Our favorite wickedly good games are expanding in 2024. Ravensburger announced two new games will join its Villainous line in 2024. These new 2024 releases will include a Disney Villainous expandalone game and a Star Wars Villainous expandalone game. The franchise will also evolve its expandalone format this year across its various arms. These, of course, include the Disney Villainous, Star Wars Villainous, and Marvel Villainous games. Expandalone sets will now feature “two characters at a more affordable price point” helping to welcome new players into the fold. But long-time fans can rest easy because these expandalone games have a few surprises in store for everyone. Let’s take a look at the new Disney and Star Wars Villainous games coming our way in 2024.

New Star War Villainous: Revenge at Last ​Expandalone Game Coming in Summer 2024

We’re heading back into the dark side of Star Wars for continued exploration of the galactic villain-verse. Ravensburger has released that the new Star Wars Villainous expandalone game, Star Wars ​Villainous: Revenge at Last, will feature two fan-favorite villains. Yes, the iconic Darth Maul and Captain Phasma are heading to Star Wars Villainous this year. That gives us absolute chills, in a good way. This will be the first first two-player expandalone game in the Star Wars​ ​Villainous​​ universe, but we’re sure more new sets will follow.

Of course, Darth Maul and Captain Phasma are more than enough. Two of our all time favorite Star Wars villains.

A release shares, “In the Star Wars ​Villainous: Revenge at Last game​, players will race to fulfill the dark destinies never achieved by either Darth Maul or Captain Phasma, two iconic villains from the ​Star Wars​ galaxy, each villain offers a “Villain Deck” of cards with a unique and immersive gameplay style inspired by that character’s motivations and stories throughout ​Star Wars ​media. Players must channel their villain’s “Ambition,” strategic thinking and luck to be the first to achieve their sinister objective. The Star Wars ​Villainous​ game also includes game mechanics unique to the ​Star Wars ​galaxy, such as a currency for Force wielders and rules for iconic ships and transports. Additional gameplay details will be revealed in June alongside the game’s pre-order.”

Darth Maul and Captain Phasma Will Make Star Wars Villainous: Revenge at Last the Most Cutthroat Game Yet

We can’t wait to see what new secrets this Star Wars Villainous expandalone game holds. But know this one will be cutthroat.  Lysa Penrose, Head of New Games Marketing at Ravensburger shares, “The ​Star Wars​ galaxy is filled with rich, nuanced, dark, tragic, wonderful stories, especially when it comes to ​fan-favorite ​villains​ like​ ​​​​Darth Maul. When it comes to celebrating the ​​​d​ark ​s​ide of the Force, we knew we had to tell the story of Darth Maul through Villainous’ immersive gameplay. How does one capture that in a deck of cards? Fans should look forward to our team’s custom art of iconic moments and an Objective more ruthless than ever before.” Dun, dun, dun. Of course, we know Captain Phasma, played by Gwendoline Christie in the live-action Star Wars movies, does not pull any punches either.

When Will Star Wars Villainous: Revenge at Last Release?

But when will we be able to get our hands on this new Star Wars Villainous expandalone game? Star Wars ​Villainous: Revenge at Last will be available for pre-order on June 24, 2024, and the new game will go on sale ​​​​​​at Target beginning July 21, 2024. It will sell for the reduced Villainous expandalone price of $19.99 USD/$29.99 CAD.

Sounds like it will be a chilling time. We’d better cuddle our favorite Loth-cat as we wait for battle.

Disney Villainous: Sugar and Spite

Sugar and spite and everything sneaky, that’s what Disney villains are made of. The Disney Villainous: Sugar and Spite expandalone game will focus on two iconic foes, King Candy and Shere Khan. A release shares about the game:

Disney Villainous: Sugar and Spite, featuring King Candy from Disney’s “Wreck-It Ralph” and Shere Khan from Disney’s “The Jungle Book,” will become the franchise’s newest expandalone when it debuts in June. A special edition of the game, featuring a candy bar-themed packaging sleeve and exclusive finish on King Candy’s mover, will be available exclusively at Target.

Who doesn’t love a good candy bar theme? We bet even tigers love chocolate. Don’t they? In any case, we can expect this duo to bring delightful menace to this Villainous game. They form a bit of an odd couple, but that feels like part of the fun. A release further shares about the Disney Villainous: Sugar and Spite and its new two-player expandalone format:

The first game to be released in the new, two-player expandalone format, Disney Villainous: Sugar and Spiteintroduces new Villain Objectives and mechanics to excite both new and first-time players. The heart of Disney Villainous is simple: Move your Villain to a new location on their Realm board and take the actions available at that location. However, King Candy’s Realm introduces the Sugar Rush Speedway, a racetrack of actions along which the King Candy mover – inspired by the character’s racecar – travels. Players can move King Candy one to four action spaces on each turn, allowing unprecedented flexibility and power in action selection. Then, the player can use the action on which they land, the one before and the one after. 

