DESTROY ALL MONSTERS: The Magic ofKing of Tokyo Is Magic For Kids

 

While on vacation, I had the opportunity to introduce the kids I was with to Richard Garfield King of Tokyo. The kids picked it up very fast and had a lot of fun (I was happy to see the other adults taking an interest in the game as well)!

Given it won a fair bit of awards, I'm not writing this to convince you of the game's value as Richard Garfield as worked his magic again, BUT I did want to highlight why I think this is a particularly good game for kids:

1. Great theme- monsters punch other monsters! This isn't skipping though some candy land. Or collecting fish or apples. Or whatever other BS is peddled to kids. Monsters. Punch. Monsters. 
2. Letting kids roll dice multiple times. Often in games for kids, rolling dice is fun but you only get to do it once. This game is a Yahtzee style where you roll 3 times before deciding what you want to keep. This also helps control grumpy feelings on not rolling the best on a turn.
3. Symbols are easy for kids to understand because most likely they've encountered them in video games: hearts for health, lighting bolts for energy cubes, claw for attacks, and numbers for points; the procedure is easy to follow as well as roll x3, resolve, buy power-up cards with green cubes, and end your turn.
4. You know who else likes big monsters punching each other? Adults. See also Pacific Rim. This is a great game for adults, teens, & kids to play because it features dice as a center of play. Dice always level the playing field because each player is equal chance of rolling something good. However, with two goals (victory points or being last monster standing) and power-up cards, there is ample strategy to be found in the game.
5. The key which I think makes the game really sing for kids is the "king of the hill format". This removal of choice in who you deal damage to prevents kids (and teens) from ganging up on one monster the strong potential source of tears and hurt feelings which can quickly ruin the game. In the game, when a player rolls punches, they either deal deal damage to all other monsters outside of Tokyo or if they are outside of Tokyo they deal damage only to the monster inside Tokyo. After taking damage the monster inside Tokyo can decide to leave and effectively pulls a monster outside of Tokyo into the center.

I also have two suggestions for quick modifications. First, there is no difference between monsters. The card board counter is just to track health and victory points and the stand is just simply a picture. So DIY your own monsters from drawings or pictures from movies or lego-- just anything. Second, if you really want to differentiate, then give each monster a random 3 Energy Point "Keep" card as an individual power.

 

My favorite monster from the first edition