUS: PLAYING A GAME