Toy Battle: The Game You Didn't Know You Needed. An Honest Board Game Review.

Bert
Apr 22
3 min read

The title Toy Battle might not immediately grab your attention, but the game itself certainly will. This two-player game is fast-paced, fun, and full of strategic depth. Let's dive into why Toy Battle deserves a spot on your gaming shelf. It's a two-player game where players battle to control areas of the map. One thing is that the game is as fast as it is fun. Toy Battle can be played in under 15 minutes. There are plenty of map boards that will keep it interesting for many plays. Paolo Mori (Ethnos and Fall of Rome) and Alessandro Zucchini (Australis) really hit it out of the park with this one. So let's dive into this board game review of Toy Battle!

Setup

There are four double sided game boards in the box. Each has 2 unique maps. The maps all have unique features and win conditions. There are two sets of tokens and trays to hold each players hands of tokens. Players choose a board and decide who will go first. Each player takes 4 random troops and puts them back into the box these will not be used for this game. This creates a little bit of asynchronous for the players as they start with the exact same set of troops.

The first player draws three tiles for their starting hand, and the second player draws four, to make their starting hands. Now the game is ready to be played. The quick setup and easy play makes the game easy to replay in rapid succession and you will want to.

Game Play

On a players turn they must do one of two actions, draw 2 tiles into their hand or place a tile from their hand onto the board. There are eight different tiles that players can play and they all have different values 1-7 and different special abilities like placing an extra tile on the board from your hand.

When playing a tile players must trace an uninterrupted line back to their base. This means that there has to be tiles of their color along a path back to their base. There is a tile that breaks that rule with its special ability, Hook (the cute pirate monkey toy) it can be placed anywhere. Eventually players will meet each others tiles and they may play on top of the other players tile if they play a tile with a higher value.

It has the feel of a classic game that is easy to learn but lacking the lifetime to master part

The objective of the game is to either get enough stars by capturing territory or by capturing the opposing players home base. If a player has all the bases that encircles an area of the map then they receive the star(s) for that area. Once earned the stars do not transfer back to the other player if they capture the same territory.

Each of the maps have different values for the winning amount of stars. The maps are all different with varying pathways and special features for example In the 'Volcanic Jungle' map, capturing the special base allows a player to move an adjacent opponent's troop to a nearby space.

Thoughts

Toy Battle is a super fun game with lots of replay. I found that I would play it a minimum of 3 times each time I brought it to the table. There are 4 double sided maps in the small form-factor box. Everything fit perfectly in the box. The replay value is super high, a great game to bring out during a lunch hour or as something to play while you wait for the other players to show up to game night.

For just over 30$USD there is no question that this game is worth it. Toy Battle is a great 2 player game for people of most ages. My 6 year old daughter really enjoys this game as well as some of my game group. Toy Battle is easy to learn and quick to play. It has the feel of a classic game that is easy to learn but lacking the lifetime to master part. I really enjoy that I can get a game to the table teach it play it a couple of times all in 30 minutes. If you're looking for a quick, fun, and strategic game, head to your local game store and grab a copy of Toy Battle. You won't regret it!

Players: 2

Year Published: 2025

Recommended Ages: 8+

Time to Play: 15 minutes