King of New York review

One of the advantages of board games is the opportunity to play a variety of roles and situations. And what could be better than the opportunity to step into the shoes of monsters who have gathered to deal with their relationship in no other place than the island of Manhattan - New York. This time in the review - King of New York .

Subject matter

Each player controls one monster that fights the other players' monsters. The game features both a Tyrannosaurus Rex, a giant praying mantis, and an ancient robot. But in general monsters mean nothing, the game is completely symmetrical and the chosen roles are irrelevant. But despite this, there are players who will always want to choose the exact monster. During the game, the monsters figure out their relationship with each other and try to establish themselves in Manhattan. The theme is palpable, and as long as one is in charge, the others try to find a way to stop them, because as we all know, there can only be one king.

Components

The components meet the standards of board games of recent years. There is a large, colorful playing area, each monster is designed as a giant cardboard figure, which gives the game a three-dimensional feel. The dice in the game are very large, with engraved symbols that will maintain quality over time. The game on the table looks very exciting, it creates a feeling of excitement and dynamics for those around. I think the quality of the components is part of the victory, they are well thought out and perfectly create the feeling of an epic battle, where the bystanders will be as excited observers as the players themselves.

Mechanics

The game is advanced by rolling dice. Each player rolls a certain number of dice on their turn. He can make two re-rolls per turn. Any dice may be re-rolled, but after the second re-roll, the final result must be kept.

Various symbols are depicted on the dice - attacking opponents, symbols of life, energy, etc. The game can be won by skillfully using these symbols. There are actually two scenarios that lead to victory. The player wins if he is the first to collect 20 points or if he is the last monster standing. I will add that the second option is more difficult to fulfill, but the taste of victory is sweeter.

Yes, there is player banning in this game, so if you're not careful, you can get banned altogether. Namely, all the time one of the monsters is in Manhattan, which on the one hand is a good place to be, because in Manhattan you can get more points, and also you have the opportunity to hurt all the other city monsters with one attack. But it also means that all other opponents can deal damage to you in their turn. Players have to balance wisely when they choose to leave Manhattan, as staying there too long can cost a lot of lives.

To make the game even more interesting, it has a built-in economy, where you can buy different cards for green energy blocks, which will make your monster stronger. Also, there are buildings in different regions of New York that can be destroyed for extra points, but each building you take down summons an army that can suddenly attack monsters and threaten those precious victory points.

Multiplayer

The game can be played countless times, it will not get boring, because the dynamics are created between the players themselves. The game often requires you to make tactical choices and react to available cards, opponent health, buildings, and more.

Rating

This is neither a deep nor a strategically complex game, very high luck factor, eliminating players that can make someone offended, but I still like it. The game can be played very quickly, dynamically, and it creates a feeling of a real battle between monsters. Definitely a good option for a family or a fun group of friends.

There's also another option, King of Tokyo, which is basically the same game, just a little simpler. I'd recommend King of New York, but if you want to teach it to younger kids or players who haven't played much, then King of Tokyo has the same feel, but with fewer rules and even less strategy.
Rating: 7 out of 10.

You can buy the game at the Brain Games store at K. Barona Street 55 or at the online store: King of New York

Board Game Geek rating: 7.1

Author: Kristaps Auzāns

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