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. In much the same way, some Fate cards are brutal. If deployed correctly, these can really level the playing field and have opponents cursing your name. In one of my test-sessions, Vader was served with an effect that stops him using Ambition abilities (and thus winning the game) unless he discarded his whole hand of cards… which contained the very cards he needed to win. It was a delicious Catch 22. Similarly, another saw Kylo Ren hit with a well-timed Rey that reset a lot of the player's hard work. Basically, they add real spice to proceedings and give you some much-needed breathing room if you're falling behind. 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)

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. In Star Wars TM Villainous : Power of the Dark Side, you’ll play as Darth Vader TM, General Grievous TM, Asajj Ventress TM, Kylo Ren TM, or Moff Gideon TM. Whether you're wielding the Force, commanding an army, or using stealth to infiltrate your enemies' hideouts, use your sinister influence and unique abilities to manipulate events in your favour. Explore your sector to earn credits, recruit allies, deploy ships, and set obstacles in the way of your opponents as you fulfil your dark destiny. Achieve your unique, story-based objective before the other Villains to win!The result should be a set of oversized, sculptural game pieces that feel like part of the Star Wars universe. Darth Vader has the task of flipping Luke Skywalker from his Focused side to his Conflicted side. Then, Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, and Luke Skywalker (Conflicted) must be in the Emperor's Throne Room on Vader's Sector card. After paying six Ambition tokens to defeat Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader wins. Taken as a whole, this makes Star Wars Villainous one of the best additions to the franchise in years Though she is still writing for Android Authority, she went on to start writing for MakeUseOf, KOINO IT Solutions, and, of course, Review Geek.

Each player takes the role of a different Star Wars Villain. Each Villain has a different Objective they are trying to achieve. Each turn, players move their Villain Mover to a location on their Board and perform actions that are available there. As soon as a player has fulfilled their Villain's Objective, the game ends and that player wins. The Villain Movers are beautifully designed, but the flakes embedded within each figure aren’t evenly distributed and can make them look unintentionally damaged. (Image credit: Future)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. A lot of this comes down to how unique each villain feels. Like so many of the Disney Villainous expansions, the characters here provide an experience we've not seen from the game before. Clone Wars staple Asajj Ventress has to complete mission cards inspired by the show, for instance, and these usually involve hunting down specific heroes for a reward. Overall, I was incredibly pleased with this latest instalment to the Villainous franchise. I’m a huge fan of both Star Wars and Villainous, so when I heard Ravensburger were developing Star Wars Villainous: Power of the Dark Side, you can imagine my excitement. I’m pleased to say it did not disappoint. From a technical perspective,” said Webb, “these use a specific colored powder that’s infused into the base color, and then swirled around. Then they kind of bloom a little bit so we get this very cool kind of galactic feel.” Like other pawns in the Villainous franchise, all of the movers in this new game will be translucent and cast a colored light across the table during play. But when you hold them up to the light they will shimmer with a “kind of universe effect,” Webb said. The game itself is frankly, just another Villainous game. If you’ve played one, you know how it works. Characters are asymmetric and you’ll need to complete your own goals whilst trying to mess up your fellow players – Darth Vader must corrupt Luke, Asajj Ventress must complete missions, General Grievous must collect light sabers, etc. It would be compatible with Disney Villainous, if not for the new mechanic surrounding vehicles and the tokens you use. Both you, and your opponent, can play cards into Deep Space, with bonus’ or penalties depending on their status. It’s an interesting addition, not one I dislike, but I don’t love it either. I like that they’ve added something that makes it new, something that thematically makes sense (spaceships fighting), but equally, thematically it doesn’t make sense - not every ship should be able to destroy a Star Destroyer –and there were some occasions where it felt mechanical rather than strategic.