IELLO

IELLO is a French board-game publisher closely associated with *King of Tokyo*, the monster-battling game designed by Richard Garfield and first published in 2011. Garfield, also the creator of *Magic: The Gathering*, built the game around a straightforward choice: stay in Tokyo to score points, or leave when another monster attacks and survival becomes more important. Players roll dice up to three times on a turn, seeking points, energy, healing, or damage. Victory comes from reaching 20 points or being the last monster standing.

That combination of accessible rules and tactical risk became a defining part of IELLO’s catalogue. The publisher expanded *King of Tokyo* through additional monsters and the *Power Up!* expansion, which gives monsters individual evolution cards. A revised edition released in 2016 changed the game’s artwork and monster lineup. IELLO later published *King of Tokyo: Dark Edition*, a limited edition with a darker visual treatment and an additional “wickedness” mechanism. These releases show how the company continued developing one recognizable title rather than leaving it as a single boxed game.

Garfield and IELLO also reunited for *King of New York*, published in 2014. It retains the dice-driven monster conflict of *King of Tokyo* but moves the action across New York City boroughs. Buildings can be destroyed, military units can retaliate, and occupying Manhattan creates its own rewards and dangers. Despite the shared premise, the added city elements make it a separate game rather than simply a new map for *King of Tokyo*.

IELLO’s work extends beyond giant monsters. In *Bunny Kingdom*, another Garfield design published in 2017, players draft cards to place rabbit figures across a map, claim territories, and build productive fiefs. Its scoring depends on how territories connect resources with towers, giving the colorful game a spatial challenge quite different from dice combat. The publisher also released *The Big Book of Madness*, designed by Charles Chevallier. In that cooperative deck-building game, apprentice magicians open a dangerous book and must work together against the creatures and curses it unleashes.

Across these titles, IELLO’s identity is visible in specific publishing choices: repeated collaborations with Garfield, illustrated fantasy settings, and games whose playful appearance sits alongside consequential decisions. *King of Tokyo* asks when to abandon a valuable position; *Bunny Kingdom* rewards careful territorial planning; and *The Big Book of Madness* requires players to coordinate their decks. Those games, rather than a generic description of board-game publishing, explain why IELLO is recognizable to players.