Exclusive: Disney Villainous gets its first live action character in a new Pirates of the Caribbean expansion
Dead men may not tell tales, but I certainly will, because GamesRadar+ can exclusively reveal the next Disney Villainous characters – and one is the board game’s first live-action baddie.
Due to arrive this July, Disney Villainous: Treacherous Tides allows you to take control of Davey Jones from Pirates of the Caribbean. He is joined by Moana’s giant crab Tamatoa, who, appropriately, is looking for all things shiny. This version of the board game can be played by itself, or mixed and matched with other entries in the Disney Villainous series.
You can pre-order Treacherous Tides now for $19.99 at Target, with worldwide retailers to follow. (However, it’s worth noting that the Target edition comes with a special ‘underwater’ box sleeve and a shiny Tamatoa mover with a glitter finish.) It’ll hit shelves on July 21, 2025.
Villainous still gets my seal of approval as one of the best board games thanks to its nuanced, competitive gameplay, and adding new characters like this provides a fresh challenge because they bring their own unique playstyle with them. Davey Jones will use his cursed crew to collect Treasure Tokens before defeating whichever hero (presumably ranging from Jack Sparrow to Elisabeth Swann) carries the Treasure itself. Meanwhile, Tamatoa has to steal the Heart of Te Fiti from Moana and stop Maui from reclaiming his mystical fish hook. These must then be brought back to his lair.
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As is now to be expected from the series, both characters’ boards and cards will feature original illustrations (something I had a lot of time for in my Disney Villainous review). Naturally, this means they’ll have unique plastic movers as well.
Lysa Penrose, international product and marketing manager at Villainous publisher Ravensburger, tells us that “in Disney Villainous, our team gets to retell familiar stories from across Disney animation, immersing players in the Villain’s point of view, something you rarely get to see in the films. Treacherous Tides marks the first time we got to do this with a character from a live-action film. In addition to new gameplay, we got to reimagine the film in our iconic Villainous illustrated style.”
It’s an interesting choice, and is the first expansion in a while that’s caught me by surprise. Pixar or animation characters are to be expected, but live action? Well, that opens up the floodgates. What could we get next? As a Disney Parks nerd, I’m hoping The Hat Box Ghost from Haunted Mansion, personally.
For recommendations on what to play next, why not check in with the best 2-player board games or the best cooperative board games?
