Publisher: iello Games
Release Date: October 2016
Price: $19.99
Game Designer: Richard Garfield
Number of Players: 2 to 6
Playing Time: 40 minutes
Age Rating: 10 and up
Product #: 51290
ICv2 Rating: 4 Stars out of 5
The King of New York (as well as its older brother King of Tokyo) is full of fabulous, wacky monsters, ready to brawl for the ultimate control of the city, all the while munching on the hapless army guys scrambling to stop them. But, the truth is, every monster is in reality the same. At least until now.
Summary: The King of New York: Power Up! expansion adds a new feature to the game in the form of "Evolution cards." These cards work very much the same as the regular cards from the base game, providing either a temporary or permanent bonus to the player who uses them. But Evolution cards are different in two important ways: first they are kept secret from the other players until used, allowing for surprise tactics; and second they are exclusive to one monster. As a handy bonus, two complete sets of Evolution cards are included, allowing players to use their favorite King of New York monsters in both King of Tokyo and King of New York games.
Each monster has its own deck of Evolution cards, and begins the game with one of them. They can acquire more by rolling three hearts on their turn. Cards are held in the hand until played, at which point they take effect just like the regular cards.
And just because you can never have enough giant monsters, the expansion also introduces the electric-powered Mega Shark, with the cards, tile, and standee you need for him.
Originality: It’s always hard to give high marks for originality to an expansion. After all, they are based on something that already exists. And like most expansions, Power Up! is really more, dare I say, evolutionary rather than revolutionary. But in this case, it’s not a bad thing. One of the nice things about King of New York is how easy it is to learn and play, something that would be undermined, rather than enhanced, by adding in unnecessary new mechanics.
Presentation: Like all well-designed expansions, Power Up! fits seamlessly with the base game in terms of presentation. It features the same cartoony fun artwork as the original, with bold colors and dynamic graphics. The components are all attractively designed, and everything meshes perfectly with the original game.
Quality: While the material quality of the expansion and its components are just as good as we have come to expect from iello, and the rules, minimal as they are, are well-written and well-illustrated, I was a bit disappointed by the Evolution cards themselves. For starters, they don’t have any of the awesome artwork that adorns the cards from the base game, which I always thought was a big part of the fun. In addition, some of the card abilities are not very clear, particularly in how they interact with other cards and abilities in the game. This led to quite a bit of confusion and discussion in our games.
Marketability: Expansions are always dependent on their base game to drive interest, as they cannot be used without the base game to begin with. They never reach the same level of popularity as the base game either, as there will always be some players who are simply satisfied with the experience that the base game alone provides. In order for an expansion to shine, then, it must offer something that significantly enhances the base game experience. In my mind, Power Up! does deliver something that I always thought the base game should have had anyway: something that makes the decision of whether to play Captain Fish or Rob the robot meaningful.
Overall: I enjoy playing King of New York. And I enjoy it even more with Power Up! I like the way that every monster is now unique right from the start, and the abilities granted by the Evolution cards neatly fit them and style of each monster character. I also enjoy having a hidden element to the game. I can no longer be sure what tricks the other monsters have up their sleeves, and the surprise element makes the game even more fun.
But, we found that not all Evolution cards are equal. Even the fact that some are permanent and others one-use only makes some better than others, and since these cards are not purchased, there are no costs to balance them out. Also, based on our limited plays, I’m not convinced that every monster has an equally valuable evolution deck. In a quick little game like King of New York, that’s not a deal breaker, and further plays may prove my concern unfounded, but at this point it is a potential concern to me.
So, Power Up! isn’t perfect. But it is fun, and pretty, and it adds features to the game that I particularly like and, perhaps most important, having seen these features in play I wouldn’t want to go back to playing the regular game. And that’s why this expansion is worth 4 out of 5.
--William Niebling
