Disney Villainous: Perfectly Wretched by Ravensburger
Price: ~$25.00
Players: 2 to 3
Playtime: 40-60 minutes
Perfect for: Families full of Disney fans who enjoy competitive strategic card drafting games.
Disney Villainous: Perfectly Wretched is a game of machinations. Players assume control of some of Disney’s most iconic antagonists (Cruella de Vil, Mother Gothel, and Pete in this interaction) and attempt to thwart both their fictional heroic counterparts as well as the people they are playing against. Sabotage is the name of the game, and to win Villainous, players must be cunning and strategic.
To begin Disney Villainous: Perfectly Wretched, two to three players choose their characters and also receive a corresponding token, game board, villain deck, and fate deck associated with their chosen villain. Important note: Perfectly Wretched can be combined with previous releases within the Villainous franchise to expand the game for up to 6 players.
On a turn, a player moves their token from their current spot on the board to another open location (most boards have four locations in total). Each location then has four possible actions associated with it, and so when a player arrives there, they have the option to perform those actions if they are available. Common actions include playing cards, moving played cards, discarding cards, and revealing cards from opponents’ fate deck in the hopes of slowing down their progress.
RELATED: Tabletop Game Review – Disney Villainous
Cards from the villain deck give the player advantages or a boost towards their goals. For example, cards in this deck might be allies or items that can be played at locations, making that space more powerful. The fate deck, however, contains heroes and other nuisances to villains which can also be played at locations, but by opponents, and when played they lock two of the four actions at that space.
In the Perfectly Wretched release, the new playable characters present new gameplay styles in terms of goals. Cruella de Vil must collect 99 dalmatians by acquiring face down tokens that have values of either 11 or 22, which then eventually get assigned to particular locations. The person playing Mothel Gothel must gain Rapunzel’s trust by keeping the hero in the tower as often as possible and playing specific allies or effects when that condition is met. And Pete (from Steamboat Willy) has four secret goals—conditions that must be met in order to win. For example, one secret goal might be to have a strength of 10 at a particular location or to spend 6 power on a turn.
What works in Disney Villainous is the thematic adaptation and the balance between progression and competitive engagement. A great deal of thought went into building each villains’ gameplay style as is evidenced in their associated allies, heroes, items, and most importantly the steps they need to take in order to win the game before their opponents. Ultimately Villainous is a race—players must be thoughtful if they want to spend their time trying to achieve their own objectives or throw down obstacles to stop others from achieving theirs.
Players who prefer cooperative games, or aren’t well-versed in Disney properties, may not enjoy Disney Villainous as much as others. Players do indeed need to be a little ruthless (it is called Villainous after all) in order to succeed, so the group assembled should be comprised of people who will appreciate the fierce competition as the villains destroy each other’s well-laid plans.
Disney Villainous: Perfectly Wretched continues its stretch of developing new, clever asymmetrical experiences by releasing new villain expansions. The Mother Gothel character is particularly challenging given that Rapunzel is a permanent hero that moves at the end of each round, while Pete is a bit more straight-forward for newer players. All-in-all fans of this series will undoubtedly appreciate these new playable characters. Note: you DO NOT need the “original” Villainous game to play this as a standalone.
Recommended if you like: Vs. Series, Star Realms
Final Grade: A-
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