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Disney Villainous turns happily-ever-after on its head by putting players in control of villains from some of the most iconic Disney films. Each villain has their own story-based objective to achieve, while the other players are trying to meddle in your plan and thwart you at every turn. The game is designed to be played with up to six players, but it’s best at three or four. It can get very tense with more than that, as the Fate mechanic allows players to target any other player and impose their own Fate cards on them, which may push that player into an uncomfortable position or even cause them to lose the game.
Each player starts with their own villain board, villain deck, fate deck, and a 3D character figure. The player boards have a total of four locations with different actions displayed at each one. On their turn, a player moves their character pawn to any location on their player board and takes one or more of the action combinations at that location. These can include gaining power, playing a card, and defeating heroes. Some cards have a cost that is paid with power tokens and others are allies, items, effects, or conditions that can help you fulfill your win condition.
The game has a lot of theme and some good quality components. The plastic character pawns are nicely detailed and the Fate cards are well printed with impressive line art and original artwork. The cauldron is probably the lowest quality item, though it serves its purpose. The game is complex enough to have a decent learning curve and the various villains all play very differently, so there’s something for players of any skill level to enjoy.