My obsession with Godzilla and kaiju in general is well on record, witness here, here and here for reference. Back in 2011, when King of Tokyo was first released, there really weren't very many "gargantuans-beat-ass" themed games, so I jumped on it right away.
To my slight confusion, what I got was essentially "giant monster Yahtzee." What's worse: the serial-numbers-filed-off / cartoon-y / infantile character design, lack of distinguishing monster traits and shallow game play soon inspired me to sell it for the crunchier (but also problematic) King of New York, which I also hope to review soon.
Well, it only took fifteen effin' years for publisher Iello to finally bit the bullet and secured that sweet, sweet Toho licence, which finally evolved the game into it's proper final form: King of Tokyo Godzilla.
Here's the game's Raymond Burr-style eye-witness account, right from the brave reporters at Iello:
"The true King of Monsters is finally here!
"Toho’s legendary Kaijus clash in an epic battle to decide who will be the definitive King of Tokyo. Play as Godzilla, King Ghidorah, Hedorah, Rodan, Mothra, and Mechagodzilla.
"For those familiar with the original game, discover a new mechanic: 'Event cards' that affect all monsters. And for fans, yes, evolution cards are included!
"King of Tokyo: Godzilla is a family game with dice, cards, and smashes, inspired by the yams system.
"In King of Tokyo Godzilla, you play the legendary Toho's monsters of whom are destroying Tokyo and whacking each other in order to become the one and only King of Tokyo.
"At the start of each turn, you roll six dice, which show the following six symbols: 1, 2, or 3 Victory Points, Energy, Heal, and Attack. Over three successive throws, choose whether to keep or discard each die in order to win victory points, gain energy, restore health, or attack other players into understanding that Tokyo is YOUR territory.
"The fiercest player will occupy Tokyo, and earn extra victory points, but that player can't heal and must face all the other monsters alone!
"Top this off with special cards purchased with energy that have a permanent or temporary effect, such as the growing of a second head which grants you an additional die, body armor, nova death ray, and more.... and it's one of the most explosive games of the year!
"In order to win the game, one must either destroy Tokyo by accumulating 20 victory points, or be the only surviving monster once the fighting has ended."
Looking to do all the research required to build a fully functional Super X flying tank armed with Maser Cannons and Oxygen Destroyer bombs? Then click on the link to digest the full technical specs!
***
GAME PLAYTHROUGH
ROUND ONE
Godzilla's Turn
(1) Roll Dice
The King of the Monsters leads with his starting Permanent Evolution: "Heat Ray" which will deliver one extra damage on Claw attacks. (NOTE: I use "Claw" and "Smash" interchangeably here.)
First Roll: a "3" , 2 x "2's", two Hearts and a Claw. Keeps the "2's"
Second Roll: produces 2 x "2", a "3" and a Claw. Keeps the "2's."
Third Roll: gets another "2" and a "1."
(2) Resolve Dice
With 5 x "2", he scores four points!
(3) Enter Tokyo
(NOTE: In older versions of the game, a Monster had to roll a Claw to enter unoccupied Tokyo City at the very start of the game. Now, if no one is in Tokyo, you must enter Tokyo City and the Bay in that order of priority. In other words, the first player's standee will be placed on Tokyo City during Step Three.)
He moves into Tokyo City...scoring another point for a total of five Veeps.
(4) Buy Power Cards or Gain one Energy
Gains one Energy.
(5) End Turn
King Ghidorah's Turn
(1) Roll Dice
First Roll: a "1", a "2", two Energy and two Hearts. He sets aside the "2" and two Energy.
Second Roll: gets a Claw, a "1" and a "2."
Third Roll: re-rolls the last three results and scores two "1's" and a Heart.
(2) Resolve Dice
Ghidorah collects two Energy.
(3) Enter Tokyo
Enters Tokyo Bay, gaining one Veep.
(4) Buy Power Cards or Gain one Energy
Gains one Energy for a total of three.
(5) End Turn
Hedorah's Turn
Plays "Pollution Spray", a Permanent Evolution.
