King of Tokyo is a great dice rolling game of building up your strength and then overpowering your opponent to become the King of Tokyo and now there is a Duel variant. But what's the difference between the two and is it really worth having both in your collection?
First Impressions
King of Tokyo Duel comes in a smaller box than both the original game and origins though the box art is still very impactful as they have taken a comic book styling to the front cover. The components are well made as we have come to be expected of Iello and the dice, tokens and cards are easy to read keeping many of the stylings of the previous renditions of the game. The game board itself is well laid out and doesn't take up to much table space making this game ideal for travelling with. It was also nice to see the comic book styling on the front of the box flowed throughout the other components and rulebook really tieing the product together.
Game Play Overview
King of Tokyo: Duel is very easy to pick up and play though offers a lot of strategy. Over the course of the game you will be rolling dice to accomplish one of three objectives get the fame and destruction marker into the spotlight section on your side of the board, get the fame or destruction marker to the end of the track on your side of the board or by you defeating your opponent's monster.
On your turn you will take the six dice and roll them up to three time between each roll you may select dice you would like to keep to resolve later on. You may stop rolling dice at any time though the the result showing will be what you will resolve in the Resolve Dice step. Once you are happy with your roll or cannot re-roll the dice any more you will resolve the dice you have in play based on their symbols. The symbols on the dice are, Smash that deals one damage to your rival, Heal which recovers one damage you have previously taken, Energy which provides you with an Energy cube to spend on cards later on, Fame which moves you up one space on the Fame track, Destruction which moves you up a space on the Destruction track and you have the Special Power symbol that allows you to trigger your monsters asymmetric power.
After resolving your dice you will then choose if you want to buy a card from the display to get an instant ability or a permanent upgrade. Some of these upgrade cards have a Buzz icon near their energy cost which will allow you to place a Buzz token on the Fame or Destruction tracks, to get an extra perk when you land on those spaces, these are usually on cards that have powerful abilities which create a buzz with the crowd. If you cannot or do not want to purchase an upgrade card you will receive one Energy.
You then end your turn triggering any end of turn power cards and gather up the dice and pass them to the other player ending your turn. Play continues like this with each player taking a turn till one of the three victory conditions are met ending the game immediately the player to fulfill the end game condition is crowned the winner.
Game Play Differences
The main difference to the gameplay, besides it being a two player game, is the tug of war mechanic with the fame and destruction tracks offering a new way to win. Due to the inclusion of these two new victory mechanisms it makes the game more tense and gripping as you are then trying to balance upgrading your monster, taking down you opponent and making sure the tracks are moving in your favour. The other difference in this version of the game comes with the Buzz Tokens that upgrades space on the track that can move as the game progresses by purchasing cards with their matching Buzz Icon adding an interesting twist to the game.
Pros and Cons
After playing the game several times, I am really impressed with this version of the game. All the components are well made, the rulebook is easy to follow and the gameplay is really smooth. If I was to be pedantic on the game board there is a space with a spotlight in it though does not count as a spotlight space as it is not lit up which may cause debate in some games. Though this did not cause an issue in the ones I played and I really enjoyed the tension the game board offers with the tug of war mechanic with the tracks. Also the addition of unique character abilities really added a new level to the game that made it so enjoyable.
Final Verdict
Overall, this has been my favourite version of King of Tokyo and will be the only way going forward I will play it at two players. I really enjoy the tactical depth it offers while also having the random element of the dice that brings an element of luck to the game as well. If you already own the base game I would highly recommend picking this one up if you like to play games at two players due to the enjoyment this game offers.
In conclusion, we would rate this game a 9.8/10
You can see how this version and King of Tokyo Origins plays at the links below:
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