Search
Search results
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Disney Villainous in Tabletop Games
Jan 6, 2020
I am a sucker for a great theme. Or themes that turn the game around. Such is the case with Disney Villainous. Not often does a game allow you to play AS the bad guys against the good guys. That premise is interesting to me, and as I saw this release last year, I just knew I had to have it. Now that I have played it several times, with and without the first expansion, what do I have to say about it? Read on.
Disney Villainous (“Villainous” from here on) is a card game that pits players against each other in a race to complete individualized objectives to win the game. Players are in direct competition with each other and have devices to employ to spoil the plans of their competitors. Can Maleficent place out curses on all the lands in her realm before Hades can have three Titans storm on Mount Olympus? Can Prince John attain 20 power before either of them win the game? Such is Villainous.
DISCLAIMER: This game has a few standalone expansions now, with more on the way I’m sure. We are using components from the base game as well as the first expansion, “Wicked to the Core,” for this review. Should we decide to review the expansions as standalone games, we will link to the new material here. Furthermore, I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rule book, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy from the publisher directly or from your FLGS. -T
To setup, each player will choose a big bad to play. Each character comes equipped with a colored pawn, a realm board with four locations, a deck of cards with matching pawn colored backs, a Fate deck with white back, and a playbook with tips on how to play that character. Also give every player a reference card that details the actions available. Shuffle each deck separately, give the starting player zero power from the cauldron, the second player one power, the third player two power, etc. Each player draws a hand of four colored back cards. Begin the game with the pawns on the leftmost location on the realm board and you are now ready to play.
Play works thusly: move your pawn to any unlocked location, complete any or all actions available at the location, draw your hand back up to four, next player. You MUST move on your turn, unless a card allows you to stay at your current location on your next turn. Once moved, the location will either show two or four options for actions. These could include play a card, activate a card, discard a card, gain power tokens, move an item or ally, move a Hero card, vanquish a Hero, or play cards from an opponent’s Fate deck. Some actions are self-explanatory (gain power tokens, et al), but some require further explanation.
Some cards will have an activation symbol displayed on them. This means that a pawn has to have been moved to a location with an activate card symbol, and the player must pay to activate the card for its special abilities. Easy. Moving an item, ally, or Hero typically means physically moving the cards from one location to another adjacent location. This is important for some villains’ objectives: cards need to enter play in one location but travel to another as part of the win condition. When a villain moves to a location with the Fate symbol, they will choose an opponent, look at the top two cards of their Fate deck, and choose one card to play and one card to discard. These are especially devious and can greatly hinder the player’s progress. In addition, when a Fate card resides on a realm board it covers the top symbols of a location, thus nullifying the player’s ability to use these symbols on future turns. Using the vanquish symbol requires a Hero to have been played on your board, and having enough strength in allies and items to meet or overcome the Hero’s strength. Heroes and any allies/items used in the fight are then all discarded to the appropriate discard piles.
Play continues in this manner until one player has achieved their victory condition.
Components. I have good and bad news. Good news first. The components are absolutely fabulous! Those pawns. SOOOO good. Each is a somewhat abstracted figure of the villain, but with some concrete callbacks and recognizable features. They are just so dang fun to handle and play with. I think the cards are good quality, but I forgot what they feel like outside of the sleeves I put mine in. The board components are great, the cauldron is flimsy, unnecessary, and unwieldy when putting back in the box, especially if you have one or more expansions. I have not found a decent way to put everything back in one box, so I am resigned to having both boxes with me every time I want to play. That’s the bad. I also have put all my sleeved cards into plastic deck boxes in the main game box along with the cauldron. Everything else gets put in the expansion box. I hope a better storage solution is on the horizon along with future expansions…
So as you can see from our rating graphic on top that we are spread out on this one. I love it, but I don’t see it ever breaching my Top 10 list. It does have a tendency to overstay its welcome with all the Fate cards making it more and more difficult to win the game. Once a player seems to be near winning every other player gangs up, or seems to when I have played. I get that it may come off as a negative, and the play length as well, but it’s all part of villains out-villaining each other. While Josh rated it as a three and may not ever willingly ask to play it, I have it at a five because I think it’s a great game with a wonderful theme, amazing components, and tons of expandability. With that, we at Purple Phoenix Games give Disney Villainous a boding 16 / 24. If you are a big Disney fan, can live with the Take That, and want something that looks incredible on the table, pick it up.
