In the Disney Villainous board game, you play as one of six Disney villains. This article looks at each character and ranks them in terms of their difficulty to play and overall design.
Which villain characters are in the Disney Villainous board game?
There are 6 villains in the Villainous board game.
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- Captain Hook from Peter Pan
- Jafar from Aladdin
- Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty
- Prince John from Robin Hood
- Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland
- Ursula from The Little Mermaid
Each character is heavily themed.
Everything from their mini, artwork, realm board, objective, cards, and playstyle. A lot of thought has gone into designing a game that makes you behave like the character you’re playing if you want to win.
6. Prince John
Overview
Prince John is the lion villain from Disney’s Robin Hood movie who is obsessed with his jewels and finery. He loves his rings and jewels and is outraged when they get stolen!
Objective
Your objective as Prince John in Villainous is to start your turn with at least 20 power.
Themeing
Mini
Prince John’s mini is a golden-colored crown shape. It’s shorter than all the other minis and is not as obviously personified. I like that it’s small to emphasize that he’s a young Prince playing at being a ruler and that the crown is too big for him.
For me, the other distinctive feature about Prince John is that his fur-edged robe is far too big for him. I’d like to have seen this emphasized in the model. It would have been more in keeping with the other minis.
Colour
It makes perfect sense that the color of Prince John’s mini is gold. It matches his jewels and his lion fur.
The color on his cards and realm board is a warm brown which was probably needed to increase the contrast between the gold text and backgrounds. The brown is ok, but it’s not as lush as the deep purples, greens, and reds of the other characters.
Realm board
The locations on the board are Sherwood Forest, Friar Tuck’s Church, Nottingham and The Jail. They all make sense for the game. Sherwood Forest is on the opposite side of the board to The Jail which shows that they are not necessarily close to each other in the realm.
The Jail is unique in that Prince John can choose to move heroes to it. Any hero placed there doesn’t block any actions so has no negative effect on Prince John.
Fate deck
All the usual suspects are in Prince John’s fate deck. Little John, Maid Marion, Friar Tuck, and Robin Hood.
Draw deck
How would you expect Prince John to get rich and defeat the outlaws in his way?
By taxing everyone, throwing outlaws in jail, and using the Sheriff of Nottingham and your allies to defeat heroes for you of course! If there’s any card that sums up Prince John, it’s Beautiful, Lovely Taxes.
What he’s like to play
When you play as Prince John you will find yourself thinking about how you can tax your subjects to get as much power as you can, as quickly as you can.
Difficulty to play – Easy
If left to your own devices as Prince John, you’ll win in no time.
There are only two hero cards that prevent you from getting power or issuing taxes – King Richard and Robin Hood. So if you concentrate on getting power and only spend power to vanquish allies when you really need to, you’ll win much faster.
I’ve written a full strategy guide for how to win as, and how to defeat, Prince John if you want to find out more.
Rank – 6
For some reason, I find Prince John’s objective boring – collect 20 power. Plus, (and I know this is completely superficial) I want to use a cooler-looking mini with a board and cards in a more appealing color.
5. Jafar
Overview
Jafar is the evil sorcerer villain from Aladdin. In the Disney film, he is power-hungry. He wants the magic lamp so he can use Genie’s power to make all of Agrabah follow him.
Objective
Jafar’s objective in Villainous is to start his turn with the magic lamp at Sultan’s Palace and Genie under his control.
Themeing
Mini
As one of the tallest minis in the game, Jafar’s mini gives the impression he is looking down on everyone else.
The long elegant lines flowing up from the table to the top of his shoulders make his mini look sophisticated. You can imagine his figure floating stealthily around, sidling up to people and whispering in their ears.
Colour
Jafar’s game color is black. It really suits him and really makes the gold accents on the cards and board pop. It puts you in mind of the gold on the magic lamp and the other treasures in the Cave of Wonders.
Realm board
The locations on Jafar’s realm board are fitting for Jafar’s character – Sultan’s Palace, Streets of Agrabah, Oasis, Cave of Wonders. I especially like that the Cave of Wonders is locked until Jafar finds the Scarab Pendant to reveal its location.
Especially that he wins by getting the magic lamp and the Genie in the Sultan’s palace. It’s perfectly matched to the film.
Fate deck
As you’d expect to find in Jafar’s fate deck there are characters like Genie, Jasmine, and Aladin. The ability for Aladin and Abu is really in keeping with the film. Both of them can take an item from Jafar. Of course, they’ll take the magic lamp given half a chance!
Draw deck
Jafar’s draw deck mostly centers around using his evil sorcery to defeat Heroes and search for the magic lamp. He can turn into the giant snake, trap heroes in the giant hourglass, and use Iago to fetch and carry things for him.
