In the beginning, there were monsters. Gigantic beings that constantly threatened humanity. Tokyo, in particular, suffered greatly. Think of Godzilla, Mothra, Mecha Godzilla, King Kong and perhaps even Cthulhu. In King of Tokyo, many of these monsters (or derivatives that do not infringe on copyright) battle for control of the city by trading heavy blows. But what is actually the origin of these monsters?
King of Tokyo Origins is the prequel to the board game King of Tokyo, not so much in terms of story, but as a simplified version of the award-winning dice game. It serves as an introduction to the base game. Only four unique monsters fight for a single spot in the city and use simpler action cards to battle each other. Otherwise, Origin strongly resembles the original game. This means you can easily combine this version with the base game and the various expansions. If you are not yet familiar with the base game, an explanation of the gameplay will follow later.
Fun fact: King of Tokyo is part of the origin story of Dice Daniel. Daniel always loved games, but during his student days he discovered better games. In 2011, King of Tokyo was released and immediately became a big hit. Soon the attack dice – affectionately called ‘slaps’ – were flying across the table, bringing lots of laughter, fun, and sometimes sharp remarks.
In King of Tokyo, designed by Richard Garfield, monsters, aliens and giant robots – not covered by the Godzilla copyright – compete to become ruler of this metropolis. King of Tokyo is a tactical dice game in which you try to hold Tokyo for as long as possible and withstand attacks from other monsters. The longer you hold the city, the more victory points you collect. You can win by scoring enough victory points or by eliminating all other monsters.
With up to three dice rolls, you can collect energy and victory points. You can also roll attack dice to deal damage to other monsters – these attacks are affectionately called ‘slaps’ by us. With collected energy, players can buy special cards, allowing them to perform certain actions or gain unique abilities.
King of Tokyo Origins is actually the base game in a compact form. The original game is already very accessible, but this smaller edition may make it even more appealing to new players. As far as I’m concerned: the more King of Tokyo players, the more fun at the table!
