by imtylerdurden
I believe that my experiences will help solve the belief that going for points is "too strong."
I've recently met a new set of gamers and have won 7 out of 8 games of King of Tokyo since we met (that's not by pure luck). These players were more concerned with victory points than they were anything else, hence why they lost and hence why victory points aren't overpowered.
Every game, I was called an extremely "aggressive" player. That's because the key is to roll smacks (claws/hits) to put others in a hole that REQUIRES them to heal up.
My opponents would keep a set of 3's for points to begin the game. I, on the other hand, was focused on eliminating a few players while beefing up my character with cards bought from energy cubes.
You're inevitably going to enter Tokyo if you attack early and often. This is fine, but you have to make sure you leave Tokyo ASAP because with 4+ players in the game, you will not live in Tokyo to see your next turn since you'll take too much damage.
Keep attacking. A couple characters will die by midway through the game, which means two things:
#1- There are now less players hitting you while you're in Tokyo
#2- Fewer players are taking turns, making it quicker and easier for you to get the +2 VP bonus for staying in Tokyo a full round
At this point, I sit in the middle of Tokyo gaining +2 VP each and every round while beating everyone up. Since there's only a couple players still remaining in the game, it will be my turn in no time flat and I will gain +2 VP and be able to hit everyone.
I would continually roll an average of 3 claws and force my opponents to heal up. If your opponents are forced to use half their dice to heal the damage you just dealt, that doesn't leave many dice for them to attack you back. Meanwhile, I watch my VP's rise +2 each and every round.
Once I get to approximately 15 VP's or more with only 2-3 players left in the game, myself included, I focus 100% on VP's by rolling sets of 3's.
In summary, victory points are what wins me the game 90% of the time. HOWEVER, it is the attacking strategy that puts me in a position to win. Here's an easy summary of what works for me.
-Attack early and often
-Beef up your character using cards bought from energy cards
-Eliminate a few players
-Force your opponents to heal up
-Enter Tokyo and continually attack while gaining +2 VP
-Watch your VP's rise and rise while everyone else is stuck healing
If you're using the Power Up expansion, the strategy changes somewhat. Instead of attacking early on, roll as many hearts and energy as possible.
The cards you receive from the Power Up expansion from rolling 3 hearts are incredibly powerful. They also act as a catch up mechanic because if you're low on health and have to heal up with 3 hearts, you will also be receiving a powerful card. Beef up your character as much as possible early on then follow the steps listed above.
This strategy may not work every game, but if you notice players are only going for VP's, simply beat the snot out of them. The key is to only take Tokyo over toward the END of the game.
Again, I've won 7 out of 8 games using this exact strategy. It's not flawless, but it is tested and works.
