King of Tokyo Rules | How to Play and Win

King of Tokyo is a 2 to 6 player monster dice game designed by Richard Garfield, and you win by being the first monster to reach 20 victory points, or by being the last monster standing after everyone else is eliminated.

This is the rare game that is loud enough that adults want to play it and simple enough that a younger kid can sit in. You are a giant monster rampaging through Tokyo. You roll six dice, do whatever the faces tell you, and fight over who controls the city. The older posts make it sound like a strategy war; it is not. It is a fast, mean little fight that runs about 30 minutes and that people immediately want a rematch of.

The whole game is three ideas. First, you roll six dice up to three times, keeping the ones you like as you go. Second, the faces do five things, which is scoring points, hoarding energy, smashing other monsters, or healing. Third, whoever is in Tokyo scores bonus points and heals no one, so there is a constant tug of war over who holds the city and who gets pushed out of it.

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How you win

There are two ways to win and the game ends the moment either happens.

Reach 20 victory points. The first monster to hit 20 points at the end of a round is crowned King of Tokyo, and the game ends.

Or eliminate everyone. If your attacks drop every other monster to zero health, you are the last monster standing and you win, no points required. Production note for anyone reading an older copy of this: some cards and editions cap a game at a points total; the current IELLO rulebook runs to 20 victory points, and older copies said the same, so aim for 20.

Points come from all over the place, which is the fun of it. Numbers on the dice score, holding and starting in Tokyo scores, and the Power cards you buy score. It is very normal to see a leader swing from 10 points to a winner in a single turn.

How a turn works

Your turn is five short steps, and the first two are the whole game.

1. Roll the dice. Roll all six black dice. You may then roll again, and again, for up to three rolls total. After any roll you can set dice aside to keep them, and on the third roll you may even re roll dice you had set aside. Stop whenever you like.
2. Resolve the dice. You must resolve every die. Here is what the faces do:

Face	What it does
1, 2, 3	Score victory points only as a set of three of a kind. Three 1s is 1 point, three 2s is 2 points, three 3s is 3 points, and each extra die of that same number adds 1 more
Energy	Gain 1 energy cube per lightning rolled. Energy is money for Power cards
Smash (claw)	Deal 1 damage per claw, to a set of targets that depends on whether you are in Tokyo
Heal (heart)	Recover 1 health per heart, but only when you are outside Tokyo

3. Enter Tokyo. If Tokyo is empty you must move in.
4. Buy Power cards. Spend energy on one or more of the three face up Power cards, replacing them from the deck. Or spend 2 energy to sweep all three and reveal three new cards.
5. End of turn. Some Power cards trigger here, then pass the dice to your left.

The push your luck tension lives entirely in steps 1 and 2. Do you keep rolling for that third 3, or lock in the points before your smash kills you?

The Tokyo rule, which is the whole game besides the dice

Tokyo is the city in the middle of the board and it flips every rule that matters. Whoever sits in Tokyo is the king for now.

Being in Tokyo. You score 1 victory point the moment you enter Tokyo, and you score 2 victory points if you start your turn already in Tokyo. Monsters in Tokyo cannot heal with hearts, they can only get health back from Power cards. That is the price of the crown.

What your smash hits depends on where you stand. If you are in Tokyo, every claw hits all the monsters outside Tokyo. If you are outside Tokyo, every claw hits the monsters inside Tokyo. In a five or six player game Tokyo splits into Tokyo City and Tokyo Bay so more than one monster can hold it at once, and every monster holding it hits all the monsters outside.

You can only leave Tokyo one way. The monster in Tokyo gets a choice only when it takes claw damage from another monster, and the choice is to Yield, leave Tokyo, or stay and take the hits. You cannot leave voluntarily whenever you want, and you cannot Yield from damage that did not come from claws, a Power card burn does not let you step down. If a monster drops to zero health it is eliminated, its cards and energy are discarded, and it is out of the game.

The six base monsters

The base box ships six monsters: Alienoid, Cyber Bunny, Gigazaur, The King, Kraken, and Meka Dragon. In the base game they are largely the same under the hood, and the real difference between games comes from the Power cards you buy and the die luck. Asymmetry arrives with the Monster Mayhem expansion, which gives each monster evolutions that trigger off specific rolls and makes playing the Kraken feel different from playing The King.

Player count and who it is for

King of Tokyo plays 2 to 6, and it is genuinely good across the range. Two players is a tight one on one brawl where you are either in Tokyo or out and every claw matters. At five and six, it turns into a loud social scramble where the whole table is yelling at whoever is in Tokyo, and holding the city is a target on your back. A game runs about 30 minutes, and it is one of the easiest rules to teach, which is exactly why it shows up so often in our six player game night guide.

If you want the same fast family energy in a different shape, our Yahtzee guide is the classic dice roller for a calmer table, Connect 4 is the two player family duel, and Exploding Kittens is the loud party card game that plays the same sweaty palms feeling from a deck instead of dice. It is also a natural gift, and it belongs on our best board games of all time list for exactly that reason.

Which King of Tokyo to buy

Version	What it is	Best for
King of Tokyo	The base game, six monsters, six dice, 66 Power cards	Any family or group, this is the whole experience
King of Tokyo: Dark Edition	A repro themed base game, same King of Tokyo rules	Anyone who wants the same game and likes the moodier art
King of Tokyo: Monster Mayhem	An expansion that adds asymmetric evolutions per monster	Groups that have worn out the base game and want player powers

Buy the base game first, always. The Monster Mayhem expansion adds real asymmetry but it assumes you already know the base dice game, and it is far more fun once a table can actually play King of Tokyo without the rulebook open.

Frequently asked questions

How many players is King of Tokyo?

King of Tokyo plays 2 to 6 players, and the city splits into Tokyo City and Tokyo Bay so more than one monster can hold it at a full table. Two players is a tight duel and five or six is a loud scramble, so it holds up across the whole range.

How do you win King of Tokyo?

Win by being the first monster to reach 20 victory points, or by eliminating every other monster and being the last one standing. The game ends the moment either condition is met, so a points lead and a knockout are both real ways home.

How does a turn work in King of Tokyo?

You roll six dice up to three times, setting dice aside and even re rolling them on the third roll, then resolve every die. After resolving you enter Tokyo if it is empty, buy Power cards with your energy, and end your turn.

How do you score victory points?

Points come from three of a kind on the number dice, from holding Tokyo, and from the Power cards you buy. Three 1s is 1 point, three 2s is 2, three 3s is 3, and each extra matching die adds 1. You also gain 1 point for entering Tokyo and 2 points for starting your turn there.

Can you heal or leave Tokyo?

You cannot heal with hearts while you are in Tokyo, and you can only leave Tokyo by Yielding after the claws of another monster damage you. Holding Tokyo pays 1 point to enter and 2 points if you start your turn there, but you cannot heal inside it, only through Power cards.

Is King of Tokyo good for kids and families?

Yes, King of Tokyo is a light family dice game of about 30 minutes that a younger child can play with a little help counting dice. The theme is cartoon monster destruction rather than anything scary, and because the outcome is dice luck a 7 year old can genuinely beat the adults, which is exactly why families love it.

Do you need the Monster Mayhem expansion?

No, the base game is complete and plays 2 to 6, and Monster Mayhem is an extra that adds monster specific powers rather than a fix. Learn the base dice game first, because the expansion assumes everyone already knows the faces and the Tokyo rule, and adding it early just distracts a group that is still learning to push their luck.