by SilvaShado
Brief Synopsis:Play as a movie monster rampaging through Tokyo. Every turn, you roll the dice and make the best combinations of symbols to attack, heal, earn energy to buy cards that enhance you, and/or earn victory points. The first player to 20 points or the last monster standing wins the game.
Introductory Thoughts:
King of Tokyo is a very light, chaotic game with a little bit of strategy. It’s nothing like what I normally play, yet I love it. It’s the game I know I can play with anyone and enjoy doing so. Whether I win or lose (and I lose most of the time), it’s a fun experience. It’s the one game my non-gamer friends and family ask to play and for that alone I think it’s worth owning.
The 6 C’s
Chance: When rolling dice, a game automatically has a higher amount of luck than others without dice. The degree of luck is even higher when the main mechanic that determines the outcome of your turn is rolling dice. Therefore, the dice in King of Tokyo will be a big determining factor in what you accomplish and whether you win or lose.
Choice: The good news is that the luck of the dice is mitigated by a couple of things. First, you get to roll the dice three times on your turn so you can keep some dice and re-roll the rest. Second, you can buy cards that could potentially modify your dice rolls and/or the dice outcomes. Third, you can control, to some degree, whether you’re in or outside Tokyo. So not all hope is lost that the dice completely determine your fate. You do have some choice and there is strategy in those choices.
Character: This game is full of cheesy character! The monster standees do a good job of inspiring movie monster madness as do the cards which portray some really great monster moments. It’s really hard not to get into the spirit of things and make sound effects as you move your monster around, crashing and smashing.
Conflict: This game is all about beating your opponents into the ground. Yes, you can try to take the high road with focusing on Victory Points in the dice, but at some point you’ll be pulled into the fray. And I have to admit to a moment of extreme frustration (and dice throwing) when I did a massive attack only to be thwarted by a monster’s ability to block all damage. So I definitely have to temper myself from getting too into the spirit of the monsters as I don’t need to be driving any of my friends to the hospital due to dice damage, and these are monster-sized dice!
Clarity: With the dice based on the Yahtzee dice mechanic, which most people are familiar with, this game is very easy to learn and teach. The complexity comes in the form of the cards, but only the three turned face-up need to be addressed and explained. Most people I’ve shown this to pick it up in a few minutes and only need a couple of reminders during their first few turns.
Concealment: There is no hidden information in the base game so it can be played anywhere. I say that because there is hidden information in the Power Up expansion cards, which we always play with now. When you draw an Evolution card, it will either be a permanent or temporary card. Temporary cards should be kept secret as they are played at specific points. This, however, has not stopped my husband. We read his cards to him every time, even when at home, and I usually end up forgetting what he has. The above example of dice rage in the conflict section was one of those moments so it obviously didn’t hurt his strategy. The other thing here is that anyone who has major vision disabilities will need someone to manipulate their Monster Board which tracks Hit Points and Victory Points. It’s not a big deal, but that person will need to make sure they don’t mix up their board with the blind person’s.
Final Thoughts
Now if you do want a more strategic game, there are two things you can do. Play it with two players as the game dynamics completely change. The game becomes much more tactical and a lot less chaotic. Some people don’t like this, but my husband and I do since we like strategy games the best. The other thing you can do is buy the Power Up expansion as I mentioned above. It gives each monster their own Evolution deck. This introduces asymmetric play so each monster will play slightly different. Let’s just say that as soon as we bought the expansion, we haven’t played without it, even if we’re introducing it to new players.
My favorite games list used to be all Euro-style games, but it now includes King of Tokyo. It’s one of our most played games, partially because it’s so accessible to new players and it’s a short game, but also because it’s just so much fun to roll some dice and smash! Whether you win or lose, there are great moments to remember and that’s an important part of what gaming is all about.
For more tabletop game reviews, check out my blog @EuroGamerGirl on Games.