(1) Roll Dice
First Roll: 2 x "1", a "2" and 2 x "3" plus one Heart. Keeps the two "3's."
Second Roll: gets 2 x "2", an Energy and a '1."
Third Roll: re-rolls everything from the last throw and gets one each of "3", "2" and '1" and an Energy.
(2) Resolve Dice
Three Veeps from the 3 x "3" and one Energy.
(3) Enter Tokyo
N/A
(4) Buy Power Cards or Gain one Energy
Gets one Energy for a total of two.
(5) End Turn
Rodan's Turn
(1) Roll Dice
First roll: 2 x "1", a "2", a "3" and two Hearts. Retains the two "1's."
Second roll: gets a "1", a "2", a Claw and a Heart. Keeps the one "1" and the Claw.
Third roll: Get's a "1" and a "3."
(2) Resolve Dice
Gets two Veeps from the three "1's" plus the spare and deals one damage to Godzilla and Ghidorah, who both stay put.
(3) Enter Tokyo
N/A
(4) Buy Power Cards or Gain one Energy
Gets one Energy.
(5) End Turn
Mothra's Turn
Plays "Caterpillar Form", a Permanent Evolution.
(1) Roll Dice
First Roll: gets a "1", 2 x "2", a Claw and two Hearts. Locks in the "2's" and the Claw.
Second Roll: gets two "1's" and a "3."
Third roll: chucks everything except for the 2 x "2" and gets 2 x "3" and two Energy.
(2) Resolve Dice
Picks up two Energy.
(3) Enter Tokyo
N/A
(4) Buy Power Cards or Gain one Energy
Gets one bonus Energy for a total of three.
(5) End Turn
Mechagodzilla's Turn
Plays the "Twin Mazers" Permanent Evolution.
(1) Roll Dice
First roll: 2 x "1", a "3", a Claw and two Hearts. Holds on to the 2 x "1" and the Claw.
Second Roll: Gets 2 x "1" and a "3." Keeps the "1's."
Third roll: Re-rolls the "3" and gets an Energy.
(2) Resolve Dice
Two Veeps from the 3 x "1" and the bonus. Gains an Energy then deals a point a damage to both Godzilla and King Ghidorah. Again both remain in place.
(3) Enter Tokyo
N/A
(4) Buy Power Cards or Gain one Energy
Collect one Energy for a total of two.
(5) End Turn
Two classic arch-rivals square off for control of Tokyo!
ROUND TWO
Godzilla's Turn
Collects two Veeps for hanging on for a full round! He's up to seven!
(1) Roll Dice
First Roll: 2 x "3", two Energy, a Heart and a "1." Sets the two "3's" aside.
Second Roll: gets an Energy, one each of "1" and a "2" and a Claw. Keeps the Claw.
Third roll: picks up a "3" and 2 x "1."
(2) Resolve Dice
Godzilla's "Heat Ray" kicks in and his one Claw deals an extra damage to all monsters outside the city, I.E. Hedorah, Rodan, Mothra and Mechagodzilla all go down to eight!
He also gets three Veeps from the 3 x "3." He's already at ten!
(3) Enter Tokyo
N/A
(4) Buy Power Cards or Gain one Energy
Gets one Energy for a total of two.
(5) End Turn
King Ghidorah's Turn
He picks up two Victory Points for holding onto the Bay for an entire turn cycle...he's now at three!
(1) Plays the "From Another World" Temporary Evolution and re-gains two Health...he's back up to full! (NOTE: although you can't use dice to heal in Tokyo, you can regain health with cards!) This also nets him two bonus re-rolls!
Roll Dice
First Roll: a 2 x "3", two Energy and two Hearts. Keeps the two "3's."
Second Roll: scores a Claw, a Heart and two Energy. Keeps the Smash.
Third Roll: dials up an Energy, a "1" and a Heart.
Fourth Roll: re-rolls the same three dice and gets a "3", an Energy and a "1." Keeps the "3."
Fifth roll: gets a "3" and an Energy.
