by MyParadox
I first played King of Tokyo in July of last year. Since that time, I’ve racked up over a dozen plays. Designed by Richard Garfield, King of Tokyo pits each of the players against each other in a battle for total dominance of Tokyo. Players take on the roles of various mega-beasts as they smash, claw, and destroy their way to Kingship. What it does, it does very well. But will you like what it does?The Basics. In order to win, a player must either accrue 20 victory points or eliminate all other players. Each turn, a player begins by rolling six dice. Each die has six unique faces. Those faces are a one, two, or three, as well as a lightning, heart, or claw. The player rolls all six dice. Then, that player can keep as many or as few dice as they like and re-roll the rest. They get up to two re-rolls and then must keep the final result.
Die numbers translate immediately into points, but must be rolled in triplicate. Three ones is one point while three threes is three points. On or two of a number is worthless. Lightning bolts translate into energy cubes which can then be used to purchase upgrades. Hearts heal your monster if it is damaged. And claws attack.
The interesting thing about the attack is that you don’t usually attack everyone. Instead, you attack the current occupant of Tokyo. If you are the current occupant of Tokyo, then you attack everyone outside of Tokyo. If the person in Tokyo is damaged, they can “yield” it to you – which gets you a point. If you can hold Tokyo until your next turn, you get even more points.
At the end of your turn, you can spend your energy on upgrades, or save it for later rounds. Then the dice are passed to the next player. Every monster begins the game with ten health.
The Feel. King of Tokyo is an extremely enjoyable rough-and-tumble gaming experience. The game provides players with two separate and distinct paths to victory – accumulate points or crush your enemies into the mud.
King of Tokyo, at its core, is a highly luck centered game. But it would be wrong to say that it is all about luck or merely a “dice fest.” The game is replete with ways to mitigate any bad luck and refine your strategy. First, it has yahtzee style rules for allowing you to keep or re-roll your dice. If you are looking for claws, the game effectively gives you three rolls of the dice to get as many as you can. If you’re looking for points, you can try for the numbers – or forgo them in hopes of upgrades.
The upgrades are really what make this game exciting. All monsters start out on an even footing. Although they have interesting names and unique standees, they are mechanically identical to one another. However, as the game progresses, monsters start to buy upgrades. They get poison quills or extra heads. They become camouflaged or develop psychic powers. Three upgrades are available at any one time and players can also potentially wipe the board and get three new ones. Thus, you can concentrate on those upgrades and one-shot powers that align most with your plan. Or you can buy the ones that would help your opponents, just to deprive them.
From the mid-game forward, the experience begins to feel more and more like a race. As some of the players acquire points in the low teens, the win begins to look in reach. But, during that time, the more aggressive monsters tend to get everyone else’s life points dangerously low. So, point players tend to feel the pinch between gaining those last few points, and staying alive long enough to do so. Similarly, combative players have to do what they can to stall the point gains while hoping to deal out one or two turns of big damage.
Games of King of Tokyo typically come down to the wire. And, in a dice game, that means that each throw of the cubes is tense and exciting. Players sit on their seat as the cubes roll to a stop. Fingers are crossed and the results are followed by victory cheers or moans of despair.
Well, almost all of the players are on the edge of their seats. That brings us to the one glaring negative for this game: Player Elimination. In some ways, this absolutely makes sense for this type of game. A mere reduction in points or other penalty simply wouldn’t have the same impact. Plus, without some form of elimination, killing players might not be a viable strategy.
Still, even if mechanically sound, it is just no fun to sit around while everyone else continues to play a game. You are relegated to the role of an observer. And, because it’s a free-for-all game, once you are out the end result becomes a lot less interesting. If I already lost, it just doesn’t matter that much to me which player won. The fun of the game, after all, is in the playing, not the winning.
And, compounding this problem is the fact that a player can be eliminated relatively early. Most games see elimination in the final rounds. Those players are out for no more than ten minutes (though even ten minutes is too long to me). But, occasionally, someone gets knocked out early after some very unfortunate rolls. Now they are sidelined for thirty minutes or more. That completely kills the experience. It isn’t common, but you should be aware that it definitely happens.
Components: 4.5 of 5. For what is essentially a dice game, King of Tokyo has marvelous components. The six dice are large and the engravings are solid. The upgrade cards are on good stock. The standees have great artwork and each player gets their own mini-board to keep track of points and health. With the possible exception of the main board, every piece is fantastic.
Strategy/Luck Balance: 3.5 of 5. Despite the high luck elements, it would be wrong to call this game “mostly luck.” In fact, I’d say it’s largely strategy. In this way, it’s a little like Magic: the Gathering. The vast majority of the game is in knowing what to play when, and how best to strike at your opponent. But if you happen to get a bad roll (or a bad draw) things are going to suck for a turn or two.
Mechanics: 3 of 5. Everything about this game is flawless – except for the player elimination. It is forgivable, if barely, in a game like this since it places the necessary pressure on the players. But it still subtracts from the fun rather than adds to it.
Replayability: 3 of 5. For me, this isn’t always easy to get to the table. The threat of player elimination looms large. I don’t like being left out, and if someone else is eliminated, it makes me want to end the game quickly so that they can jump back into the fun. However, I know several folks who play this over and over. So if you can get passed the elimination (which isn’t that big a deal in this game), then it will likely see plenty of table time.
Spite: 3 of 5. Spite is certainly present in King of Tokyo. For the most part, attacks are not targeted. If you are in Tokyo, you attack all outsiders. If you are outside, you attack all those in Tokyo. That greatly reduces the feeling of being picked on. But some of the upgrades do allow for targeted strikes. And if you have four health and the player specifically re-rolls in the hope of getting four claws, that can definitely feel targeted as well.
Overall: 3.5 of 5. It’s hard for me to get over the player elimination. The mere threat of it is just an impediment to fun. However, King of Tokyo knows exactly what it is. It’s a battle-brawl. A fight to the finish. A way to engage opponents and have tense die rolls that influence your success without problematic head-to-head fighting. If that’s the kind of thing you’re looking for – and if you don’t mind player elimination – then King of Tokyo is absolutely one to get.
(Originally posted, with pictures, on the Giant Fire Breathing Robot. Check out and subscribe to my Geeklist of reviews, updated Fridays).