Disney Villainous (“Villainous” from here on) is a card game that pits players against each other in a race to complete individualized objectives to win the game. Players are in direct competition with each other and have devices to employ to spoil the plans of their competitors. Can Maleficent place out curses on all the lands in her realm before Hades can have three Titans storm on Mount Olympus? Can Prince John attain 20 power before either of them win the game? Such is Villainous.
DISCLAIMER: This game has a few standalone expansions now, with more on the way I’m sure. We are using components from the base game as well as the first expansion, “Wicked to the Core,” for this review. Should we decide to review the expansions as standalone games, we will link to the new material here. Furthermore, I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rule book, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy from the publisher directly or from your FLGS. -T
To setup, each player will choose a big bad to play. Each character comes equipped with a colored pawn, a realm board with four locations, a deck of cards with matching pawn colored backs, a Fate deck with white back, and a playbook with tips on how to play that character. Also give every player a reference card that details the actions available. Shuffle each deck separately, give the starting player zero power from the cauldron, the second player one power, the third player two power, etc. Each player draws a hand of four colored back cards. Begin the game with the pawns on the leftmost location on the realm board and you are now ready to play.
Play works thusly: move your pawn to any unlocked location, complete any or all actions available at the location, draw your hand back up to four, next player. You MUST move on your turn, unless a card allows you to stay at your current location on your next turn. Once moved, the location will either show two or four options for actions. These could include play a card, activate a card, discard a card, gain power tokens, move an item or ally, move a Hero card, vanquish a Hero, or play cards from an opponent’s Fate deck. Some actions are self-explanatory (gain power tokens, et al), but some require further explanation.
Some cards will have an activation symbol displayed on them. This means that a pawn has to have been moved to a location with an activate card symbol, and the player must pay to activate the card for its special abilities. Easy. Moving an item, ally, or Hero typically means physically moving the cards from one location to another adjacent location. This is important for some villains’ objectives: cards need to enter play in one location but travel to another as part of the win condition. When a villain moves to a location with the Fate symbol, they will choose an opponent, look at the top two cards of their Fate deck, and choose one card to play and one card to discard. These are especially devious and can greatly hinder the player’s progress. In addition, when a Fate card resides on a realm board it covers the top symbols of a location, thus nullifying the player’s ability to use these symbols on future turns. Using the vanquish symbol requires a Hero to have been played on your board, and having enough strength in allies and items to meet or overcome the Hero’s strength. Heroes and any allies/items used in the fight are then all discarded to the appropriate discard piles.
Play continues in this manner until one player has achieved their victory condition.
Components. I have good and bad news. Good news first. The components are absolutely fabulous! Those pawns. SOOOO good. Each is a somewhat abstracted figure of the villain, but with some concrete callbacks and recognizable features. They are just so dang fun to handle and play with. I think the cards are good quality, but I forgot what they feel like outside of the sleeves I put mine in. The board components are great, the cauldron is flimsy, unnecessary, and unwieldy when putting back in the box, especially if you have one or more expansions. I have not found a decent way to put everything back in one box, so I am resigned to having both boxes with me every time I want to play. That’s the bad. I also have put all my sleeved cards into plastic deck boxes in the main game box along with the cauldron. Everything else gets put in the expansion box. I hope a better storage solution is on the horizon along with future expansions…
So as you can see from our rating graphic on top that we are spread out on this one. I love it, but I don’t see it ever breaching my Top 10 list. It does have a tendency to overstay its welcome with all the Fate cards making it more and more difficult to win the game. Once a player seems to be near winning every other player gangs up, or seems to when I have played. I get that it may come off as a negative, and the play length as well, but it’s all part of villains out-villaining each other. While Josh rated it as a three and may not ever willingly ask to play it, I have it at a five because I think it’s a great game with a wonderful theme, amazing components, and tons of expandability. With that, we at Purple Phoenix Games give Disney Villainous a boding 16 / 24. If you are a big Disney fan, can live with the Take That, and want something that looks incredible on the table, pick it up.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Soul Raiders in Tabletop Games
Jul 5, 2021
Check out that cover art! Amazing! If there is one thing that will certainly help my enjoyment of any game, it is definitely great art and components. Yes, I want the game to play well, but if it also looks great, that merely sends it soaring for me. While Soul Raiders has great art in spades, will I equally love the gameplay? Spoiler: yeah, it’s a pretty good game!
