How to Play

King of Tokyo: Dark Edition

2-6 players 30-30 min 7.7 Board Game Geek Rating

In King of Tokyo: Dark Edition, mutant monsters battle for dominance over Tokyo in a sinister alternate reality. Players roll dice to attack rivals, gain energy, and score points while vying for territorial control. Victory comes through eliminating opponents or accumulating twenty points first. This collector's version features premium components and introduces exclusive new mechanics.

Published 2020

King of Tokyo: Dark Edition

Get Ready

Setup the game with these step-by-step instructions before diving into your turn.

1
Choose your Monster
Each player selects a Monster and takes its figure and Monster board
2
Set starting Life Points
Adjust your Monster's Life Points dial to 10
3
Set starting Victory Points
Adjust your Monster's Victory Points dial to 0
4
Place the Tokyo board
Put the board at the center of the table within easy reach of every player
5
Prepare the Power card deck
Shuffle all Power cards to form a draw deck
6
Create the Market
Deal the first three Power cards face-up on the table next to the Tokyo board, placing the remainder of the deck nearby
7
Place tokens
Put all Smoke, Shrink Ray, and Poison tokens near the Market
8
Prepare the dice
Put the 6 gray dice in the center of the table and set the 2 yellow dice aside for later use
9
Form the Energy supply
Create a supply pool with all Energy Charges
10
Set up Wickedness counters
Place the Wickedness counters close to the Wickedness gauge on the board
11
Stack Wickedness tiles
Place tiles next to their corresponding numbered circles on the gauge (4 tiles at level 3, 4 tiles at level 6, 2 tiles at level 10)
12
Determine Tokyo Bay usage
With 2 to 4 players, only Tokyo City will be used; with 5 or 6 players, both Tokyo City and Tokyo Bay will be used
13
Determine starting player
Each player rolls the 6 gray dice; whoever gets the most Energy faces goes first (re-roll ties until one player wins)

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

1
Turn Overview
Follow these five steps in order: Roll Dice, Resolve Dice, Enter Tokyo, Buy Power Cards, End of Turn
2
Initial roll
Roll the 6 gray dice (plus any yellow dice if you have a Power card or Wickedness tile allowing them)
3
Reroll options
You may stop rolling at any time or roll up to three times total
4
Second roll
Set aside dice you want to keep and reroll only the unwanted ones
5
Third roll
Reroll any dice including ones previously set aside; keep final results
6
Resolve in any order
You must resolve all dice showing on your final roll
7
Victory Points (1, 2, 3)
Rolling three-of-a-kind of 1s, 2s, or 3s gains Victory Points equal to the number shown; each additional matching die adds 1 more Victory Point
8
Wickedness Points from 1s
For each three-of-a-kind of 1s rolled, gain 2 Wickedness Points
9
Wickedness Points from 2s
For each three-of-a-kind of 2s rolled, gain 1 Wickedness Point
10
No Wickedness from 3s
Rolling three-of-a-kind of 3s does not grant Wickedness Points
11
Track Wickedness
Move your counter up on the Wickedness gauge when gaining Wickedness Points
12
Gain Wickedness tiles
When your counter reaches or passes level 3, 6, or 10, take one available tile from that level (you only gain a tile once per threshold and cannot have two from the same level)
13
Energy Charges
Gain 1 Energy Charge from the pool for each lightning bolt rolled; keep them in your reserve until spent
14
Smash (attacking)
Monsters not in the same location as you lose 1 Life Point for each claw rolled
15
Yielding Tokyo
Monsters wounded by your claws may choose to Yield and leave Tokyo, or remain; Monsters who Yield still lose Life Points from the attack
16
Heal (hearts)
If you are outside Tokyo, gain 1 Life Point for each heart rolled up to your maximum of 10
17
No healing in Tokyo
If you are in Tokyo, heart dice do not let you gain Life Points (you can still gain Life Points from Power cards or Wickedness tiles)
18
Monster elimination
If a Monster loses their last Life Point, they are eliminated and discard all their cards, Wickedness tiles, and Energy Charges
19
Mandatory entry
If no one is in Tokyo, you must enter and place your Monster in Tokyo City
20
Enter Tokyo Bay
In a 5 or 6 player game, if Tokyo City is occupied but Tokyo Bay is empty, you must enter Tokyo Bay
21
First player enters
No Monster starts the game in Tokyo; the first player must enter Tokyo City during this step
22
Yielding restrictions
You can only Yield Tokyo after losing Life Points from another Monster's claw roll
23
Gain Victory Point on entry
You gain 1 Victory Point when you enter Tokyo
24
Gain Victory Points for staying
You gain 2 Victory Points if you start your turn in Tokyo (includes additional turns from special effects)
25
No healing in Tokyo
Monsters in Tokyo cannot use heart dice to heal
26
Tokyo Bay rules
With 5 or 6 players, Tokyo Bay has identical effects as Tokyo City; both locations are considered "in Tokyo"
27
Leaving Tokyo Bay
Once the game has 4 or fewer players, any player in Tokyo Bay must leave immediately (unless Tokyo City is empty, then move there)
28
Purchase from Market
Buy one or more of the three face-up cards by spending Energy Charges equal to the card's cost
29
Discard cards
Resolve the effect immediately then discard the card
30
Keep cards
Place the card face-up in front of you; its power is now active
31
Replace purchased cards
Draw from the deck to replace any cards removed from the Market; new cards are immediately available
32
Sweep the Market
Spend 2 Energy Charges to discard all three face-up cards and reveal three new ones
33
Continue buying
As long as you have enough Energy, you may keep buying or sweeping cards
34
Activate end-of-turn effects
Resolve any Power card effects that trigger at the end of your turn
35
Pass the dice
Give the dice to the player on your left (clockwise)

Winning

How to claim victory.

1
Victory by points
The game ends when a Monster reaches 20 Victory Points
2
Victory by elimination
The game ends if only one Monster remains alive
3
Declare the winner
The Monster who reaches 20 Victory Points or is the last survivor is crowned Dark King of Tokyo
4
Simultaneous elimination and victory
If you reach 20 Victory Points and 0 Life Points in the same turn, you must survive your turn to win
5
Total elimination
If all Monsters are eliminated at the same time, everyone loses

watch & Learn

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FULL rules

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