Villagers & Villains

About this board game

Villagers & Villains is a card game for 2–5 players that takes about 30 minutes, casting players as mayors competing to build the most successful frontier town.

Over several rounds, players recruit from a common pool of more than 100 unique cards. The available cards represent four classes: challenges, citizens, buildings, and heroes. Each card offers different gameplay uses and contributes to end-game scoring in its own way.

Every round follows six distinct phases, giving all mayors opportunities to shape their settlements. Players first recruit cards, then decide whether their towns can withstand incoming challenges. Unprotected towns may be looted, while defended settlements can continue toward prosperity.

1. Recruit cards from the shared pool.
2. Defend your town from challenges.
3. Resolve looting for towns left unprotected.
4. Earn money for your town.
5. Spend money on heroes, citizens, and buildings.
6. Reset the board and prepare for the next round.

Money earned during the round can fund town expansion, but every choice matters. You must judge which facets of your town are likely to score best as circumstances change, balancing development, protection, recruitment, and resources.

The game ends when a town reaches a fixed size, after which towns are scored across a variety of features. Villagers & Villains includes basic and advanced rules, along with special rules for two players. The advanced game adds the king’s favor, special card powers, and pairing options for final scoring.

The box contains playing cards, starting cards, player aids, gold coin tokens, a die, a king’s favor token, a start marker, and a score pad. Chance affects certain elements through die rolls, while recruitment and resource decisions remain central to building a thriving town.