Soul Raiders is a storytelling role-playing game for up to four players. Each player takes the role of an aspiring Soul Raider tasked with saving the realms from the influence of evil. The game is played over several sessions that all affect the overarching plot of the narrative, but this preview version simply allows players to learn the game mechanics through a prologue scenario.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. These are preview copy components, and I do not know for sure which final components will be different from these shown. Also, it is not my intention to detail every rule in the game, as there are just too many. You are invited to download the rulebook, back the game through the Kickstarter campaign, or through any retailers stocking it after fulfillment. -T
To setup, follow the instructions in the rulebook. There are too many to list here. Once setup, the play area may look similar to the photo below.
As there are 36 pages in the preliminary rulebook, I am unable to detail everything in this preview. However, I can give an overall gameplay feeling.
Players control pawns (standees in this version, but plastic minis in the final) that will adventure on Location tiles that spawn baddies, traps, and other elements. Each round played has no turn structure; players can take their actions however they like in any order, and sometimes players will take actions simultaneously. Once all players have taken their actions, the baddies will attack (though some attack immediately upon spawning in a Location as well).
Combat is resolved through clever chaining card play. The cards drawn to the players’ hand are multi-use and can be combined with others in hand to pull off complex combos. All players will have access to melee combat cards, movement cards, and also magic spell cards. Utilizing the cards efficiently, as well as leveraging each players’ inherent strengths, can make or break combats and skill checks throughout the game.
In addition to the myriad combats players will face, they will also be able to encounter events, special characters, and traps. Many times these will result in skill checks or other card shedding activities in order to progress the story.
Throughout the game a tracker board constantly keeps players aware of the current vitae of the party (collective health), threat level, and active events. Players will also be using personalized player boards to keep track of their deck of cards, active engaged enemies, and status tokens. Each character has special talents different from each other, and the final game will have at least four characters, whereas this version has two.
If the players can navigate the game efficiently and quickly enough to satisfy the win conditions, then victory is to be shared. However, if you, like me, are still trying to figure out how to win, the game ships with an interesting session saving ability so you can pick up where you left off with any combination of players and characters.
Components. Again, this is a preview copy of the game, and not everything is final. That said, I can see the direction this game is going, and if it results in a successful Kickstarter campaign, I foresee me praising the publisher for their excellent components. Most of the art seems complete, and the character art is so amazing. In contrast, I feel the landscape art doesn’t necessarily match the intensity and details given in the character art. It just feels out of place in an otherwise excellently-illustrated game.
The gameplay, however, felt very fresh and familiar at the same time. I have played several games where the players’ card decks offer multi-use cards in much the same fashion, and here in Soul Raiders, the cards can be played for their numeric values or their special abilities. What I like about this is the ability to use the cards in hand to pull off sweeping combos of insane damage, or to really nail the lockpicking difficulty checks. There will be times the heroes will need to be engaged in combat with four or more enemies, and having certain spells that can wipe out most of them with one card is always very satisfying.
Movement has largely been neglected in my plays of Soul Raiders, as I haven’t found a great way to make it sing as a card type. Players will need to use movement to travel from one Location card to others, but there are also mechanics in place for the heroes to flee away from battles. I have yet to feel the need to flee from battle. I also have yet to truly understand the need for a big selling point for the game – character invisibility. Yes, I can see how being invisible would be a great benefit, but I rarely had the ability cards in hand to use it properly or effectively. I am told, though, that the game will ship with both a normal character mini and a transparent mini to indicate when they are invisible. So there’s that.
All in all I really do enjoy the storytelling gameplay of Soul Raiders. I think this intro prologue scenario has piqued my interest and triggered my desire to play more in the story. I hope that some adjustments will be made to make invisibility and fleeing more important aspects of the game, but for now I am ignoring them almost systematically. That said, if you are looking for a new game with a great theme and some pretty good mechanics, I invite you to check out the Kickstarter campaign launching very soon. I think this would be a great one to have in a collection, especially as I can see it being infinitely expandable with new books of scenarios and small expansion packs with new heroes, etc.
