Crafting: Mini Kingkong 2

When I got my new smartphone (a cheap outdoor device by some unknown Chinese maker – I was adamant on having something that fits in my pocket and can be paid for with money rather than organ donations so my selection was slim), the packaging inspired me to make another board game: The box is small, black and has the device name printed on it in golden letters: Kingkong Mini 2. Awesome name for a board game that fits in a coat pocket and has you fighting the giant ape, I think.

 

Said Smart Phone Packaging really lends itself to a board game.

So I got to work: It's another solo boardgame that basically makes you a strategic puzzle to solve. Unlike Das Höhlenabenteuer though, this one involves dice rolls (to control your simian opponent's actions whenever he isn't directly provoked). But you get to set up the city however you like, with little cardboard cubes for buildings that you can stack up to three levels high (four would be possible as well but at that point it gets fiddly to manipulate units in between the buildings).

 

This is just the beginning of the fight. Casualties would later mount greatly.

You control an army of seven units: Three infantry squads, three tanks and one biplane. They each have their very own role in fighting rampaging Kaiju: Infantry is maneuverable in the urban jungle and can hole up in buildings to fight from there; Tanks have great range and can sustain the ape's rage when it's not directly on top of them; The Biplane is fast and difficult to get to when you're a ground-bound oversized monkey. Speaking of which: Kingkong is faster than any of your ground units, tramples them in the streets, has 20 health points and can do a rage attack that damages buildings and uncovered infantry in the four squares surrounding him (he can also get the biplane that way but only when he's on a rooftop himself). In the current version of the rules he gets even faster when below 50% health.

I'm currently running test games in order to balance the thing properly. Kingkong has yet to win but it's been a close call twice so I guess I'm getting there. You can also make yourself a handicap – I'm working on a score system that allows you to make the enemy more agressive and limit your own units in order to get more points in the end. The more of the city is intact when the ape falls, the higher your score. Once I got Kong working, I may also produce some add-ons for more Kaiju with different abilities and behavior-patterns. Perhaps this can one day become a print-and-play product? We shall see.