What he’s like to play
You will find yourself obsessing over the magic lamp, defeating Heroes with spells rather than allies, and you will want to control Genie and use him for your evil schemes.
Difficulty to play – Medium
To win Jafar needs two specific cards.
- The Scarab Pendant to unlock the Cave of Wonders location
- The Magic Lamp to summon Genie
So to play effectively as Jafar you need to use your abilities to discard cards and scry your deck until you’ve found the cards you want. Only then do you need to think about defeating any heroes in your way.
How easy it is for you to win is very dependent on where these cards are in your deck.
Check out my strategy guide for Jafar to find out more.
Rank – 5
Although Jafar is one of my favorite villains and I love how he is themed, he can be a bit boring to play. You need to spend turns discarding and searching for cards while everyone else is playing allies and spells. It’s just not as fun.
4. Queen of Hearts
Overview
The Queen of Hearts is the croquet-playing villain from Disney’s Alice in Wonderland.
Objective
As the Queen of Hearts, you win by having a Wicket at each location and successfully taking a shot.
Themeing
Mini
The Queen of Hearts really stands out in its bright red color.
The bustle dress shape is wonderful and the detailing on the front is great. Her heart-shaped head with her little crown finishes off the model nicely. Despite being the second smallest model, she has just as much presence on the table as the other villains.
Colour
The Queen of Hearts’ model, board, and cards are red. What other color could they be?!
The red on the board is more of a deep red and isn’t as bright as the mini, but it makes the bright red in the artwork on the board really pop.
Realm board
On the Queen of Hearts’ realm board, you’ll find the Courtyard, Hedge Maze, Tulgey Wood and White Rabbit’s House.
I’d love to have seen the Mad Hatter’s House as a location. But it’s not featured much in Alice in Wonderland, and the Queen of Hearts doesn’t visit there so it makes sense that it’s not included.
Fate deck
The fate deck for the Queen of Hearts features characters like Alice, Cheshire Cat, White Rabbit, Mad Hatter, and Caterpillar. There are a couple of effects cards in the deck too.
Mome Path is a nice one that’s keeping with the film theme. It allows an opponent to move one of the Queen of Hearts’ allies to another location.
The Makes You Larger cards cause heroes to grow in size and prevent the Queen of Hearts from taking certain actions. This is a nice reference to the grow larger biscuits Alice finds in the film.
Draw deck
The themeing on the Queen of Hearts’ deck is great. She has some Makes You Smaller cards that can shrink heroes like Alice. The dynamic between these and the Makes You Larger cards in the fate deck is fun.
In general, there are a lot of cards guards which can be converted into wickets for playing croquet. And of course, no Queen of Hearts deck would be complete without a few Off With Your Head! cards.
What she’s like to play
As the Queen of Hearts, you will focus on playing a marvelous game of croquet and making the winning shot. Everything else is just an annoying distraction from your fun. Off with their heads!
Difficulty to play – Medium
The Queen of Hearts doesn’t need a couple of particular cards to win the game. Instead, she needs to play a card guard at each location, change them all into wickets and then play one of the three Make the Shot cards from her deck. If she makes the shot, she wins.
I’ve written a full strategy guide for how to win as, and how to defeat, the Queen of Hearts.
Rank – 4
The idea to make croquet the focus for the Queen of Hearts makes for an interesting villain to play. I like the dual role the card guards play as allies and as wickets and the shrinking and growing of the characters is fun.
3. Captain Hook
Overview
Captain Hook is the villain from Peter Pan. In the Disney film, he’s flamboyant and is obsessed with getting his own back on Peter Pan for feeding his hand to the crocodile Tick Tock.
Objective
Captain Hook’s objective in the Villainous is to defeat Peter Pan at the Jolly Roger.
Themeing
Mini
Captain Hook’s mini emphasizes his flamboyance. Check out that huge feathered hat and long flowing coat!
Colour
The lush reddish-purple color of his board and cards makes me think of crushed velvet and opulence which is the impression his character gives in the film.
Realm board
The locations on his board all make perfect sense for his character – Jolly Roger, Skull Rock, Mermaid Lagoon, Hangman’s Tree. The artwork for each location is very different which makes each one feel very distinct.
I especially like that his objective to defeat Peter Pan is at the Jolly Roger.
Fate deck
Captain Hook’s fate deck contains the best-themed card in Villainous. The copy on Tick Tock’s card is just genius!
The rest of his fate deck has all the characters you’d want to find including Tinkerbell, the Lost Boys, and of course, Peter Pan.
Draw deck
In Captain Hook’s draw deck you can expect to find Smee, a bunch of pirates, cannons, a cutlass or two, and abilities like cunning and obsession.