To win the game, players who choose King Candy must successfully attach a Glitch to Vanellope von Schweetz and then beat her in a Sugar Rush Race on the Sugar Rush Speedway. Conversely, players who choose Shere Khan must work to clear their Realm of fire and defeat Mowgli to prove the wicked Bengal tiger is still King of the Jungle. Just as in Disney’s The Jungle Book film, Shere Khan’s ally Kaa the Snake stands out in gameplay.

Sounds like exciting adventures lay in wait. Disney Villainous: Sugar and Spite is now available for pre-order at Target. The new game will release in-stores on June 9.

This expandalone game will also cost the new, cheaper price of $19.99 USD/$29.99 CAD.

Other Villainous Game Releases

In addition to the new Villainous expandalone games arriving in 2024, Ravensburger is also planning a wide release for its Disney Villainous: Introduction to Evil game. This game is meant to help new players understand the world of the game and get started playing.

Ravensburger had this to say about the re-release of Introduction to Evil:

First released in 2023 as a limited Disney100 offering, the game will be available nationwide in August at mass retailers and hobby stores. Introduction to Evil has been refreshed with video resources and streamlined gameplay designed to be welcoming for beginners. It includes a lower price point ($29.99 USD/$39.99 CAD) and a refreshed box, and it reintroduces some of the franchise’s first Disney Villains – Maleficent, Captain Hook, Ursula, and Prince John. The changes incorporate fan feedback and the Ravensburger team’s learnings from developing the game for over five years.

So, if you’ve been waiting to play, 2024 is your time to jump right in. We can’t wait to see what other surprises these games have in store for us this year. Who doesn’t like to dabble in villainy, after all?

Originally published on January 4, 2024.

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Every year over 1,000 toy and game publishers gather in New York for the annual New York Toy and Game Fair. While closed to the consumer public, it’s an opportunity for retailers to get first looks at the year’s hottest toys. We’ve kept a close eye on this year’s announcements and are here to share what we’re excited about!

Horrified

Dracula, the Wolfman, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, and others scared the pants off of moviegoers in the 30s, 40s, and 50s, and now they’re back to terrorize your table. Horrified is a cooperative strategy game from Ravensburger that will arm you and your friends with pitchforks and torches and send you out against creatures from your nightmares.

Horrified features varying difficulty levels giving gamers new and experienced a fighting chance against the monsters. Each monster is realized in detailed plastic and will require different strategies to defeat them. It will release in early August, giving us all the opportunity to prepare for Halloween game nights against Frankenstein, The Mummy, and more!

Jaws

Duh-dun. Duh-dun. Duh-dun-duh-dun-duh-dun. Chomp. Those 2 notes make up one of the most iconic movie-monster themes in history. Jaws remains a movie classic and is another upcoming title from Ravensburger that we’re looking forward to. Unlike Horrified, Jaws will be a “one vs many” game. One player will play as that titular great white shark, terrorizing the shores of Amity Island. The rest of the table will play as Brady, Hooper, and Quint as they try to locate the shark and ultimately eliminate it.

Jaws will come packaged with a double-sided board used to represent two phases of play. The first side of the board shows Amity Island. The human players will attempt to save swimmers and track the shark while the shark player secretly navigates the board and tries to-well-eat those swimmers. Once located, the board is flipped over and the humans have to race against a rapidly sinking ship. Again the shark player will be secretly circling the boat, attacking the players and the boat itself. Can Brady, Hooper, and Quint take out the 3-ton terror of Amity Island? Or will they fall victim to that mouth of teeth? We’ll find out in June when the game releases.

Harry Potter Games (x2!)

Ok so technically I’m cheating and listing multiple games under 1 entry – 10 points from Geek & Sundry – but given how fun USAopoly’s previous Harry Potter games are, we can’t ignore either announcement. Scrabble is getting a magical twist this year with the Harry Potter edition of this classic game. In addition to normal words, you can use words from the Harry Potter universe. Lumos, Alohamora, Polyjuice, and Hogsmeade are legal if you can pull them off. Additionally, special cards will provide bonus points if you can meet their goals.

