Well, well, well. What have we here? The first-ever single-character expansion for Disney Villainous? Sign me up! Thus far, the popular game from Ravensburger has featured villains from Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios films. Maleficent, Ursula, Queen of Hearts, Captain Hook, Jafar, Prince John, Dr. Facilier, Evil Queen, Hades, Ratigan, Scar, Yzma, Cruella De Vil, Mother Gothel, Pete, Gaston, Horned King, Lady Tremaine, Lotso, Madam Mim, and Syndrome have all been released through previous mix-and-match games, which have thus far come with everything you need to play a game with up to 3 friends. And while the components of each set have always been interchangeable, Disney Villainous: Filled With Fright is not only the first single-character release (meaning you must have another Disney Villainous release in order to play), but it also welcomes the first stop-motion character to the game – Oogie Boogie from Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas.
The packaging follows the same style guide as the previous releases, although the box is understandably smaller than its multi-character counterparts.
Oogie Boogie theming gets to take over the entire package, which is unique for this release. It’s almost like unraveling Oogie Boogie himself, a box full of bugs securely holding all of the items you’ll need to add him to any game of Disney Villainous.
Inside, you’ll find an Oogie Boogie villain mover, sculpted dice like the ones in the film, a realm board, 30 villain cards, 15 fate cards, 10 tokens, a villain guide (instructions for playing as Oogie Boogie), and a reference card that makes it quick and easy to understand all of the symbols.
As always, the custom artwork created for the game is dazzling. Ravensburger will no doubt find additional uses for it on puzzles, but I recommend players take a close look at the realm and cards. The artists always match the visual style of the animated film the villain originated from, but in this case, they’re emulating the stylized sculpted figures and models that brought Halloween Town to life.
In terms of gameplay, Oogie Boogie’s objective is to defeat Jack Skellington. Among his villain cards are allies, including his henchmen trio – Lock, Shock, and Barrel. There are also effects and items that give him an advantage. Certain cards require a roll of the dice, but Oogie may sometimes have a literal cheat card in his hand allowing the roll to be rigged.
Where the dice roll comes most in handy is through Imposter Sandy Claws cards. The real Sandy Claws starts the game in Oogie Boogie’s Lair, essentially as bait for Jack Skellington. But in order to make him reveal himself, Oogie must collect 4 (out of 6) Imposter Sandy Claws cards and place them next to the real Sandy Claws. When played, Oogie must roll the dice and get higher than an 8 in order to successfully collect the card. Otherwise, it goes in the discard pile (Note: Among Oogie’s surprise cheat cards is the potential ability to go searching through the discard pile).
A good tactic with Oogie Boogie is to try to stack as many allies in Oogie Boogie’s Lair because once Jack Skellington is brought in, you then need to defeat him. He has a strength of 8 (noted in the corner of the card), so you will need multiple allies to defeat him. But at the same time, you can’t control the hand of fate, as dictated by other players (via your fate deck), which can make it difficult to get enough power in that one spot.
If you find yourself playing against Oogie Boogie, you can make things difficult for him by playing fate actions. There’s a card in the deck called “Hello, Oogie” that gets placed under his mover, which reduces all of his dice rolls by 2 (meaning if he needs to roll an 8 to gain an Imposter Sandy Claws, he now needs to roll a 10!). If you end up drawing Jack Skellington early, it also knocks out one of Oogie’s already-collected imposters, further setting him back.
“Looks like it’s Oogie’s turn to boogie now!” The Oogie Boogie mover blends well into the full collection to date. His translucent pawn is almost clear but with a subtle yellow shade that almost makes him look like he could glow in the dark.
With this release, there are now 22 dastardly characters to choose from in the Disney Villainous game, with the arrival of Oogie Boogie from Disney Villainous: Filled With Fright. This single expansion arrives on shelves just in time for Halloween. And if you came to this review as a fan of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, who doesn’t yet play Disney Villainous, you can select any of the previous releases, which come with everything you need to play with Oogie Boogie. There’s even a re-release coming exclusively to Target called Disney Villainous: Introduction to Evil (Disney100 Edition), which repackages Ursula, Maleficent, Captain Hook, and Prince John from the first game. But no matter which character you choose, you’re sure to have a wickedly fun time.
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