Soul Raiders is a storytelling role-playing game for up to four players. Each player takes the role of an aspiring Soul Raider tasked with saving the realms from the influence of evil. The game is played over several sessions that all affect the overarching plot of the narrative, but this preview version simply allows players to learn the game mechanics through a prologue scenario.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. These are preview copy components, and I do not know for sure which final components will be different from these shown. Also, it is not my intention to detail every rule in the game, as there are just too many. You are invited to download the rulebook, back the game through the Kickstarter campaign, or through any retailers stocking it after fulfillment. -T
To setup, follow the instructions in the rulebook. There are too many to list here. Once setup, the play area may look similar to the photo below.
As there are 36 pages in the preliminary rulebook, I am unable to detail everything in this preview. However, I can give an overall gameplay feeling.
Players control pawns (standees in this version, but plastic minis in the final) that will adventure on Location tiles that spawn baddies, traps, and other elements. Each round played has no turn structure; players can take their actions however they like in any order, and sometimes players will take actions simultaneously. Once all players have taken their actions, the baddies will attack (though some attack immediately upon spawning in a Location as well).
Combat is resolved through clever chaining card play. The cards drawn to the players’ hand are multi-use and can be combined with others in hand to pull off complex combos. All players will have access to melee combat cards, movement cards, and also magic spell cards. Utilizing the cards efficiently, as well as leveraging each players’ inherent strengths, can make or break combats and skill checks throughout the game.
In addition to the myriad combats players will face, they will also be able to encounter events, special characters, and traps. Many times these will result in skill checks or other card shedding activities in order to progress the story.
Throughout the game a tracker board constantly keeps players aware of the current vitae of the party (collective health), threat level, and active events. Players will also be using personalized player boards to keep track of their deck of cards, active engaged enemies, and status tokens. Each character has special talents different from each other, and the final game will have at least four characters, whereas this version has two.
If the players can navigate the game efficiently and quickly enough to satisfy the win conditions, then victory is to be shared. However, if you, like me, are still trying to figure out how to win, the game ships with an interesting session saving ability so you can pick up where you left off with any combination of players and characters.
Components. Again, this is a preview copy of the game, and not everything is final. That said, I can see the direction this game is going, and if it results in a successful Kickstarter campaign, I foresee me praising the publisher for their excellent components. Most of the art seems complete, and the character art is so amazing. In contrast, I feel the landscape art doesn’t necessarily match the intensity and details given in the character art. It just feels out of place in an otherwise excellently-illustrated game.
The gameplay, however, felt very fresh and familiar at the same time. I have played several games where the players’ card decks offer multi-use cards in much the same fashion, and here in Soul Raiders, the cards can be played for their numeric values or their special abilities. What I like about this is the ability to use the cards in hand to pull off sweeping combos of insane damage, or to really nail the lockpicking difficulty checks. There will be times the heroes will need to be engaged in combat with four or more enemies, and having certain spells that can wipe out most of them with one card is always very satisfying.
Movement has largely been neglected in my plays of Soul Raiders, as I haven’t found a great way to make it sing as a card type. Players will need to use movement to travel from one Location card to others, but there are also mechanics in place for the heroes to flee away from battles. I have yet to feel the need to flee from battle. I also have yet to truly understand the need for a big selling point for the game – character invisibility. Yes, I can see how being invisible would be a great benefit, but I rarely had the ability cards in hand to use it properly or effectively. I am told, though, that the game will ship with both a normal character mini and a transparent mini to indicate when they are invisible. So there’s that.
All in all I really do enjoy the storytelling gameplay of Soul Raiders. I think this intro prologue scenario has piqued my interest and triggered my desire to play more in the story. I hope that some adjustments will be made to make invisibility and fleeing more important aspects of the game, but for now I am ignoring them almost systematically. That said, if you are looking for a new game with a great theme and some pretty good mechanics, I invite you to check out the Kickstarter campaign launching very soon. I think this would be a great one to have in a collection, especially as I can see it being infinitely expandable with new books of scenarios and small expansion packs with new heroes, etc.