(2) Resolve Dice
Ghidorah deals one point of damage to everyone outside of Tokyo, I.E. Hedorah, Rodan, Mothra and Mechagodzilla. They're all down to seven Health! Nets four big Veeps from the 3 x "3" and the spare, now at seven!
(3) Enter Tokyo
N/A
(4) Buy Power Cards or Gain one Energy
Pays four Energy for "Alpha Scavenger", reducing his total to zero.
(5) End Turn
Hedorah's Turn
(1) Roll Dice
First Roll: 2 x "1", two Hearts and two Smashes. Retains the Claws.
Second Roll: gets a "2", an Energy, a Smash and a Heart. Keeps the Claws.
Third Roll: 2 x "3" and a "2."
(2) Resolve Dice
Three points of damage to both Godzilla (now at five) and King Ghidorah (down to seven).
(3) Enter Tokyo
Godzilla leaves the City and Hedorah takes his place, scoring a a Veep, putting the ambulatory pile o' poo at four!
(4) Buy Power Cards or Gain one Energy
Gets one Energy, now at three.
(5) End Turn
Rodan's Turn
(1) Roll Dice
First roll: 2 x "1", a "2", two Energy and a Smash. Keeps the 2 x "1" and the Claw.
Second roll: Gets a "1", an Energy and a Heart.
Third roll: turns up an Energy and a "1."
(2) Resolve Dice
Gets two Veeps from the 4 x "1" (putting Rodan at four), gathers up one Energy (now at two) and deals one damage to Hedorah and Ghidorah (both at six Health), who both stay put.
(3) Enter Tokyo
N/A
(4) Buy Power Cards or Gain one Energy
Gets one Energy, tally is three.
(5) End Turn
Mothra's Turn
(1) Roll Dice
First Roll: gets a "1", 2 x "3", a Claw and two Hearts. Keeps the "3's" and the Claw.
Second Roll: gets a "1", a "2" and a Heart.
Third roll: chucks everything except for the 2 x "3" and gets two Energy, a Smash, a Heart.
(2) Resolve Dice
Picks up two Energy, for a total of five. Heals one damage, so she's back up to eight Health. She then delivers one damage to both Hedorah and Ghidorah (both now at five), but the defenders remain resolute.
(3) Enter Tokyo
N/A
(4) Buy Power Cards or Gain one Energy
Pays five Energy for a "Neo Barrier", gaining her a Veep as well as two each of Energy and Hearts! She's back up to ten!
(5) End Turn
Mechagodzilla's Turn
(1) Roll Dice
First roll: 2 x "2", a "3", a Claw and two Energy. Banks the "2's" and the Claw.
Second Roll: Gets 2 x "3" and a "2." Keeps the "2."
Third roll: Dials up a Smash and a Heart.
(2) Resolve Dice
Two Veeps from the 3 x "2", putting the cyborg at four! It then inflicts two damage on both Hedorah and King Ghidorah, leaving both at three life!
(3) Enter Tokyo
This time both occupants leave, letting Mechogodzilla reign solo over Tokyo City, scoring a Veep in the process and putting the robot's total at five!
(4) Buy Power Cards or Gain one Energy
Collects one Energy for a total of three.
(5) End Turn
ROUND THREE
Godzilla's Turn
(1) Roll Dice
First Roll: 2 x "2", 2 x "1", a "3" and an Energy. Keeps the "2's."
Second Roll: Dials up a "2" and 2 x "3" and a "1." Keeps the "2."
Third roll: picks up a "2", a "1" and a Heart.
(2) Resolve Dice
Godzilla gets three Veeps from the 3 x "2" plus the spare, putting them at thirteen! He also Heals one damage, putting him back to six.
(3) Enter Tokyo
Since the Bay is unoccupied, he moves in, getting another Veep! He's way ahead with fourteen points!
(4) Buy Power Cards or Gain one Energy
Gains one Energy for a total of three.
(5) End Turn
King Ghidorah's Turn
(1) Roll Dice
First Roll: a 2 x "2", a "1", a "3", one Energy and one Hearts. Keeps the "2's" and the Heart.
Second Roll: Gets a Claw, a Heart and an Energy. Keeps the Heart.
