Overview

King of Tokyo is a dice-rolling game where players control mutant monsters, rampaging robots, or abominable aliens battling to become King of Tokyo. Roll dice to attack enemies, heal wounds, gain energy, or score Victory Points. The first monster to reach 20 Victory Points or the last monster standing wins.

Components

• 1 Tokyo board (with Tokyo City and Tokyo Bay)
• 6 Monster boards with Victory Point and Life Point dials
• 6 cardboard Monster figures with stands
• 6 black dice
• 2 green dice (used with certain Power cards)
• 66 Power cards
• Energy cubes (green)
• 28 tokens (3 Smoke, 1 Mimic, 12 Shrink, 12 Poison)

Dice Faces (6 symbols)

| Symbol | Effect | |——–|——–| | 1 / 2 / 3 | Victory Points (need three-of-a-kind) | | Lightning | Gain 1 Energy cube | | Claw | Smash — enemies lose Life Points | | Heart | Heal — gain Life Points |

Setup

1. Each player chooses a Monster, takes the figure and Monster board.
2. Set Life Points to 10 and Victory Points to 0.
3. Place the Tokyo board centrally.
4. Shuffle Power cards, deal 3 face-up next to the board.
5. Place black dice centrally; set green dice aside.
6. Form an Energy cube pool.
7. With 2-4 players: use only Tokyo City. With 5-6 players: use both Tokyo City and Tokyo Bay.
8. Roll all 6 black dice to determine first player (most claw results; reroll ties).

Turn Structure

1. Roll Dice

• Roll all 6 black dice (plus green dice if a Power card grants them).
• You may roll up to 3 times total. After each roll, set aside dice you want to keep and reroll the rest. You may pick up previously set-aside dice to reroll them.

2. Resolve Dice

Resolve all dice in any order:

Victory Points (1/2/3): Three-of-a-kind of a number scores that many VP. Each additional die of the same number adds +1 VP. (e.g., three 2s = 2 VP; four 2s = 3 VP)

Energy (Lightning): Gain 1 Energy cube per lightning symbol from the pool.

Smash (Claw): Each claw deals 1 damage:

• If you are in Tokyo: all Monsters outside Tokyo lose Life Points.
• If you are outside Tokyo: all Monsters in Tokyo lose Life Points.
• Monsters in Tokyo City and Tokyo Bay do not smash each other.

Heal (Heart): Gain 1 Life Point per heart — only if you are outside Tokyo. Cannot heal above 10 Life Points. Monsters in Tokyo cannot use hearts to heal (Power cards may override this).

3. Enter Tokyo

• If no Monster is in Tokyo, you must enter Tokyo City (gain 1 VP).
• With 5-6 players: if Tokyo City is occupied but Tokyo Bay is empty, you must enter Tokyo Bay.
• When smashed, a Monster in Tokyo may Yield (leave Tokyo). The smashing Monster then enters Tokyo.
• Yielding still causes you to lose the Life Points from the smash.

4. Buy Power Cards

• Buy one or more face-up Power cards by spending Energy cubes equal to the card’s cost.
• Bought cards are immediately replaced from the deck.
• Spend 2 Energy to sweep all 3 face-up cards to the discard and reveal 3 new ones.
• You may continue buying and sweeping as long as you have Energy.

5. End of Turn

• Some Power card effects activate now.
• Pass dice to the player on your left.

Actions

All actions are driven by dice results (see Turn Structure above). Power cards add additional abilities.

Power Card Types:

• Keep: Place face-up in front of you; effect lasts for the rest of the game.
• Discard: Resolve immediately, then discard.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Win by reaching 20 Victory Points (at the end of a turn) or by being the last Monster standing.

Ways to gain Victory Points:

• Rolling three-of-a-kind numbers on dice
• Entering Tokyo: +1 VP
• Starting your turn in Tokyo: +2 VP
• Various Power card effects

Elimination: A Monster at 0 Life Points is eliminated. Its Keep cards and Energy cubes are discarded.

If a Monster reaches 20 VP and 0 Life Points in the same turn (due to a Power card), it is eliminated — you must survive your turn to win. If all Monsters are eliminated simultaneously, everyone loses.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Tokyo Bay: Used only with 5-6 players. When the game drops to 4 or fewer players, the Monster in Tokyo Bay must immediately leave (or move to Tokyo City if it is empty). Both locations count as “in Tokyo.”
• Cannot heal in Tokyo: Hearts rolled while in Tokyo have no effect. Power cards that grant Life Points still work.
• Life Points cap at 10: Cannot exceed 10 LP (unless a Keep card says otherwise).
• Yielding: A Monster can only Yield after losing Life Points from another Monster’s claw dice (not from Power card damage).
• First player: No Monster starts in Tokyo. The first player enters Tokyo City during the Enter Tokyo step but does not deal smash damage on their first turn (since no one is in Tokyo to smash).
• Mimic: Copies effects of another Keep card. If the copied card is discarded, Mimic loses its effect; spend 1 Energy at the start of your next turn to re-assign it.
• Poison Spit / Shrink Ray tokens: Stay on a Monster even if the associated card is discarded. You must be outside Tokyo to spend hearts to remove tokens.
• Fire Breathing: Adjacent seated players each lose 1 LP regardless of location. With 2 players, the opponent only loses 1 LP.
• Metamorph: Discard Keep cards during End of Turn step; refund full printed cost in Energy.
• Opportunist: If two are in play (via Mimic), the first Monster clockwise from the active player gets first chance to buy newly revealed cards.

Player Reference

Turn Flow: Roll Dice (up to 3 rolls) → Resolve Dice → Enter Tokyo → Buy Power Cards → End of Turn

Tokyo Effects: | Effect | In Tokyo | Outside Tokyo | |——–|———-|—————| | Smash targets | All outside Tokyo | All in Tokyo | | Heal with hearts | No | Yes | | Enter VP | +1 VP | — | | Start turn VP | +2 VP | — |

Key Numbers:

• Starting Life Points: 10
• Maximum Life Points: 10
• Victory Points to win: 20
• Starting Energy: 0
• Dice per roll: 6 black (+ green if earned)
• Rolls per turn: up to 3
• Sweep cost: 2 Energy