What he’s like to play
At the start of the game, you’ll spend your time thinking about two things – finding Peter Pan and discovering the Never Land Map.
When you’ve found these all you can think about is getting your pirate crew to defeat him at the Jolly Roger!
Difficulty to play – Medium
You need to find two important cards to achieve your objective and one of them is in your fate deck, not your draw deck. So there is quite a lot of luck involved in how likely you are to win.
While playing as Captain Hook, it can actually be beneficial to behave like his Disney character and boast about how awesome you are and how amazing your pirate crew is. That’s because you want people to play fate cards against you. One of them might be Peter Pan!
For more on how to play his character, I’ve written a full strategy guide to Captain Hook.
Rank – 3
I really like Captain Hook’s character in Villainous. I like how the deck emphasizes his want to get his own back and how as his character you are absorbed with finding Peter Pan and defeating him.
2. Ursula
Overview
Ursula is the sea witch from Disney’s The Little Mermaid who makes unfair deals with poor unfortunate souls for her own gains.
Objective
To win as Ursula, you need to start your turn with the Trident and the Crown at Ursula’s Lair.
Themeing
Mini
Ursula’s mini is one of the coolest in Villainous. It is a lovely purple like Ursula in The Little Mermaid.
But the thing that really makes the mini awesome, is the tentacles along the bottom. They really express the swirling way that Ursula moves in the film.
Colour
Given that Ursula herself is purple, it makes sense that her mini, cards, and board are too. It’s a really rich color which looks a little more blue and darker on the board than on the cards.
Realm board
The locations on the realm board are – Ursula’s Lair, Eric’s Ship, The Shore, and The Palace. I like that the order of the locations progress closer and closer inland as you move from left to right, beginning with Ursula’s Lair and ending with The Palace.
Unlike other villains, one location on Ursula’s board remains locked throughout her entire game. There is no way for her to unlock it. The locked location is always either Ursula’s Lair or The Palace.
Fate deck
Ursula’s fate deck contains characters like Ariel, Sebastian, Flounder, Eric, and King Triton. They each have abilities that make it more difficult for Ursula to win, especially Ariel.
Ariel blocks Ursula from moving items. That’s a pain when she needs to get the Trident and the Crown to her lair to win.
Draw deck
Ursula’s deck is pretty unique in villainous and perfectly tied to her character in The Little Mermaid.
She only has two allies – Flotsam and Jetsam – and they aren’t very strong for defeating heroes. Luckily, exactly half of her deck are effects which are spells like Whirlpool and Change Form. That’s to be expected for a sea witch.
There are also six Binding Contract cards. These are played on heroes to trap them into a contract with Ursula. If she can manipulate a hero into moving to the location on the contract, that hero is defeated!
What she’s like to play
As Ursula you have very few allies, instead, you rely on your spells to trick heroes into entering contracts with you so that you can take their souls.
Difficulty to play – Hard
Playing Ursula requires a different way of thinking from the other Villains. It’s not about playing lots of allies to defeat heroes. It’s about using Binding Contracts on heroes and then using spells to get them to do what you want.
While doing that, you need to search through your deck to find the Crown and the Trident cards you need to win. But as soon as you play the Trident it is stolen by King Triton and you need to defeat him to get it back. Then you need to move both these items to your Lair.
And you need to do all of this with one of your locations always unavailable.
For more info, check out my strategy guide for how to win as Ursula.
Rank – 2
Ursula is one of my favorite Disney villains. I love the diva vibe she has going on, and Poor Unfortunate Souls is one of the best Disney songs!
In Villainous, Ursula is not the easiest character to play as. But I like that you need to be smart about where you move her to how you win with spells and abilities instead of allies. She’s an engaging character to play as.
1. Maleficent
Overview
Maleficent is the witch from Sleeping Beauty who curses Princess Aurora after not being invited to her Christening.
Objective
In Villainous, your objective as Maleficent is to start your turn with a curse at each location.
Themeing
Mini
The bright green of the Maleficent mini is glorious. The model has the same tall elegance that Jafar’s mini has. Her horns are emphasized so there’s no mistake you’re dealing with a devilish character.
Colour
The dark green of her realm board and draw deck may be inspired by the green of her magic in Sleeping Beauty. She breathes green fire as the dragon and when she vanishes from King Stefan’s Castle it’s in a blaze of green.
When combined with the green in the artwork of the location on her board, it looks great.
Realm board
Maleficent is free to move anywhere in the realm from the beginning of the game. This makes sense, seeing as in the film she can appear in the castle even when she’s not welcome!
The locations on Maleficent’s realm board are the Forbidden Mountains, Briar Rose’s Cottage, The Forest, and King Stefan’s Castle.