Third Roll: re-rolls everything minus the two Hearts. Snags another Heart, a Smash and one each of "2" and a "3."
(2) Resolve Dice
Ghidorah deals one point of damage to Mechagodzilla (down to six) and the King of the Monsters himself, who's currently sitting at five health. He then heals three points, putting him back to six Health.
With the three Hearts, Ghidorah draws two Evolution Cards and immediately plays the "Monster Zero" Permanent!
(3) Enter Tokyo
Godzilla departs and King Ghidorah wades into the Bay, scoring a point for a total of eight.
(4) Buy Power Cards or Gain one Energy
Picks up a free Energy.
(5) End Turn
Hedorah's Turn
(1) Roll Dice
First Roll: 2 x "3", two Hearts and one each of "2" and a "1." Keeps the Hearts and the "3's."
Second Roll: gets a "3" and an Energy. Re-rolls the latter.
Third Roll: one Smash.
(2) Resolve Dice
Heals two Damage (back up to five), scores three Veeps (at seven) and deals a point of damage to both Mechagodzilla (five) and King Ghidorah (five).
(3) Enter Tokyo
Ghidorah leaves the Bay and Hedorah takes his place, scoring a a Veep for a total of eight!
(4) Buy Power Cards or Gain one Energy
Gets one Energy, now at four.
(5) End Turn
Rodan's Turn
(1) Roll Dice
First roll: 4 x "1", a "3" and one Energy. Keeps all the "1's."
Second roll: Gets a "3"and an Energy. Again. Re-rolls both.
Third roll: gets an Energy and a "3." AGAIN.
(2) Resolve Dice
Gets two Veeps from the 3 x "1" (plus the spare), giving the winged menace a total of six. He also gathers up one Energy to make for four.
(3) Enter Tokyo
N/A
(4) Buy Power Cards or Gain one Energy
Gets one Energy...now at five!
(5) End Turn
Mothra's Turn
(1) Roll Dice
First Roll: gets a "2", 2 x "3" and a whopping three Energy. Keeps the "3's."
Second Roll: Rolls a "3", a "1", a "2"and a Heart. Keeps the "3."
Third roll: Gets a "3", a "1" and a Smash!
(2) Resolve Dice
Gets four Veeps from the 4 x "3", putting her at five. Does one damage to both Mechagodzilla (four) and Hedorah (four).
(3) Enter Tokyo
Hedorah jets so Mothra flaps into the Bay, netting one Veep. She's currently at six Victory Points.
(4) Buy Power Cards or Gain one Energy
Pays two Energy to play the "Easily Scared" Power Card. Every Monster takes a point of damage (Mothra: nine, Rodan: six, Hedorah: three, Ghidorah: four, Godzilla: four, Mechagodzilla: three) and then the card passes to Rodan. He triggers it again, putting Rodan at five, Hedorah at two, Ghidorah and Godzilla are at three, Mechagodzilla has only two and Mothra's down to eight! It then goes to Hedorah, who discards it because he's nearly dead!
(5) End Turn
Mechagodzilla's Turn
(1) Roll Dice
First roll: 2 x "2", a "1", two Energy and a Heart. Banks the "2's."
Second Roll: Gets a "2" and one each of "1", Energy and a Smash. Keeps the "2."
Third roll: re-rolls everything hoping to Claw some his weaker rivals outside of the City to death, but no such luck! Ends up with 2 x "1", a "2", a "3", an Energy and a Claw. *Whomp-whomp*
(2) Resolve Dice
Everyone but Mechagodzilla and Mothra takes a point of damage. Rodan is at four, Hedorah one (!), with King Ghidorah and Godzilla both at a precarious two points! Picks up an Energy for a total of four.
(3) Enter Tokyo
N/A
(4) Buy Power Cards or Gain one Energy
Spends all four Energy for "Static Collector", regaining two Energy!
(5) End Turn
"NO ONE CAN RESIST MOTHRA!!!"
ROUND FOUR
Godzilla's Turn
(1) Roll Dice
First Roll: 2 x "1", a "3", two Hearts and an Energy. Keeps the Hearts.
