We normally
don’t play many fillers in our gaming group.
For the most part, we know each other well enough that we spend time
catching up before we start playing. I
have been trying to curtail that, since we have plenty of time while gaming to
catch up, and we are trying to limit the session to four hours. A couple of weeks ago we had a couple of
people running late, so a filler was in order.
King of Tokyo was what made it to the table, since it met the player
count and wasn’t too long. Did we like
it? Well, we finished with it too…
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| Promotional Image |
King of
Tokyo is meant to be a light game where each player takes on the role of a giant
monster attacking Tokyo. There is
light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek humor which is evident from the moment players
start selecting their monsters from the pool consisting of Meka-Dragon, Cyber
Bunny and Alienoid. During the course of
the game, each monster will gain special powers, helping them defeat the other
monsters (by doing damage) or lay waste to Tokyo (by gaining victory points). Players win by either gaining 20 victory
points or by eliminating all other monsters.
Here’s the
thumbnail version of the rules. On their
turn, each player picks up a handful of dice and rolls them Yahtzee-style. Each die has six sides with the same faces:
the numbers 1, 2 and 3 as well as a claw, a heart and a lightning bolt. The dice are rolled up to three times, with
the player selecting which dice to keep and which to re-roll each time. Rolling three numbers of a kind awards that
many victory points. In other words,
rolling three 1’s gives 1 victory point; rolling three 2’s gives 2 victory
points. Rolling a claw is an attack,
rolling a heart heals, and rolling a lightning bolt awards the player with an
energy cube. Energy cubes are the currency
of the game, and are used to buy cards that give the special abilities
mentioned before. Players outside of
Tokyo damage the one player inside the city (two in a five or six player game),
and vice versa. I won’t go into details
on how one gets to Tokyo. Suffice it to
say that being in the city is a higher risk / higher reward position, and there
are ways to force people into Tokyo.
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| I won with Alienoid in the first game, but he let me down in the second! (Image by Raiko Puust) |
This is a GREAT
game! In the first game, I won by being
the last monster standing. I had the
chance to move into Tokyo on a turn late in the game. On my next turn, I played an “Air Strike”
card which dealt everyone – including me – three points of damage. I then rolled four claws, doing damage to
everyone outside the city and eliminating them all! Since it was a six player game, it was just
between myself and the other player inside Tokyo. A couple of turns later there was a showdown
and I barely won.
The second
game lasted a little longer, and resulted in a victory point win for one of the
other members of the group. On one hand,
this was a little less climactic, since only two people were eliminated
(including me). On the other hand, a
longer game allowed more special powers to be put in play, and there’s some
drama and humor to be gained that way, so it was just as fun! Cards with titles such as, “We’re Only Making
It STRONGER!”, this game begs to be played in your best B-grade creature
feature voice. In fact, part of the fun
(at least for me) is going over the top with this.
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| The cards add special powers to the monsters, not to mention some corny humor! (Image by Raiko Puust) |
At a half
hour play time, this game has that in-between playing time that is a little long
for a filler, and a little short for a full experience. It’s kind of like getting loaded baked
potatoes for an appetizer; should I stop here or order more food? I am also not sure how well this will do with
kids. The theme is perfect for them, and
they will easily be taught the rules.
However, being forced into Tokyo and then having everyone whomp on you
just might be a little traumatic for some younger children. I’ll still call it a good kids’ game, because
I believe a typical 8 – 10 year old will be past that point.
The only
other issue with this game might be finding a copy! You will either have to go online or find a
local gaming store to purchase it. Do yourself
a favor and find a way to get it! When I recommended this on my 2012 Gift Buying Guide, I hadn't played it. I based the recommendation on the games reputation, and it has more than lived up to it! This
is a great game that will be fun for many gatherings. It will play well in both casual groups and
in family groups across generations. I
plan to make it available at all of our game group sessions for quite a while,
since it was a big hit with nearly everyone.
King of Tokyo
Ages:
8 and up
Time: 30 minutes
Players: 2-6 (but I think it really needs at least three)
It’s Your Move
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