King of Tokyo

King of Tokyo has become one of my go to games lately, not because of how awesome it is, well kinda because of how awesome it is but mostly because of how accessible (awesome) it is. Confused? Thats okay because the rest of the review will be really straightforward, this is a very easy game great for kids to play on their own or with older folks as well. The theme is awesome, giant monsters fighting for ultimate supremacy in Tokyo City and the gameplay is smooth, first I will cover how to play and then my thoughts and who will get the most enjoyment out of King of Toyko.

Goal: Your goal is to mass 20 victory points or be the last monster standing. You are eliminated from the game if your life reaches 0 and the game ends immediately if one monster reaches 20 points.

Setup:
This is one of my favourite parts of the game and the main reason that it hits the table so often. Players simply select a monster, grab its cardboard cutout and black stand, then take the Monster Board, set their hitpoints to 10 on the heart dial and the star dial to 0.

Then shuffle the cards and turn 3 face up to form a "shop" of items available to the monsters.

How to Play:
Playing is simple, first you roll all 6 black dice. Following a press your luck mechanic you are allowed to re roll any number of your dice twice keeping and setting aside any dice you wish each time you roll. Here is an example turn:

After Rolling the 6 dice, Alienoid decides to keep 1 claw, 1 energy and 1 two.

After re rolling the dice two more times Alienoid ended up with 3 2s, 1 claw, 1 energy and a leftover wasted 3.

For being the first player to roll a claw, Alienoid takes control of Tokyo City, he is awarded 1 Victory Point for entering Tokyo City, each consecutive turn he spends inside the city will yield 2 Victory Points, however he may not be healed using hearts on dice.

The energy bolt yields 1 green energy cube, they are saved to purchase special cards, and the 3 twos awards 2 victory points

This brings Alienoid's victory point total to 3. 

Here are what your results could be:

3 of a Kind - Rolling 3 1s, 2s, 3s will yield the corresponding amount of victory points, each additional number (4th 5th or 6th of a kind) will award 1 victory point.

Heart - Each heart will heal your monster 1 point, you cannot go above the starting hit points (10) unless you have a special card that says so.

Energy Bolt - These award you 1 green energy cube, you stockpile these each round and can buy Special Cards when you have enough energy.

Claw - These are your attacks, each one you roll will result in 1 point of damage, who you do that damage to depends on where you are located . If you are inside of Tokyo (City or Bay) You will attack everyone not inside of Tokyo, if you are outside of Tokyo you will attack the Monster(s) inside of Tokyo.

That's it, you rinse and repeat until there is only 1 monster standing or someone obtains 20 stars.

Special Cards:
These can be game changers, but if you don't like the selection of cards for sale you can always spend 2 energy cubes to switch them for 3 new cards. As soon as a Special Card is purchased it is replaced with a new card.


Some Examples of Special Cards:

Gotta love the classics like Giant Brain and Extra Head.

Thoughts: I like King of Tokyo, there is enough of a game that you will have to make tough choices and form a strategy but I can set it up in under a minute, this is the key to its success you can grab the box and be playing in 5 minutes, regardless of how many players are new. King of Tokyo has quickly become popular among my regular gaming group, I doubt I will pick up an expansion but I might fool around and make a monster or two myself.

Components:
Although Tokyo could be cooler like a few 3D buildings or something I think the components are part of what makes the game so much fun. The monsters are all done in awesome cardboard cutouts, there was only one I didn't like. The dice are nice, my only real complaint is selection, why are monster choices limited to the number of players, kinda made me sad.

Who would like King of Tokyo?

Family Gamers: Most families are okay with giant fictional monsters like the ones you see in movies battling each other in a board game, obviously though not everyone has the same point of view. I like King of Tokyo as a family game because: kids can easily play by themselves after being taught, adults won't be bored while playing with kids, and it is extremely accessible (easily and quickly setup, taught, cleaned up, etc)

Casual Gamers: You and your friends take on the roles of giant monsters, some of them classics like Godzilla and the Kraken and then proceed to fight each other for supreme control of Tokyo City. Its gonna be fun no matter what the rules are, then add in room for up to 6 players, push your luck mechanics and awesome looking components and you have a masterpiece. And as mentioned above, it is very easy to teach, set up and play for pretty much anyone regardless of age.