Second Roll: Dials up a "2", a Smash, a Heart and an Energy. Keeps the Heart and the Smash.
Third roll: picks up a "3" and another Heart.
(2) Resolve Dice
Godzilla gets four (!) Health back, putting him back up to six, and then - via the two points of damage (+1 for his Heat Ray) - he annihilates Mechagodzilla and wounds Mothra (she's now at six). Mothra graduates to the City.
Also: with 3+ Hearts, Godzilla gets two new Evolution cards! He picks "Amphibious" and keeps it in hand.
(3) Enter Tokyo
Godzilla moves into the freshly-yielded Bay, gaining a Veep for a total of 15!
(4) Buy Power Cards or Gain one Energy
Gains one Energy for a total of four.
(5) End Turn
King Ghidorah's Turn
(1) Roll Dice
First Roll: two Smashes, one Energy and two Hearts. Keeps the Claws and Hearts.
Second Roll: a "1."
Third Roll: a Claw!
(2) Resolve Dice
Ghidorah deals three points of damage to Mothra (down to three) and the Big "G", putting him at the same count. He then heals two points, putting him back up to four Health.
(3) Enter Tokyo
Mothra and Godzilla both depart, and King Ghidorah marches into the City, scoring a point for a total of eight.
(4) Buy Power Cards or Gain one Energy
Picks up another free Energy, for a total of two.
(5) End Turn
Hedorah's Turn
(1) Roll Dice
First Roll: two each of Hearts and Energy plus a rogue "3." Trying for a Hail Mary "Hedrium Attack", he keeps one of each different die face.
Second Roll: gets a Heart, an Energy and a "3.". Pivots to only Hearts and re-rolls four other dice.
Third Roll: one Smash.
(2) Resolve Dice
Heals four Damage (back up to five) and triggers a new Evolution. He opts to go with the Temporary Evolution called "Sludge."
(3) Enter Tokyo
Hedorah oozes into the vacant Bay, scoring a a Veep for a total of nine! Then "Sludge" is played and all other monsters loose two Hearts!
(4) Buy Power Cards or Gain one Energy
Gets one Energy, now at five.
(5) End Turn
Rodan's Turn
(1) Roll Dice
First roll: gets four (!) Claws, a Heart and a "2." Keeps everything but the "2."
Second roll: gets a "2."
Third roll: gets Heart!
(2) Resolve Dice
Both King Ghidorah and Hedorah get clobbered with four damage! This annihilates Monster Zero and reduces Hedorah to a single Health point! Rodan gains two Hearts and ramps back up to four!
(3) Enter Tokyo
Rodan razes Tokyo City for one Veep, putting him at seven!
(4) Buy Power Cards or Gain one Energy
Buys "Tossing Cars" for four Energy, which causes every other monster not in Tokyo to lose one Health.
In one fell swoop, Godzilla, Mothra and Hedorah are all eliminated!
Rodan wins!
***
REVIEW
Just for poops n' chuckles I thought I'd just copy and paste my old review from King of Tokyo and see what's really different and (hopefully) improved here. Commentary in parentheses.
PROS
- Innovative gameplay feels like a mash-up between a "King of the Hill" Halo match and Zombie Dice. (Interesting - tho now very dated - references. Whenever I sell the game now to potential players I use the aforementioned "giant monster Yahtzee" pitch.)
- Rules are clear, concise and very easy to teach. (Agreed, though there are some additional rules and changes to previous editions of the game, as noted in the final "Important Rules to Remember" section.)
- Games are fast and furious and never seem to drag. We easily played four matches in three hours and still had time for some other quick games. (This still holds up. I never intended to do a full game playthrough for this one, but the turns were so breezy I wanted to see who won.)
- The variable card powers add a decent amount of replay value. (Yup. Add in Events and Evolutions and you finally have just enough chrome for a game like this.)
- Our four games are clearly indicative of several perfectly valid strategies. Do you stay out of the fray and let every one else beat the snot out of each other? Do you invest heavily in creature augmentation and go for surgical strikes? Or do you march right into Tokyo bold as brass and start chuckin' knuckles? (Ditto.)