Harry Potter Hogwarts Battle is getting a dueling twist with Harry Potter Defense Against the Dark Arts. This two-player competitive card game is inspired by Hogwarts Battle, but rather than working together to save the school you’ll be squaring off in the dueling ring! You’ll have to balance acquiring defensive and offensive spells to block and stun your opponents. A third game was teased but details are sparse; we’ll let you know as soon as we have some!

Villainous: Wicked to the Core

We loved Villainous last year, so it’s no surprise to us that it won Game of the Year at this year’s Toy Fair! Wonder Forge took the opportunity to show the world Wicked to the Core, the upcoming expansion. It features 3 new classic Disney villains; Hades from Hercules, the Evil Queen from Snow White, and Dr. Facilier from The Princess and the Frog Because there are no central boards or pieces, you can actually play Wicked to the Core even if you don’t have the original. Wicked to the Core will be available March 3rd so you don’t need to wait long to get your hands on this one.

BONUS: Warhammer 40k Funko Pops

Just. Look. At. These. Pops. Our favorite heroes of the dark millennium are getting a little big-headed as the first — and hopefully not last —  collaboration between Funko and Games Workshop was revealed.

Featuring units from the Space Wolves, Ultramarines, Blood Angels, and Dark Angels chapters, these new Pops are ready to bring the grimdark war to your office or game room shelf. Now, how many WAAGHs does a guy need to launch to get an Ork one?

What other upcoming games are you excited about?

• Our 19 Most Anticipated Board Games for 2019, Part 1
• Our 19 Most Anticipated Board Games for 2019, Part 2
• 6 RPGs We’re Looking Forward To In 2019

Image Credits:  Ravensburger, Games Workshop, USAopoly, Teri Litorco

In addition to Geek & Sundry, Raf Cordero co-hosts the gaming podcast Ding & Dent. Chat with him on Twitter @captainraffi.

The post Villains, Monsters, Wizards & More: 5 Games From NY Toy Fair We’re Excited For appeared first on Nerdist.

Disney villains are almost as iconic as Disney heroes. Who can forget Ursula’s cavernous lair or Jafar’s turn as an evil sorcerer? These compelling characters provide a powerful foil and often have a rich story of their own. Published by Wonder Forge, Disney’s Villainous lets you step into the shoes – or tentacles – of these memorable malcontents. Will this be the time they finally win the day?

Each player takes on the role of a different villain. The box comes with 6 options and Wonder Forge held an online poll asking who they should develop next, so it seems safe to assume we’ll be seeing more soon. Once you’ve decided whether you’ll be King John or Maleficent it’s time to grab your two decks. Each villain has two asymmetrical decks. One is full of the allies, items, and actions that you need to pull off your wicked schemes. The other is full of the heroes from your movie and it’s how your opponents will mess with you.

This set up is easy. In fact, getting into a game of Villainous is made easy in many ways. There isn’t deck building or modifications to worry about, the core systems and actions are shared across all players, and each villain comes with a little strategy booklet to help you in play. This is very useful for new players and will be referenced any time you grab a new character. Each Villain has a unique victory condition which allows you to inhabit their world, and these booklets make it easy to understand what to do.

For example, Prince John is concerned only with the accumulation of wealth. A victory with old PJ is accomplished by taking as many actions as possible to gain money and by locking Robin Hood and his Merry Men in jail. Slowing him down is a tough proposition for the other villains. Putting Robin into play will allow you to rob Prince John’s stash of coins, but if defeated Prince John gets powerful bonuses.

On the other side of the table, Jafar is executing a more complicated scheme. He first needs to unlock the Cave of Wonder space on the board before taking control of the Genie and moving the Lamp over to the palace. This is done by leveraging items and actions in a tactical way that is wholly different than Prince John. The heroes behave differently. Towards the end of the game, Jafar’s opponents are frantically throwing Aladdin, Jasmine, and the rest of the crew out on to the board to attempt to take the lamp. Jafar is using Iago and his henchmen to take it back and move it to the palace. The physical relocation of the Lamp card mirrors the frantic dash for the lamp in the movie in a wonderful way.

Villainous is among the best of 2018 list for many reasons. The familiar theme and consistently simple mechanism make it eminently approachable for families. Young kids will flock to the table due to their familiarity with Disney animated classics, and older players will enjoy tackling the tactical puzzle that must be solved to win. Whether you’re Captain Hook or Maleficent, you’ll relive the magic of your favorite movies while reveling in the fun of tabletop gaming.

More Gaming Goodness!

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• Our Picks For The Potterverse Board Game You Should Play Based On Your House

Image Credits:  Teri Litorco

In addition to Geek & Sundry, Raf Cordero co-hosts the gaming podcast Ding & Dent. Chat with him on Twitter @captainraffi.

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