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The Ludarium · Teach sheet

Teach King of Tokyo in ten minutes

2 to 6 players · About 30 minutes · Ages 8 and up

The goal: Be the first Monster to reach 20 Victory Points, or be the last Monster standing.

King of Tokyo setup: the Tokyo board in the middle with Tokyo City and Tokyo Bay, used only with 5 or 6 players. Below it, the six black dice and the two green dice set aside. The Power card deck with three cards face up, the tokens, the Energy cube pool, and a Monster board at each corner with Life at 10 and Victory Points at 0.

On your turn

  1. Roll all 6 black dice. Keep any you like and reroll the rest, up to two more times.
  2. Resolve every die, in any order you like.
  3. Numbers: three of a kind scores that number. Each extra match adds 1.
  4. Energy: take 1 cube each. Heal: gain 1 Life each, but only outside Tokyo.
  5. Smash: in Tokyo, wound everyone outside. Outside, wound whoever is in Tokyo.
  6. Wounded by Smash while in Tokyo? You may Yield and leave. You still lose the Life.
  7. Enter Tokyo: if Tokyo is empty, you must move in.
  8. Buy face-up Power cards with Energy. You may also pay 2 to sweep all three. Pass the dice left.

Three tips for your first game

  1. Tokyo pays points but blocks healing. Yield before your Life runs low.
  2. Do not ignore Energy. Power cards are how Monsters pull ahead.
  3. Watch the leader. A Monster at 17 or more can win on one good turn.

Setup

  1. Each player picks a Monster, takes its board and figure, and sets Life to 10 and points to 0.
  2. Put the Tokyo board in the middle. With 2 to 4 players, use only Tokyo City.
  3. With 5 or 6 players, use both Tokyo City and Tokyo Bay.
  4. Shuffle the Power cards into a deck. Deal 3 face up beside the board.
  5. Make a pool of Energy cubes. Put the tokens nearby.
  6. Put the 6 black dice in the middle. Set the 2 green dice aside.
  7. Everyone rolls the black dice. Whoever rolls the most Smash results goes first. Play passes clockwise.

Scoring

  • Three 1s: 1 point. Three 2s: 2 points. Three 3s: 3 points.
  • Each extra die that matches a scoring set: 1 more point.
  • Enter Tokyo: 1 point.
  • Start your turn in Tokyo: 2 points.
  • Some Power cards score points too. Read each one aloud when it is bought.
  • Life never goes above 10 unless a Keep card says so. At 0 Life, your Monster is out.

Game end: The game ends at the end of a turn when a Monster has 20 points or only one Monster is left. You must survive your turn to win.

Free course: theludarium.com/academy/king-of-tokyo/

Unofficial. Not affiliated with IELLO. King of Tokyo is a trademark of IELLO. Rules as of the King of Tokyo rulebook, 2016 edition (IELLO English rules, November 2023 printing).

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