Overview

King of New York expands on King of Tokyo’s core formula. Players control giant monsters rampaging through New York City’s five boroughs. Roll dice to attack, heal, gain energy, destroy buildings, become a celebrity, or trigger the military. Manhattan replaces Tokyo as the key territory to control. First monster to reach 20 Victory Points or last monster standing wins.

Components

• 1 gameboard (New York City with 5 boroughs: Staten Island, The Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan — Manhattan divided into Lower, Midtown, and Upper zones)
• 64 Power cards + 2 special cards (Statue of Liberty, Superstar)
• 6 Monster boards with Victory Point and Life Point dials
• 6 cardboard Monster figures + 6 plastic stands
• 8 dice (6 black, 2 green)
• 45 Building/Unit tiles (double-sided)
• 46 tokens (13 Web, 13 Jinx, 5 Souvenir, 15 Carapace)
• Energy cubes

Dice Faces

| Symbol | Name | |——–|——| | Lightning | Energy | | Heart | Heal | | Claw | Attack | | Star | Celebrity | | Skull | Destruction | | Ouch | Ouch! |

Building/Unit Tiles

Buildings (front) flip to Units (back) when destroyed: | Building Durability | Unit Type | Reward | |———————|———–|——–| | 1 | Infantry | VP | | 2 | Jet | Energy | | 3 | Tank | VP |

Setup

1. Place the gameboard centrally.
2. Shuffle Building tiles, form stacks of 3 (Building-side up). Place 3 stacks in each borough.
3. Shuffle Power cards (not special cards), place 3 face-up beside the deck. Place Statue of Liberty and Superstar face-up beside the deck.
4. Place tokens beside the board.
5. Put 6 black dice centrally; set green dice aside.
6. Each player chooses a Monster, takes figure and board, sets Life Points to 10 and VP to 0.
7. Form Energy cube pool.
8. Each player rolls all 8 dice; most Attack results goes first (reroll ties).
9. Starting with the first player clockwise, each player places their Monster in a borough of their choice (not Manhattan). Max 2 Monsters per borough.

Turn Structure

0. Earnings

If in Manhattan, gain VP and Energy based on zone: | Zone | VP | Energy | |——|—–|——–| | Lower Manhattan | +1 | +1 | | Midtown | +2 | +1 | | Upper Manhattan | +2 | +2 |

Also resolve Keep cards with start-of-turn effects.

1. Roll Dice

Roll 6 black dice (green if card allows). Up to 3 total rolls; may keep or reroll any dice between rolls (even previously kept dice).

2. Resolve Dice

Resolve in any order, but must resolve all dice of one type before the next.

Energy: Gain 1 Energy cube per lightning.

Heal: Gain 1 Life Point per heart (only if outside Manhattan). Cannot exceed 10 LP.

Attack: Each claw deals 1 damage. In Manhattan: damages all Monsters outside. Outside Manhattan: damages all Monsters in Manhattan. Attacked Monsters in Manhattan may flee.

Destruction: Spend skull symbols to destroy Buildings or Units in your borough. Must destroy if you have enough skulls. When a Building is destroyed, flip it to its Unit side and place in the same borough. When a Unit is destroyed, take it. Cannot destroy a Unit on the turn it appears. Rewards earned based on tile type.

Celebrity: Triple stars or more: take the Superstar card (+1 VP per star beyond the third). While holding Superstar, each star on future rolls earns +1 VP. Lost when another Monster rolls triple stars.

Ouch!: Triggers military attack:

• 1 ouch: Units in your borough attack you (1 damage per Unit).
• 2 ouch: Units attack all Monsters in your borough (1 damage per Unit each).
• 3+ ouch: All Units citywide attack (each Monster takes 1 damage per Unit in their borough). Also take the Statue of Liberty card (+3 LP when gained, -3 LP when lost).

3. Move

• If no Monster in Manhattan: you must enter Manhattan (Lower Manhattan, 2-4 space), gain 1 VP.
• If Manhattan is occupied: may move to any borough with fewer than 2 Monsters, or stay.
• If already in Manhattan: advance to the next zone’s 2-4 space (Lower → Midtown → Upper). Once in Upper Manhattan, no further advancement.
• If attacked in Manhattan: may flee to any borough with fewer than 2 Monsters. The attacker must then enter Manhattan.

4. Buy Cards

Buy Power cards by spending Energy equal to their cost. Replace bought cards immediately. Spend 2 Energy to sweep all 3 cards and reveal new ones. Can buy and sweep multiple times.

5. End of Turn

Resolve end-of-turn card effects. If alive with 20+ VP or last standing, you win. Pass dice left.

Actions

All actions are dice-driven (see Turn Structure).

Power Card Types:

• Keep: Permanent effect for rest of game.
• Discard: Immediate one-time effect.

Some Discard cards cost 1 less Energy if bought while in the associated borough.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Win: First to reach 20 VP and survive the turn, or last Monster standing.

VP Sources:

• Entering Manhattan: +1 VP
• Starting turn in Manhattan: +1 to +2 VP (by zone)
• Destroying Buildings/Units: varies by tile type
• Celebrity (Superstar card)
• Power card effects

If you reach 20 VP but die on the same turn, you are eliminated. If all Monsters die simultaneously, nobody wins.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Manhattan is one borough with three zones. Only 1 Monster can be in Manhattan (in standard play).
• Cannot heal in Manhattan with heart dice; Power cards that grant LP still work.
• Cannot leave Manhattan except by fleeing when attacked by another Monster’s claw dice. Discard card damage is not an “attack.”
• Buildings stack 3 deep per borough; destroying one reveals the next.
• Cannot destroy a Unit the same turn it appears (when a Building is flipped).
• Must destroy if you have enough Destruction dice to match a Building/Unit’s durability, but you are not required to optimize.
• Superstar: Gained by rolling triple Celebrity. Stolen when another Monster rolls triple Celebrity.
• Statue of Liberty: Gained by rolling triple Ouch. Grants +3 LP on gain, -3 LP on loss. Stolen by another Monster rolling triple Ouch.
• Max 2 Monsters per borough (not Manhattan). Max 1 in Manhattan (standard rules).
• 5-6 Player Advanced Rule: Manhattan can hold 2 Monsters (on separate tracks: 2-4 and 5-6 spaces). When attacked, the 2-4 Monster decides first whether to flee. If the 2-4 Monster is eliminated, the 5-6 Monster moves to the 2-4 space. When the game drops below 5 players, the 5-6 Monster must leave Manhattan.

Player Reference

Turn Phases: 0. Earnings → 1. Roll Dice → 2. Resolve Dice → 3. Move → 4. Buy Cards → 5. End Turn

Manhattan Zones and Earnings: | Zone | VP per Turn | Energy per Turn | |——|————-|—————–| | Lower | +1 | +1 | | Midtown | +2 | +1 | | Upper | +2 | +2 |

Ouch Escalation: | Ouch Dice | Effect | |———–|——–| | 1 | Units in your borough attack you | | 2 | Units in your borough attack everyone in your borough | | 3+ | All Units attack all Monsters citywide + gain Statue of Liberty |

Key Numbers:

• Starting LP: 10, Max LP: 10
• VP to win: 20
• Dice: 6 black + 2 green (green with cards)
• Rolls per turn: up to 3
• Sweep cost: 2 Energy
• Buildings per borough: 3 stacks of 3