Kaikoro: Review
Information:
Mechanics: Roll and Write, Modular Setup, Print and Play, Dice Rolling
Player Age: 10+Player Count: 1 - 100 PlayersTime to Play: 30 - 60 Minutes
Player Age: 10+
Objective:
Kaikoro is a simultaneous-play roll and write where players are trying to protect their village from five unique and destructive kaiju. Each kaiju has their own way of being defeated and once a player defeats all five kaiju, or takes 10 damage in their city they will end the game for themselves. Then they must wait for the other players to finish before final scoring. Each kaiju is filled with scoring possibilities, however, they need to be defeated before the player gains the score. This creates a constant push your luck experience.
Game Anatomy:
Dice:
The game contains three dice; two of one colour and one red dice. The red dice will denote the two kaiju that can be targeted on a turn and will also determine which two kaiju will attack. The other two dice will determine the value the player has to attack with. This attack can be split between one or both of the target kaiju.
City and Kaiju Movement:
Each player has 10 buildings to protect that will score points for every surviving building at the end of the game. Each turn, two kaiju will move towards the city based on the number that is rolled on the target dice in the kaiju phase. There are eight movements that can occur before the movements will destroy one of the buildings in your city. Every time you defeat a kaiju you will move up the kaiju track, gaining a benefit but increasing the surviving kaiju movement.
Symbol Effects:
Points (Hits):
Each kaiju has various points on them that players can gain. These points have no value until the kaiju is defeated.
Attack Bonus:
This symbol allows players to use this value of attack on any undefeated kaiju.
Power:
Power can be used to modify the attack or target dice by one value, in the case of the attack die this can allow the player to gain a 0 or 7 attack value. Using two power bonuses can give the player an attack bonus of any value. Power is gained from the kaiju or by skipping both attack dice in a turn.
Crystal:
Crystals can help you to stay alive. Each crystal will act as protection from a kaiju attack on your city. Each crystal negates one damage.
Kaiju Heart:
Reaching a kaiju heart is how you defeat the kaiju.
Weakspot:
A weakspot will trigger that kaiju to automatically move (based on the current movement). Weakspots tend to be on the sections that give the best bonuses.
The Kaiju:
There are five kaiju on the base sheet that all have different methods of being filled in, scored, and defeated.
Wyvera:
Starting from the tail, the number on the attack dice advances towards the kaijus neck (the heart). Each number counts as a step and the space where you end your movement is the bonus/score you gain.
Mothstar:
Mothstar has two entry points, each with any number being valid. After entering, the exact number is needed in order to advance throughout the kaiju. To defeat Mothstar at its heart, a 0 or a 7 needs to be used, meaning you need to modify the dice for your final attack.
Tortema:
Tortema is attacked by using the same number that is displayed on the kaiju. Players start with the outer shell but then advance towards the centre. To get to the middle shell or inner shell, an adjacent ring needs to be attacked. When a resource has both shells surrounding it attacked, the player will gain the bonus/score. To defeat Tortema one of the inner shells needs to be attacked.
Chano:
Chano can have any number written in his windows. If a column or row is filled the player will gain the bonus displayed on the right side and the bottom of the building. If the exact number is totalled in the row (not all windows need to be filled) then the bonus on the left hand side is gained. To defeat Chano, a value of 14 or more has to be tallied in the third column.
Ozzy:
Ozzy is defeated simply by filling all the sections in one of his tentacles (two of these tentacles only have one space). The two middle tentacles have goals that, if met by filling the two tentacle spots surrounding the goal, the player will score two points per goal achieved once the kaiju is defeated.
Setup:
- Collect three dice, one of which is red.
- Give each player a gamesheet and a writing utensil.
How to Play:
There are two main phases every turn; the player phase and the kaiju phase.
In the player phase the three dice are rolled. Two are attack dice and the red dice determines the kaiju targets. One target dice is shared by two kaiju up to the number 5, where a 6 is wild.
In this phase you attack one of these two kaiju twice or attack each of the kaiju with one of the numbers on the attack dice. Each kaiju has their own method of how they can be attacked. If the six is rolled on the target dice any two kaiju can be attacked.
In the kaiju phase the target dice determines which two kaiju move based on the kaiju movement track. If they are already at the city each movement will equal an attack on the city. If a six is rolled every kaiju will move.
The game will end for a player if they have lost all 10 buildings in their city or if they have defeated all five kaiju. When a player defeats the fifth kaiju they activate a nuclear warhead. At the start of every turn every active player will lose a building (or a crystal) and the players who have finished the kaiju will progress on a nuclear warhead extra scoring track. Once each player is finished everyone will score the points gained from the kaiju, the surviving cities and from the nuclear warhead track. Whichever player has the most points is the winner.
Variants:
A few variants were unlocked when the game was on kickstarter. These include a hunter mode, a new map with five new kaijus, expert mode for both maps, and hero and challenge cards.
Hunter Mode:
The hunter mode gives a bonus to the player that first eliminates each matching kaiju. These bonuses are randomised between the kaijus every game and will give effects such as two more points, a power, a crystal, an attack bonus, and (best of all) an attack on the enemy from all the surviving kaiju. This creates more interaction between players and an added layer of push your luck.
New kaiju and Expert Mode:
There is a secondary kaiju map with five unique kaiju each with their own systems and challenges. Each map also has an expert mode that gives a more challenging version of all the kaiju. Both of these create additional challenges for players to take once they have mastered the original map.
Hero and Challenge Cards:
At the start of the game each player will recieve a unique hero card that gives a bonus or advantage.
They also receive an in-game challenge that creates a new puzzle for the player to resolve. This could be one kaiju moving every kaiju phase, or that the kaiju have to be defeated in a particular order.
Final Thoughts:
- Abundance of variability.
- Easy to play.
- The action starts straight away as the kaijus march towards the city.
- Unique player driven push your luck as you try and get the most benefits and score off each kaiju before you vanquish them.
Kaikoro is a fun roll and write that puts you straight into the action as soon as the game starts. It has an interesting mechanism of pushing your luck as you try to get the most bonuses/scores out of each kaiju, while also wanting to keep your city safe. Some kaiju constantly attack so while you want to keep them alive to score the most point, you also find yourself wanting to eliminate that kaiju. As you defeat kaiju you ramp up the speed on the others as each time they activate they will head towards your city, pushing you into vanquishing actions. Each of the maps have five unique kaiju, each with different mechanics and different severity of challenge. This creates plenty of opportunities to problem solve, esecially when you bring in the expert maps. The variability is also great as there is an abundance of heroes and challenges that, when combined, create a unique environment every game. If you are looking for a monster of a roll and write to play then the kaiju in kaikoro have you covered.
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