Villainous: Introduction To Evil is a refined, streamlined version of the hugely popular Villainous board game. The Introduction To Evil was released by Ravensburger in July of 2023, with this latest edition of the Introduction To Evil including a special collectors card that can be used in Disney’s Lorcana Trading Card Game. Designed to make simple some of the more complex parts of the original Villainous board game, the Intro To Evil Edition aims to welcome new players to the world of Villainous.
Based on the same premise as the core title, Villainous: Introduction To Evil sees up to four players embark on a mission to conquer character-specific objectives while also working to prevent other players from achieving victory in their own specific goals. At its core, Villainous: Introduction To Evil follows the same basic actions and steps as its predecessor. Players each choose a character, inherit that realm, villain and fate cards and set out to fulfill their mission objectives. Hero Index booklets spell out how the objective must be completed, and a handy reference card helps keep things moving smoothly during gameplay.
Players, in turn, must perform three steps: move the villain, perform all actions and draw a card. Within these steps, players will collect power tokens that allow them to play villain cards, which include casting curses, summoning allies and placing items on said allies. All of this is done to defeat heroes and move closer to victory. Moving across their individual realms, players will move from location to location, each with a distinct set of actions. Through this cycle, each player is working to complete their objectives.
“At its core, Villainous: Introduction To Evil follows the same basic actions and steps as its predecessor.”
While none of your cards can directly impact other players and their realms, you can force them to draw from their fate cards, which can then be placed into their realm to slow down their progress. It’s an interesting way of indirectly combatting each other, essentially setting things in motion that other players will need to deal with in addition to their own goals.
While this latest iteration of the Villainous board game fundamentally functions the same as the original title, there are a few notable differences. The biggest is the streamlined ruleset and mechanics. Items like the Fate Token, for example, have been removed from this edition, partially as a way of simplifying the overall play experience and partially due to the reduced number of max players. While the original could manage up to six players, Villainous: Introduction to Evil settles in at four.
Other major changes include removing the condition to start objectives found in the original, such as Captain Hook needing to unlock the Hangman’s Tree location before moving on with his mission. In Introduction To Evil, these types of objectives have been removed which streamlines the path to victory. Another nice change is the inclusion of each player starting the game with two power tokens, which once again speeds up gameplay as most villain cards require at least two tokens to play.
Another notable change is that player’s mover statues start at the player portrait versus the leftmost location, giving players the freedom to start at whichever location best suits their needs. It helps remove some of the game’s initial setup time, as much of the first round or two was traditionally used to position yourself to start playing cards by collecting power tokens.
“While the original could manage up to six players, Villainous: Introduction to Evil settles in at four.”
Otherwise, Introduction To Evil plays very similarly to the base Villainous board game. In our testing, my crack team of board game specialists (also known as my wife and two kids, 15 and 10) found Introduction to Evil quite easy to pick and play. For the three of them, this was their first outing with any of the Villainous titles, and while it took a few minutes for them to get the hang of the play rotation and how villain cards, fate cards and objectives worked within 20 minutes or so, we were up and running.
The gameplay feels fairly quick and easy to manage. Keeping track of other players’ progress is likewise a fairly easy affair. This allows for some great moments of trolling each other as positioning yourself to activate their fate cards is a quick process. The overall experience was a lot of fun for the whole family.
There are only two notable critiques. The first is that, at times, Introduction To Evil can become a bit of a slog to finish. According to the official website, on average, you should budget about 20 minutes per player to complete a game. In a four-player game, that feels quite long, considering the streamlined, simplified rule set. It isn’t terrible; it’s just a little longer than my 10-year-old’s and her A.D.D. father can handle regularly.
The second is that while the villains and their objectives are all unique, there isn’t any variety. As Captain Hook, I am always tasked with defeating Peter Pan at the Jolly Roger Location. There is a lack of variety in objectives, and so once you have played all four characters, there is little guesswork or change up in strategy.
Thankfully, Villainous: Introduction To Evil is compatible with the other Villainous titles, offering a host of new villains to try out. While it’s greatly appreciated, it would be nice if Ravensburger released new objective packs for existing Villains to help give options and variety to gameplay. Such mechanics would keep other players guessing at what your actual objective is and thus create a much more dynamic and unpredictable gameplay experience.
These, of course, are minor critiques as the overall gameplay experience is fun, easy to comprehend and fairly engaging. As for the physical design and construction quality of Villainous: Introduction To Evil, everything from the player Realm boards to cards feels well-built and durable. The movers, for example, are constructed of what feels like a hard plastic, while the realm board material is a thick premium cardboard. The artwork takes inspiration from the worlds each villain is pulled from while also maintaining a consistent art direction for all of it. The result is a premium-looking and feeling board game.
Villainous: Introduction To Evil is a great, streamlined edition to the Villainous board game series. With simplified objectives, streamlined rules and a smaller max player count everything about this edition is built for new players. While the games can feel a little long, and each Villain only has one objective, the overall gameplay loop is great and easy to pick up and enjoy. If you are looking to dip your toes into the world of villainous, the Introduction To Evil edition is a great place to start.
- Embrace Your Inner Villain: Evil characters you love along with heroes like Robin Hood, Peter Pan, and the Little Mermaid. Play as is, or combine with other Villainous games – The Worst Takes It All, Wicked to the Core, or Perfectly Wretched.
- Engaging Strategic Gameplay: Master the art of deception and connect with your inner villain as you navigate your realm with cunning tactics to outsmart your opponents utilizing critical thinking, problem solving and memorization skills.
