' So, Frankly... ': King of Fillers: A King of Tokyo Review

We normally don’t play many fillers in our gaming group. For the most part, we know each other well enough that we spend time catching up before we start playing. I have been trying to curtail that, since we have plenty of time while gaming to catch up, and we are trying to limit the session to four hours. A couple of weeks ago we had a couple of people running late, so a filler was in order. King of Tokyo was what made it to the table, since it met the player count and wasn’t too long. Did we like it? Well, we finished with it too…

Promotional Image

King of Tokyo is meant to be a light game where each player takes on the role of a giant monster attacking Tokyo. There is light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek humor which is evident from the moment players start selecting their monsters from the pool consisting of Meka-Dragon, Cyber Bunny and Alienoid. During the course of the game, each monster will gain special powers, helping them defeat the other monsters (by doing damage) or lay waste to Tokyo (by gaining victory points). Players win by either gaining 20 victory points or by eliminating all other monsters.

Here’s the thumbnail version of the rules. On their turn, each player picks up a handful of dice and rolls them Yahtzee-style. Each die has six sides with the same faces: the numbers 1, 2 and 3 as well as a claw, a heart and a lightning bolt. The dice are rolled up to three times, with the player selecting which dice to keep and which to re-roll each time. Rolling three numbers of a kind awards that many victory points. In other words, rolling three 1’s gives 1 victory point; rolling three 2’s gives 2 victory points. Rolling a claw is an attack, rolling a heart heals, and rolling a lightning bolt awards the player with an energy cube. Energy cubes are the currency of the game, and are used to buy cards that give the special abilities mentioned before. Players outside of Tokyo damage the one player inside the city (two in a five or six player game), and vice versa. I won’t go into details on how one gets to Tokyo. Suffice it to say that being in the city is a higher risk / higher reward position, and there are ways to force people into Tokyo.

I won with Alienoid in the first game, but he let me down
in the second! (Image by Raiko Puust)

This is a GREAT game! In the first game, I won by being the last monster standing. I had the chance to move into Tokyo on a turn late in the game. On my next turn, I played an “Air Strike” card which dealt everyone – including me – three points of damage. I then rolled four claws, doing damage to everyone outside the city and eliminating them all! Since it was a six player game, it was just between myself and the other player inside Tokyo. A couple of turns later there was a showdown and I barely won.

The second game lasted a little longer, and resulted in a victory point win for one of the other members of the group. On one hand, this was a little less climactic, since only two people were eliminated (including me). On the other hand, a longer game allowed more special powers to be put in play, and there’s some drama and humor to be gained that way, so it was just as fun! Cards with titles such as, “We’re Only Making It STRONGER!”, this game begs to be played in your best B-grade creature feature voice. In fact, part of the fun (at least for me) is going over the top with this.

The cards add special powers to the monsters, not to mention some corny humor! (Image by Raiko Puust)

At a half hour play time, this game has that in-between playing time that is a little long for a filler, and a little short for a full experience. It’s kind of like getting loaded baked potatoes for an appetizer; should I stop here or order more food? I am also not sure how well this will do with kids. The theme is perfect for them, and they will easily be taught the rules. However, being forced into Tokyo and then having everyone whomp on you just might be a little traumatic for some younger children. I’ll still call it a good kids’ game, because I believe a typical 8 – 10 year old will be past that point.

The only other issue with this game might be finding a copy! You will either have to go online or find a local gaming store to purchase it. Do yourself a favor and find a way to get it! When I recommended this on my 2012 Gift Buying Guide, I hadn't played it. I based the recommendation on the games reputation, and it has more than lived up to it! This is a great game that will be fun for many gatherings. It will play well in both casual groups and in family groups across generations. I plan to make it available at all of our game group sessions for quite a while, since it was a big hit with nearly everyone.

King of Tokyo

Ages: 8 and up

Time: 30 minutes

Players: 2-6 (but I think it really needs at least three)