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

Product Information

At the start of your turn, before moving your Villain Mover, you must gain one Ambition token from the general Supply (referred to as The Chamber.) 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.

With deep-set eyes and bone-white skin, bounty hunter Aurra Sing stirs up visions of skeletal horrors as she guns her unfortunate prey into oblivion. Aurra gleefully partners with the worst the galaxy has to offer, including Cad Bane and the aforementioned Bossk, with whom Sing coldly jettisoned a pod filled with Republic cadets into space simply because they knew too much. Her skills as a sniper make her one of the most notorious -- and feared -- hunters in the galaxy. In 1980, Darth Vader, in his attempt to turn Luke Skywalker, uttered the words that would leave many wishing they could have a taste of the Dark Side. Wondering if they too could become as powerful as Lord Vader himself, if only they had the means…well now they can in Star Wars Villainous: Power of The Dark Side. Though she is still writing for Android Authority, she went on to start writing for MakeUseOf, KOINO IT Solutions, and, of course, Review Geek. In Ravensburger’s latest addition to the popular franchise, players can take control of everyone’s favourite bad guys from the Star Wars universe and crush their foes with a great big grin on their faces as they go. A Long Time Ago…

On a turn, the active player moves their character to a different location on their player board, takes one or more of the actions visible on that space (often by playing cards from their hand), then refills their hand to four cards. Cards are allies, items, effects, and other things. You need to use your cards to fulfill your unique win condition. Regarding the new design for the figures, it is in no way a game changer (excuse the pun). The gameplay is not affected by the character designs, it is purely cosmetic, and I would not let that stop me from recommending this game to any Star Wars or Villainous fan. It should sit proudly on everyone’s shelf.

It doesn't change the game per se, but the idea gives you interesting new ways to interact with Villainous as a whole. Taken as a whole, this makes Star Wars Villainous one of the best additions to the franchise in years. For me, it's a stronger entry than Marvel Villainous and builds on the formula in clever ways. Should you buy Star Wars Villainous: Power of the Dark Side? The game is at its malevolent best when you’re playing regularly with opponents who are familiar with every character on the table and can therefore strategize accordingly by gauging how close each player is to winning the game. One advantage of playing with three or more players is that it’s harder to pull ahead when multiple minds are keeping tabs on each other. This often results in a leading player receiving a combined barrage of Fate cards to slow them down, while a single opponent simply cannot deal out the same frequency of damage.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. If you like the concept of this game but are put off by the learning curve, the obvious alternative is the original Disney Villanous game. It’s similar but simpler, and still a lot of fun. And maybe your family and friends will prefer the idea of playing Maleficent or Captain Hook over characters from Star Wars. There’s a Marvel Villainous too if that strikes your fancy. The franchise has grown to become a staple of the modern big-box retail gaming catalog, occupying prominent placement at Walmart and Target as well as appearing on the shelves at friendly local stores. The company says it has now sold nearly three million copies worldwide, and part of the secret to its success has always been its approachability. The first expansion for the popular Star Wars Villainousboard game has arrived, featuring Boba Fett and more in the new Scum & Villainy. Featuring three new playable characters and new mechanics to learn , Scum and Villainy allows players eager for a new challenge to enter the seedier side of the galaxy where friends and foes can change at the drop of Cad Bane's signature big hat. Starring Boba Fett, Cad Bane, and the Empire's Seventh Sister, the central theme of Scum & Villainy is all about hunting down targets before moving on to the next big score. Asajj Ventress must complete three Mission cards to win. As Asajj completes each step in a Mission, she adds an Ambition token to the Mission card. After all steps are finished, Asajj collects the Ambition and moves on to the next Mission to repeat the process.

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. 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. 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 will be the first in what is now the franchise’s third game system, the first two being Disney Villainous and Marvel Villainous. Characters aren’t compatible between the three systems, so no putting Thanos up against Hades or Darth Vader for instance. But that means Star Wars Villainous’ new mechanics are also unique and distinct.

Star Wars Villainous uses two currencies, Ambition and Credits, represented as tokens. These fit in the supplied token tub, along with Strength Tokens. (Image credit: Future) Sarah has an Associate of Arts from Collin College and a Bachelor of Arts in English with a Creative Writing concentration from Nicholls State University.