I like that the Forbidden Mountains and King Stefan’s Castle are on opposite sides of the board with The Forest and Briar Rose’s Cottage in between. It does give the impression of the lay of the land in the realm – castles at either side with a forest in between.
Fate deck
As you might expect, guards, the good fairies, Aurora, Prince Phillip and the Sword of Truth are all cards in Maleficent’s fate deck.
The abilities on the fate cards focus mostly on moving characters to different locations and banning allies, curses, and Malecifant to be in particular places. It builds on the film concept of people only being allowed in certain places with permission.
For example, Maleficent not being invited to the Christening and her keeping people away from her castle in the aptly named Forbidden Mountains.
Draw deck
Maleficent’s draw deck is packed with goons, curses like the Forest of Thorns, and spells like Vanish and Dragon Form. It even has her Raven ally. I feel like Maleficent’s deck is the most tightly themed out of all the villains.
I especially like the ability on the Spinning Wheel card, given its role in Sleeping Beauty.
What she’s like to play
When you play as Maleficent you are obsessed with spreading your evil magic curses to every location in the kingdom. You’ll use your best friend Raven, your goons, and your magic to take down anyone who gets in your way.
Difficulty to play – Hard
At first glance, Maleficent looks simple enough to play. Just whack down a curse at each location and you’ve won.
But each curse comes with restrictions and must be discarded if: Maleficent moves to that location, a hero is played there or you play an ally there. So you need to think carefully about your strategy from your very first turn.
Other players also know that Maleficent’s win is easy to achieve if she’s left alone. So you will have fates to content with from very early in the game.
Don’t worry. I’ve written a strategy guide for Maleficent that can help you win.
Rank – 1
Maleficent isn’t one of my favorite villains from Disney. However, I think her character is the most fun to play.
You need to think ahead, there are lots of fates played on you to keep you on your toes and her combination of allies and spells gives you options. She’s a lot of fun.
Characters in the Villainous expansions
Is your favorite Disney Villain missing from Villainous? Maybe they are in one of the expansions!
Each expansion adds three more characters and the expansions can be played as standalone games. You can mix and match any villains together whenever you play!
Wicked to the Core Characters
I’ve written strategy guides for each of the Wicked to the Core villains. Click their name to see my guide!
- Dr Facilier (The Shadow Man) from The Princess and the Frog
- Hades from Hercules
- Evil Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
See what people are saying about Villainous: Wicked to the Core on Amazon.
Evil Comes Prepared Characters
I’ve created strategy guides for the Evil Comes Prepared characters. Click their name for my guide!
See more detail about Evil Comes Prepared at Amazon.
Perfectly Wretched Characters
I’ve written strategy guides for the Perfectly Wretched villains. Click their name for my strategy guide!
- Cruella de Vil from 101 Dalmations
- Mother Gothel from Tangled
- Pete from Steamboat Willie
Get more info about Perfectly Wretched at Amazon.
Despicable Plots Characters
- Gaston from Beauty and the Beast
- The Horned King from The Black Cauldron
- Lady Tremaine from Cinderella
See Despicable Plots at Amazon.
Bigger and Badder Characters
- Madame Mim from The Sword in the Stone
- Syndrome from The Incredibles
- Lotso from Toy Story 3
Check out Bigger and Badder at Amazon.
Conclusion – Villainous villains overview
I like that there is a 50/50 split of male to female characters in the Villainous base game.
I’m super happy that Ursula and Jafar are in there and I love that Scar, Doctor Facilier, Cruella de Vil and Yzma are available in expansions!
Villainous is such an awesome game! The only thing that lets it down is the flimsy plastic cauldron. But you can get an upgraded Villainous cauldron with power tokens on Etsy! It even fits in the Villainous box!
See my article for 7 more Villainous upgrades and accessories!
For more thoughts on Villainous, check out my board game review of Villainous. Or see what others are saying about Villainous on Amazon.
More Villainous articles
- 7 Wicked Disney Villainous Upgrades and Accessories
- Captain Hook strategy guide
- Cruella De Vil strategy guide
- Dr Facilier strategy guide
- Evil Queen strategy guide
- Hades strategy guide
- Jafar strategy guide
- Maleficent strategy guide
- Mother Gothel strategy guide
- Pete strategy guide
- Prince John strategy guide
- Ratigan strategy guide
- Scar strategy guide
- Queen of Hearts strategy guide
- Ursula strategy guide
- Yzma strategy guide
- Villainous review
Emily
Hi, I’m Emily, the tabletop gamer behind My Kind of Meeple. If this article helped you, I’d be honoured if you’d say, “Thanks!” with a £3 coffee on Ko-fi.
