by CarlG
So I introduced myself and my family to King of Tokyo today and it went quite well! The overall reaction was positive but my Dad really liked it! Our first game ended with my Mom knocking out my Dad and I while in Tokyo, and then the next turn claiming a VP win. The second game I won by VP(can't remember the specifics). And that brings us to our third game which this Session report will detail.This was a 3 player game between myself, my Mom, and my Dad. This game was the first one in which we had super interesting cards come into play. My Mom got Jets right off the bat(lets you yield Tokyo without taking any damage), and I followed that up shortly with Regeneration (when you heal, heal one extra damage). My Dad was feeling hosed at this point as the remaining cards were either too expensive or kinda lame.
A couple turns later I got lucky with energy rolls and was able to get the Extra Head card(you get one extra dice). At this point I was feeling pretty jacked as I had more dice than everyone else and a good ability to aid in my healing. On top of this, my Mom at this point was behind me in VPs. My Dad picked up Acid Attack but wasn't looking like too much of a threat. Actually neither of them looked like threats....But this is King of Tokyo where apparently anything can happen!
So I had entered Tokyo(as I planned) as I wanted to maintain my VP lead (I was only ahead by 1 or 2 points). I entered with 9 health and 14 VPs. I actually chose to reroll a heart to try to pile on some extra VP (I thought 9 was plenty!) so I could have had the full 10 bar going in but I thought that 9 was plenty! My Mom then went and chose to heal and get energy with no atacks on me. Perfect! I thought, how can I possibly lose! Note to Self: Thinking it apparently jinxes it just as much as saying it.... My Dad next went and didn't roll any claws but bought a card that gave me 3 damage. including his Acid Attack card I took 4 damage all together and yet couldn't yield Tokyo! I was down to 5 health but it was my turn! I grabbed my 2 VP for starting in Tokyo and then rolled three 3's pushing my score up to 19! I passed the dice to my Mom who proceeded to roll 3 claws. At this point my Dad had a look on his face that led me to believe a lightbulb just turned on in his mind! "Dear" he said to my Mom. "Why don't you sweep the current cards to see if maybe some cards come up that deal damage?"
Well you can see what's coming can't you? She indeed turned up a damage card and I was done. She then moved in to Tokyo and had the VP advantage on my Dad. She also had 8 health and that Jets card which she rode to a relatively easy win.
So there you have it! 9 health and a commanding VP lead ends in defeat! Apparently anything can happen in King of Tokyo!
I will conclude with a few thoughts.
1) I already have an affinity for Gigazaur.
2) This, like Flashpoint:Fire Rescue, is more of an experience than a game. In both games you are making meaningful choices, but those choices(even if they are the "right" ones) can still see you lose hard due to bad luck or a series of unfortunate events(see session report above). However, since it is so fast playing and such an entertaining experience this didn't really bother me much as each game develops its own narrative and it is interesting to see how each one will end up(whether you get eliminated early or not).
3) I describe this game as "Cool Yahtzee". Sample conversation:
Me: "Hey man you should try out this game i just bought!"
Buddy: "Yeah? What is it?"
Me: "It's cool yatzee"
Buddy: "There's a version of yahtzee called cool yahtzee?"
Me: "No, that's just what I call the game, it's actually called King of Tokyo"
Buddy: "Oh. What makes it cool?"
Me: "Well first of all every player takes the roll of a monster. And secondly, you roll the dice to heal your monster or attack the other monsters. Also, there are sweet cards that give you special powers. Lastly, you win by killing the other monsters!...or by getting to a certain point total"
Buddy: "That does sound sweet! We'll have to try it out sometime!"
4) In my opinion this is a game that will stay a favorite as long as it stays in the "filler" category. I could see this getting old if played many times in a short period of time.
Happy Gaming!