10 Awesome Board Games That Let You Play as the Villain

While it of course feels great to be the hero and save the day, there are many tabletop games that can be just as fun when you’re embracing a more villainous or morally grey role instead. Tired of thwarting evil plans and feel like hatching a few of your own? With the ten board games on this list, you can scheme, sabotage, and backstab your way to victory. 

1. Letters from Whitechapel

Jack the Ripper takes center stage in Letters from Whitechapel, a hidden movement game that centers around the police’s efforts to catch the infamous villain before he can claim his next victim. One of the players is Jack, and has a concealed map and notepad on which they’ll be writing down their movements across London. The other players will investigate sinister crime scenes and try to arrest Jack. If they prevent him from reaching his hideout before he gets to all his victims, they also win. The dark and gritty Victorian theme makes this board game a gripping experience.

2. Betrayal at the House on the Hill (3rd Edition)

In Betrayal at the House on the Hill, you and your fellow investigators and ghost hunters will explore the dark hallways, creaky attics, and spooky basements of a haunted house. At the start of the game, it would appear that you’re all on the same team. But as you continue to open new rooms and discover the terrifying secrets within, one of your number will turn against the others. If you’re selected as the betrayer, you’ll need to stop the others from leaving the house alive. 

3. Star Wars Villainous: Power of the Dark Side

In Star Wars Villainous, players take on the role of one of the most evil characters in the entire galaxy, such as Darth Vader, Kylo Ren, or Asajj Ventress. Each villain has its own secret missions and objectives that match the movies and keep the gameplay fresh. There’s still plenty of interaction with heroes like Luke and Obi-Wan, but this time they’ll aid in reducing the strength of your opponent’s board. Star Wars Villainous is also one of our overall favorite Star Wars board games.

4. The Others

The city of Haven and its inhabitants stands as the last safeguard against the forces of Hell in The Others board game. It’s a one-against-many setup in which someone at your table will be playing as one of the seven Deadly Sins, in physical manifest. Everyone else works for an organization known as FAITH, and must team up against the evil player to save the world from apocalyptic annihilation. 

5. The Resistance: Avalon

Avalon is a game of secret roles and social deduction in which a few of the players at the table will attempt to sabotage the heroes’ quests. Classic villains like Mordred and Morgana will be known to each other, while the others aiding evil, such as Oberon, act as wild cards. The players collectively vote on who will go on the quest each round. If just one evil is amongst the voted-in party, the villain can fail the quest. This can simultaneously make the other players that went on the quest appear suspicious.

6. Dead by Daylight: The Board Game

The tabletop adaption of Dead by Daylight is a surprisingly successful rendition of the original game. The person playing as the killer will need to sneak up on the survivors and eliminate them one by one. Everyone else at the table will need to stick together if they hope to survive. Repairing the generators spread across the board will open an escape route, and if any of the survivors make it out, they win. Each killer has its own set of unique skills that can make the game unpredictable for the survivors.

7. Not Alone

In the distant future, a space exploration team is shipwrecked on the mysterious planet Artemia and hunted by a dangerous apex predator. In Not Alone, one person will play as the creature, while everyone else will be a survivor whose goal is of course to live long enough to leave the planet. The survivors can attempt to confuse the Creature in its hunting process by putting down place cards. The art here is particularly noteworthy, and the strange, colorful landscapes do a great job of distinguishing the game from the likes of Alien.

8. Disney Villainous: The Worst Takes Them All

Disney has no shortage of iconic baddies, and Disney Villainous brings them all together to create a fun competition in which you’ll find out who’s the most wicked of them all. The thematic ally cards, items, and character boards ensure that playing as each villain is a unique experience. You’ll also have different objectives that match your character and their evil goals from their respective Disney movie. There are plenty of alternate versions of the game that work exactly the same, so you can easily pick the one that lets you play as your favorite characters. 

9. Beast

Beast takes players to a mysterious fantasy world known as the Northern Expanse. It’s a land in which wicked, monstrous beasts roam around forests and mountains, attempting to snack on humans. The hunters will need to track down the player who takes on the role of the Beast by venturing out into the wilds, following tracks, and deducing where the enemy creatures will turn up next. The world of Beast is great fun to explore, and contains all kinds of strange beings that are brought to life by the game’s gorgeous artwork.

10. Last Night on Earth: The Zombie Game

If you’ve always wanted to take control of your very own zombie horde, then Last Night on Earth will be just the ticket. Some of the players are heroes looking to escape the horde, and will have their own unique methods of survival. There are several scenarios to play through and each game has a randomized board layout that changes where the heroes will start. The classic, campy zombie movie vibes always make for a great time.