- The components are fantastic. As some point in time you may find yourself compelled to pull a Pac-Man and gobble up a handful of those green Energy cubes. (This praise is even more valid for the Godzilla version. I love the "City" and "Bay" tiles, the wooden Energy, Dice and stands and the stupendous Showa-era artwork. This is the way I've wanted the game to look since 2011.)
CONS
- Some of the card text is a bit vague, leading to misinterpretation. Combining several of these effects together can also result in some big-time head-scratchery. (Even though I didn't have any real issues interpreting the text on the Power Cards during the session play-through, I'm sure that there are some cards in the mix that might be a tad confusing. Perhaps a more apt complaint is that Power Cards aren't created equal, with some that seem woefully weak and others that are baffingly OP. But, I suppose a case can be made that recognizing a good card at the right time is a sound part of the game's strategy. Also: delineating the steps of a turn - roll dice, resolve dice, enter Tokyo, buy a card / get Energy - has made the game a lot more intuitive.)
- Although King of Tokyo is a lungful of fun, I'd still prefer an Ameritrash-style simulation. I wanna wade my official Toho-brand monster miniature through tiny high-tension wires and buildings, whilst tearing up bridges and sticking trains and buses in my toothy maw. I wanna char tanks and the national guard with my atomic breath and gobble down populace units like Pez. In other words I want the handsome and brilliant love child of The Creature that Ate Sheboygan and Godzilla: Kaiju World Wars. Get on that, Fantasy Flight! (Sadly, I still haven't gotten this dream game yet. Funko / Prospero Hall flirted with the concept via Godzilla: Tokyo Clash, but that game had it's own issues. I remain eternally optimistic.)
- Except for the monster power ups, there's really not much variety to the game at all. (With the addition of Events and Evolutions, this pain point has been offset a little bit. Even though no Events showed up in my demo game, I'm just glad new avenues exist.)
- As a kaiju nut, I just wish the game's art design wasn't quite as goofy. (Fixed. There's no stupid robot cats or giant apes with cybernetic implants or penguins with freeze guns. Just classic Toho goodness...and I couldn't be happier.)
BONUS: IMPORTANT RULES TO REMEMBER
- In this version of the game you can discard as many as two Dice Tokens that you've earned to roll an equal number of Black Dice, to a maximum of eight dice. The decision to spend Dice Tokens must happen before your first roll.
- A Monster can only yield Tokyo from Claws on dice, not Power Cards.
- Since no Monster starts the game in Tokyo, Claws rolled on the first play have no effect.
- In older editions of the game, the first Monster to roll a Claw enters Tokyo City in top priority and then the Bay. Now, if no one is in Tokyo, you must enter Tokyo City. Ergo, the first player's standee will be placed on Tokyo City during Step Three.
- With 5-6 players: if the City is Occupied, but the Bay is empty, you must enter the Bay during Step Three of your turn. For the purpose of game / card language, Monsters in both the City and the Bay are considered to be "in Tokyo." Both spaces have the same game effect.
- Once the player count drops to four or below, you must leave the Bay immediately, graduating to the City instead if it's unoccupied.
- Optional two player variant: instead of Victory Points you get one Energy for moving into Tokyo and one Energy if you begin your turn there.
- You can buy as many Power Cards as you can afford during Step Four of your turn.
- If you use two Energy to sweep the current Power Card market, it doesn't discard the Events!
- If you don't want to (or can't) buy a Power Card, gain one Energy.
- When revealed, Events have their game effect and continue to do so until purchased. When this happens, resolve the Discard effect.
- Evolution Cards: At the start of the game shuffle all eight cards, draw two, keep one and discard the other. In future rounds, if you get three Hearts, use them for healing as per normal, but also draw two more Evolution Cards, keep one and discard the other. You still get to draw Evolution cards in Tokyo. If you deck is empty, reshuffle the discarded cards to make a new draw deck. Keep your Evolution Cards in hand and play them when you want to, even on someone else's turn!
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