Jennifer Daniell (108 KP) rated Groupon in Apps
Apr 17, 2018
Groupon is great for getting experiences and food at a nice discount,. and the app is especially nice because you can use it on the go and not need to print your vouchers. I only wish that there were more offerings for smaller areas. I live in Pensacola and only a handful of local businesses participate, but its great for when I am traveling. I also love that you can occasionally catch concert tickets on there at a MAJOR discount. And the travel deals are phenomenal.
Kelly Bentley-Simon (8 KP) rated Funemployed in Tabletop Games
Feb 15, 2019
Funny (1 more)
Easy to play
Fantastic
I absolutely love this game! This was brought to our group by one of our volunteers and it was an instant hit.
I like it because it’s played I similar format to Cards Against Humanity but can be adapted to use with a group of friends with a very dark sense of humour but will also work with a group where the humour is very light. Basically you could play it with your friends or your nan and it would work.
I have recommend this game to all of my friends, it really is that good!
I like it because it’s played I similar format to Cards Against Humanity but can be adapted to use with a group of friends with a very dark sense of humour but will also work with a group where the humour is very light. Basically you could play it with your friends or your nan and it would work.
I have recommend this game to all of my friends, it really is that good!
Lewis Brooks (11 KP) rated Monopoly Deal in Tabletop Games
Mar 8, 2019
Massively under rated
This game is so under rated. It's easy to learn, takes around 4 or 5 games to get the hang of. Each game lasts around 15 mins to 30 mins. All of the cards are nicely made and it's suited to 2 to 5 players. I have played this at the pub with friends as it's easy to carry around. All it needs is a couple of fun expansion packs. There are unofficial fan made ones but I didn't want to try them. All in all a great addictive game to play.
Peter Russell (61 KP) rated 7 Wonders Duel in Tabletop Games
Mar 21, 2019
Great two player adaptation
My wife and I like this game for its smaller table footprint, speedy turn play and the play time is not extensive. This game is about creating your own ancient civilization. There are multiple paths to victory, and it is important that you think out your goal based on the cards laid before you and observing what your opponent is doing. You can achieve victory through military might, having a strong economy to get lots of money, or just building the best buildings and getting your wonders made.
Red Otter (340 KP) rated Mystic Vale in Tabletop Games
May 29, 2019 (Updated May 29, 2019)
A good game made better with expansions (which I'll review later). The base game is a solid deckbuilder with an awesome twist of a set number of cards in your deck, but you can improve them. There is a interesting press your luck mechanic that lets you know your deck inside and out to help. At two players the game feels a little short. The game ends as the engines really start going. It also does need an expansion to keep it fresh as the base game almost feels a bit limited. With expansions though the game really comes into its own.
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated Call to Adventure in Tabletop Games
May 30, 2019 (Updated Jun 1, 2019)
Fantastic game with 2-4 player, solo, vs, and co-op capabilities. For a semi-random card picking game, the character you build by the end of the game is almost always a remarkably logical character. Half the fun is deciding who you've built from popular fantasy stories. Both vs and co-op games have very interesting (and very different!) gameplay. Just as fun with 2 players as with 4. I wish there were more hero and anti-hero cards, because we tend to run out of them, but that's really my only negative thing to say about this game. LOVE IT.
The Marinated Meeple (1853 KP) rated Dominion in Tabletop Games
Mar 14, 2018
The first at something isn't usually the best at it.
There are much better versions out there now. This was the first of it's kind, he invented the genre, and it's a great genre. But I would bet if he attempted this again he'd change a lot of things. The theme is barely there, as far as deck builders go, I much prefer Lewis and Clark which has an amazing theme and multi use cards which is amazing as well. Clank is also a much better version. My wife likes this game much better than I do.
Jessica Erdas (463 KP) rated Making Bad Situations Worse in Tabletop Games
Jan 2, 2019
Hilarious
Before New Years, I had never heard of this game. While at a friend's house, they brought it out and absolute hilarity ensued. The content is original and definitely adult oriented. The judge draws a card, rolls the dice and selects the scenario on the card that goes with the coinciding number. You choose from the cards in your hand to make the situation worse and the person who drew the card picks the winner. The judge changes each turn. I would definitely play this game again with a group of friends.