Game Review: Godzilla Tokyo Clash

It’s been about 10 months since I’ve written a game review. A lot of games have come out in that time, but none that have jumped into my “Top 9 Games” list as quickly as this one. I’m a Godzilla (and Ultraman, Power Rangers, etc.) fan first and a board game fan second. Even though I may have spoiled my final thoughts already, I love this game. I’m here to tell you what’s great about it, where it does fall a bit short, and why you should give it a shot even if you’re not familiar with Godzilla.

Godzilla Tokyo Clash
Designed by: Prospero Hall
Published by: Funko Games

Gameplay

This is a 2-4 player card-based miniatures skirmish game on a modular board that removes the player elimination that’s often found in games like this. Each player will take control of a giant kaiju and their 30-card deck. The game is played over a series of rounds where the player with the most Dominance wins. The only way to obtain these Dominance points is through damaging opposing kaiju, claiming cards from their deck as Trophies.

The first thing you notice when opening the rulebook is that the board set up is different depending on the number of players. The rulebook recommends playing your first game at two players with Godzilla and Megalon. After playing as all four characters in this game, I strongly agree with this, and I’ll get in to that more later.

The information on each player’s Kaiju Mat is clearly laid out with good use of reminder text for your kaiju’s abilities. This is also where you’ll keep track of your energy. The cards are also very organized with easily identifiable card types, icons, and keywords.

On your turn, you can take one of three actions:

• Play a card from your hand
• Play one of your kaiju’s discard abilities
• Pass

That’s it. These discard abilities often allow for small amounts of movement or the ability to throw a kaiju or vehicle a single space, which can result in gaining energy.

I love the way that Godzilla Tokyo Clash handles damage. If you damage an opposing character, you draw cards from their deck equal to the number of damage. You then select a single card from that group to claim as your Trophy. At the game’s end you will gain Dominance points, printed in the lower right corner of the card, for each of your Trophies. The one catch is that you cannot claim a Trophy with a Dominance value of zero. So, if you deal three damage to your opponent, you draw three cards from their deck. You will likely choose the one with the highest Dominance value and place it in your Trophy pile, while putting the others in their discard. If all cards you draw from their deck have Dominance values of zero, you do not get to claim any of them, and all cards will go to their discard instead.

At the start of every round, except the first, the Oxygen Destroyer token moves a single space along its track. At the other end of the track, you will place every small building you destroy on the track, progressing closer towards the Oxygen Destroyer token. Once the Oxygen Destroy token and small buildings have moved past each other on the track, that signifies that the current round is the final round in the game. So, players do have some amount of control to speed up or slow down the game’s end by how many small buildings are destroyed.

There are also Event cards that can deploy military vehicles, electrical towers, alien UFOs and more throughout the game board. Many of these will not turn the tide of the game, but can definitely enhance the game depending on which events you choose.

That’s pretty much it. You destroy vehicles and buildings to gain energy. Use energy to damage opponents and claim Trophies. And try to have to most Dominance points when the Oxygen Destroyer token signals the game’s end. Because the end game trigger is tied directly to a primary method of gaining energy, the game rarely feels like it’s taking too long. Mechanically, it’s a very tight game.

Theme

As a Godzilla movie nerd, I can tell that Prospero Hall and Funko Games have paid attention to every detail: from the card art calling back to specific moments from movies, to the distressed movie poster look of the kaiju mats. This is a labor of love by true fans.

Much of the art in this game represents the characters’ Showa Era (1950’s – mid 80’s) appearances, however some of the attacks and abilities on the cards are based on moments we’ve seen in the Heisei or Millennium Eras. I have no problem with this, and welcome it. I just think it’s worth noting as a fan.

I think my favorite piece of art in this game is on the Event card, Xilien Invasion. These are the aliens from Planet X that we see in “Invasion of the Astro-Monster”, my all-time favorite Godzilla movie. It’s so great to see them make an appearance.

Even from a generic “giant monster” point of view, this game does a great job of keeping the focus on the kaiju, and not on the civilians who may be in the buildings you’re destroying. There is just the right amount of buildings to destroy, and because that ties in to how the end of the game is triggered, you’ll never run out of buildings. The different large buildings: towers, military bunkers, and more, all add some nice flavor to change things up just enough to keep from feeling monotonous.

For Parents

The box says ages 10+. My 7-year-old loves this game. He may not always make the most strategic decision, but after a few more plays, I expect him to make games more competitive. There are some small tokens and cubes that could be choking hazards for the real little ones.

Set up takes about 10-15 minutes. The game box doesn’t have an expected game length, but I’d say about 20 minutes per player. I think that this is a pretty good length game to keep the attention span of children.

What’s Not To Love?

So, one problem I found is that using Mothra doesn’t feel very fair in a 2-player game. Mothra’s unique ability says that she is not damaged by military vehicles. That accounts for 3 of the 6 possible Event cards. There are some downsides to Mothra, such as she doesn’t have a discard ability that can throw a kaiju or vehicle. But I think this invulnerability to military vehicles can greatly affect a game, especially at 2 players.

Because of Mothra’s ability, in that game we used the Events that placed a UFO and electrical towers on the board. I was teaching a new player, and I didn’t want to choose military events, giving myself an unfair advantage. This game without vehicles was a very uninspired way to play this game. Even if I had chosen the event with trains, it would have been much improved. Be aware when choosing Events, more vehicles on the board make the game more exciting and interactive.

This isn’t as much a criticism on my end, but I recognize it could be for some people. The game says it’s geared for ages 10+. Be aware that this is a family friendly game, and the light game mechanics reflect that. I enjoy lighter games. And even though it is lighter, you can definitely find competition among experienced gamers. That said, it’s current complexity rating on BGG is 2.0/5. Personally I’d rate it a bit lower, maybe a 1.75. Again, not a complaint from me, but some should be aware.

Final Thoughts

The game does away with the concept of player elimination, and keeps minimal options available with only three different actions to take on your turn. This makes sure that players stay engaged the whole time, and turns typically move quick enough that there isn’t a lot of down time, even at four players.

This game was made at a scale to promote upgrading components. You can use Monopoly houses, trains from Ticket to Ride, military vehicles from Axis & Allies, and plenty of others to take this game’s presentation to the next level. Here’s a thread on BGG that has compiled a list of potential component upgrades. However, even without a DIY approach, this game looks great out of the box. The character minis have amazing detail and the large buildings really help complete the game’s table presence.

I’ve played this game with a fellow Godzilla fan who was marking out over the Jet Jaguar appearance on cards, and I’ve played this game with gamers who have a very pedestrian knowledge of Godzilla. Aside from the underwhelming experience due to the lack of vehicles, it’s been a hit every time. One gaming friend specifically enjoyed the combat system. In a multiplayer game, you’re more likely to attack a character that has lost the least Trophies. This discourages piling on a character that’s already been attacked the most, and encourages spreading the damage around, trying to increase the chances of getting those Trophies with a high Dominance value. The fact that this game has found a way to solve the issue of one player getting ganged up on in a multiplayer skirmish game is a feat unto itself and this game needs celebrated for that.

In closing, I just want to note how primed this game is to receive expansions. There is no shortage of characters that could add unique gameplay mechanics from the Toho library of kaiju. Funko Games is also no stranger to putting out game expansions. Just look at their Funkoverse line. Mechagodzilla and King Caesar would make perfect candidates in my opinion.

Godzilla Tokyo Clash is a game that takes a famous cast of characters, and puts them in a truly fun game for both gamers and fans of the franchise. This game is already cementing itself as a family favorite.