- Designer: Richard Garfield
- Artist: Quentin Regnes
- Publisher: iello games
- Players: 2 Players
- Playtime: 20 minutes
- Ages: 8+
King of Tokyo Duel is a new version of the well known game King of Tokyo. In this 2 player version, players are battling it out as giant monsters to see who will be crowned the King of Tokyo! Each monster has its own unique play board which has its name, a special power, and its starting health displayed. Players will use these stats along with dice rolling to fuel their play. I have been looking for more 2 player games recently and this was my first experience with King of Tokyo, having never played the original version.
What’s In the Box?
- 6 Monster Boards
- 6 Dice
- 13 Buzz Tokens
- 4 Dice Tokens
- 2 Extra Dice
- 2 Markers (1 for Fame and 1 for Destruction)
- 1 Board
- 50 Power Cards
- 2 Life Point Trackers
- Energy Cubes
Setup
To set up King of Tokyo Duel, players must first choose a Monster Board. This board will be placed power side up in front of each player. Players will also take a Life Point Tracker and adjust it to the number of starting health written on their Monster Board. The main Board will get placed between the 2 players, so that players are at opposite ends of the track. The Fame and Destruction Markers are put onto their starting points on the board.
Then, shuffle all of the Power Cards and place them face down next to the board. Take the top 3 cards of the deck and place them face up, lining up with the 3 spaces along the board. Finally, set aside the Dice, Energy Cubes, Buzz Tokens, Dice Tokens, and extra Dice to the side of the board. You are now ready to play King of Tokyo Duel!
Objective
The objective of the game is to earn the title of King of Tokyo. A player can do this one of three ways. First, they could reduce their rival’s health to the skull symbol. Second, they could have both the Fame and the Destruction Markers in a Spotlight Zone on their side of the board. Finally, The Fame or Destruction Markers reach the Victory Space on their side of the board. Triggering any of these end conditions will name you King of Tokyo and mark the end of the game.
Gameplay
A player’s turn consists of 4 actions: Roll the Dice, resolve the Dice, Buy Power Cards or gain Energy Cubes, and finally the End of Turn. Players may roll the dice up to three times. A player may choose to stop rolling at any time. NOTE: The first turn a player rolls, they will only roll 5 Dice instead of 6. After rolling the first time, players will choose which dice they would like to re-roll.
Resolving the dice may be done in any order the player chooses. There are symbols for Smash, Heal, Energy, Fame, Destruction, and Special Power. Smash causes your rival to take damage. Heal allows you to gain one health for each heart. Energy lets a player gain one Energy Token from the reserve for each symbol shown. Fame and Destruction may be gained one for one by how many symbols are shown. Finally, Special Powers lets a player use their action listed on their Monster Board.
After the Dice are resolved, players may buy a Power Card using their Energy Tokens OR gain an Energy Token. Some Power Cards you may keep during the rest of the game and some you must discard.
At the end of a turn, the effects on certain Power Cards will activate. Resolve these cards in any order you choose. It is then time for the next player to take their turn.
Final Thoughts
King of Tokyo Duel was a pleasant surprise for me. I usually gravitate towards games with cute forest creatures, watercolor art, or lush gardens. King of Tokyo Duel stood out with its comic book style art and monster characters. I enjoyed that the rule book was written like a comic book, and the different Monsters I could choose had a lot of character to them. It is also nice that the Monster’s strength scales, so you are not just playing the same game over and over again, adding to the replay-ability of King of Tokyo Duel. This also piqued my interest in the original game, King of Tokyo (review to come soon). If you are looking for a solid 2 player competitive battler, King of Tokyo Duel certainly fits the bill!
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