King of Tokyo Monster Box

Tokyo is under attack! And this time it’s not just one killer Kaiju running amok but a whole box full of them. The King of Tokyo Monster Box combines the base game with both the Power Up! And Halloween expansions into one, well, monster-sized box. It also introduces the exclusive (and frankly adorable) Baby Gigazaur.

Land Of Gods And Monsters

Released back in 2011 by Richard Garfield, King of Tokyo pits some truly terrifying titans against one another to see who will reign supreme and conquer the city. First to knock out their opponents or to win 20 victory points get to claim Tokyo as their own. The concept of the game is a simple one.

On your turn, you roll a set of dice up to three times and take all actions displayed one your turn. These can range from gaining victory points, restoring health, attacking, or picking up Energy, the in-game currency. You can also kit out your monster with unique upgrade cards to give themselves an edge over the opposition. This simplicity is what makes King of Tokyo so enjoyable. Pretty much anyone of any age can play and have a good time.

The super speedy gameplay takes place over a relatively small square board divided into Tokyo and Tokyo Bay. However, the latter is only used in games with five or more players. When your monster is in Tokyo, their attack hits everyone else, so you can do some widespread damage.

You can also stock up on Energy while you’re there, as you get two for every turn you spend in Tokyo. Good right? Well, it’s not quite as perfect as it seems. Being in Tokyo means that you can also be hit by everyone else’s attacks. Therefore, you’ll have to time it right to stockpile enough Energy and get out without getting beaten entirely to a pulp by your opponents.

It’s Coming For Food Or A Fight

However, if you’re looking for a little more complexity, the Monster Box has you covered. The two included expansions provided little tweaks to the base play that can add a little more crunch. Power Up! introduces a new character, Pandakai, and adds Evolutions for each monster with sets of eight unique cards.

If you roll three hearts, you can choose to add one of them to your hand. This can help give each of the monsters more personality, as without these they lack any difference aside from their design.

The second expansion also brings in new monsters which are themed, of course, around everyone’s favourite spooky holiday. Keeping with the theme, it also brings in Costumes. These grant new abilities to each monster which vary and act similar to evolutions.

However, opponents can rip these off if they muster a strong enough attack. Like Power Up! Halloween adds a drop more crunch to gameplay making repeated plays more varied and enjoyable.

The beauty of King of Tokyo Monster Box is that it combines pretty much everything together into one neat little box with all the components you need for up to ten people to play. This makes it much easier to take when you’re seeing friends as this is a game you’ll want to be playing in a group. While officially this is playable for two players, the gameplay feels flat, and it just doesn’t work.

The joy of the game is thrashing your friends and having everyone gang up on each other. Sadly, this just isn’t possible in two-player, and the game doesn’t offer anything to compensate for this.

Tokyo Has Fallen

The King of Tokyo Monster Box provides all the goodness of the expansions and base game rolled into one great big package. Adding the two expansions allows for a more cost-effective way to play while mixing in slightly crunchier gameplay. For completion’s sake, four bonus monsters add extra quirks to play such as Anubis and Cybertooth. Confusingly, these aren’t included in the Monster Box but can be picked up separately to add even more punch.

King of Tokyo itself is not a complex game, hinging almost entirely on the dice, but this does open it up to pretty much every age group and skill level. The rules contain a helpful key for the symbols so anyone can sit down and play. The Monster Box also contains some bonus cards which are a fun addition, although sadly don’t add much to the gameplay, along with an extra cute baby monster.