King of Tokyo: Dark Edition (2020)
Published by: IELLO Games
Players: 2-6
Age: 8+
Play Time: 30 minutes
Overview:
Prove you're the toughest monster in Tokyo by stomping out your competition. Push your luck in this updated edition of the classic version.
Main Mechanics:
Dice Rolling
Push Your Luck
King of the Hill
Components Review:
King of Tokyo: Dark Edition as a remake of King of Tokyo is a truly awesome edition of the classic game. The box cover sets a darker tone for the new artwork, which I really like. Inside the box is a well-organized insert with a clear place for everything. The dice are big and chunky, with a great finish, and the cards are solid, with plenty of room for sleeves. One of my favorite updates is the energy tokens, now acrylic and shaped like lightning bolts. The added mechanic of the game requires a tracker and the player wickedness tiles are chunky plastic pieces, each uniquely shaped. The stands and player boards look great, though I would have liked the dials on the player boards to have more tension. Overall, IELLO did a great job with these components.
How to play:
The goal of the Dark Edition, is the same as the classic: be the first monster to 20 stars, or knock out every other monster. On your turn, take the 6 dice rolling them up to three times, keeping any dice you would like. Dice roll outcomes include: earning stars, getting energy, replenishing health, and stomping enemies.
Stars are earned by rolling three of a kind of any number. Each additional similar number adds an extra star (Ex: four 2's = 2 stars + 1 additional star). In this version, there is also an added incentive to rolling 1's: the wickedness gauge. Every time you roll three 1's, you get to move up on the wickedness gauge, earning points that can be used to get extra abilities.
Energy, Health, and Stomps, are earned simply by rolling their matching dice face. Energy is used to purchase card abilities, some being immediate, some being permanent. Health replenishes health, up to, but not past 10. Stomps are used to hit other monsters, making them lose one health point.
Tokyo: On the shared game board, there is a spot for Tokyo and Tokyo Bay (Tokyo Bay is used for 5 and 6 player games). If Tokyo is ever empty at the end of your turn, you must enter Tokyo, gaining a star as you do so. While in Tokyo, your stomps hit every monster not in Tokyo, but the stomps of every monster not in Tokyo, hit you. You can not replenish health while in Tokyo, but can choose to leave after receiving any amount of damage. If you are in Tokyo at the start of your turn, you gain 2 stars.
Gameplay Review:
I really enjoyed the Dark Edition. It plays pretty much the same as the original edition. The added mechanic of the wickedness gauge is a welcomed one, giving more purpose to 1’s, without over complicating the classic, straight-forward gameplay of King of Tokyo.
Final Thoughts:
If you like King of Tokyo, you’ll like the Dark Edition. It plays the same way as the classic edition with the added wickedness gauge mechanic, which adds some depth and strategy to rolling 1’s. For myself, King of Tokyo is one of the few games my dad will play with us, so I am always happy to get more Tokyo content!
If you love collecting everything King of Tokyo, this is a good buy. It’s an awesome edition of the game. If you don’t have King of Tokyo and want to get it, I like the Dark Edition as it adds a new mechanic, however you could also play classic KoT without this new rule. If you don’t have King of Tokyo and love getting expansions for games, I would not recommend the Dark Edition IF you care about everything matching. There is a KoT Power Up expansion that is mechanically compatible, however the art and aesthetic would not match.