Review: Toy Battle

Introduction & Overview

Toy battles unfold on land, at sea, in the air, and even in space! The troops need your tactical talent to lead them to victory. Your mission? Be the first to reach the enemy headquarters or control more territories than your opponent.

This is the premise of Toy Battle, designed by Paolo Mori (Libertalia, Dogs of War) and Alessandro Zucchini (Liguria, Murder in Arosa). First published in 2025 by Repos Production in an English and French version. The artwork is handled by Paul Mafayon (Bunny Kingdom, Tikal).

It is published in Spanish by Asmodee (the game is completely language-independent except for the rulebook). It plays 2 players, with a suggested minimum age of 8, and a duration of approximately 15 minutes. The retail price is €24.99. For this review, a copy of the Spanish version by Asmodee was used, kindly provided by the publisher as a review copy.

Important: if you already know the game and/or are only interested in my opinion about it, you can go directly to the Opinion section. The Content and Mechanics sections are especially intended for those who do not know the game and prefer to get a general idea of how it works.

Go to Personal Opinion

Components

Inside a two-piece cardboard box (lid and bottom), measuring 32.5×27.1×24 cm (a medium rectangular box similar to The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-earth), we find the following components:

• 48 Units (24 of each color) (cardboard)
• 4 Double-sided boards (cardboard)
• 16 Medal tokens (wood)
• 2 Unit stands (wood)
• 2 Storage boxes (cardboard)
• Player aid sheet (cardstock)
• Rulebook

How to Play

Toy Battle is a game where two opponents compete across one of several possible scenarios. The main objective is to attempt to create an uninterrupted chain of deployed units (with different values and powers) on the board from the player’s headquarters to the rival’s headquarters or, failing that, to accumulate a certain number of medals by controlling all the spaces surrounding specific areas. On each turn, the active player will choose between placing a unit from their stand onto a board space connected to their castle via an uninterrupted path of units of their color (if it is empty or occupied by one of their own units, any value can be placed, but if it is occupied by an enemy unit, the placed unit must have a higher value or an effect that allows it). If a player occupies all the spaces surrounding an area when placing a unit, they can claim its medals if they are still available. Alternatively to placing a unit, they can draw two tiles from their pool and add them to their stand. The game ends when a player manages to reach the rival headquarters or has accumulated the number of medals specified by the scenario.

Key Concepts

Let’s start with the Boards. The game includes eight scenarios on four double-sided boards. In each scenario, we will find one or more headquarters for each faction at opposite ends. In between, there are a series of spaces where players will deploy units. These spaces are interconnected by paths, forming areas where medals will be placed. Some scenarios feature effects on various spaces that trigger when a unit is placed on them. The ends of each scenario show the number of medals required to win the game.

These are represented by Medal Tokens placed inside the areas on the board. The first player to occupy all the spaces surrounding a specific area will claim its medals, which they will keep under their control even if they stop controlling all the spaces surrounding that area.

Finally, and as the most important concept, we have the Units. Each player has a set of twenty-four units, with three units of each of the eight types. These units begin in a personal pool from which players will draw to add them to their hand (which can never exceed eight units). From this hand, they will be deployed onto the board, following the rule that they can only occupy spaces directly or indirectly connected to the player’s headquarters (via an uninterrupted path of spaces occupied by their own units). Each unit has a value used to compare two units—the one already deployed and the one the player is currently placing—since players can stack units on top of each other. However, to stack a unit on top of a rival unit, the value of the new unit must be higher. Additionally, each unit has a unique effect providing various benefits.

That is enough to get started.

Setup

1. Choose one of the available scenarios and set up the board between both players.
2. Place as many medal tokens in each region as indicated on the board.
3. Each player chooses a color and receives:
4. 24 Unit Tiles (shuffle them face down, return 4 of them to the box, and leave the rest in a personal supply).
5. A stand (placed in front of them).
6. The starting player is chosen randomly, draws three tiles from their pool, and places them on their stand to form their starting hand. Their opponent draws four tiles.

We are ready to begin!

Game Flow

A game of Toy Battle is played over an indeterminate number of alternating turns, beginning with the starting player.

On each turn, the active player will choose one of the following two options:

• Draw Units: The player draws two units from their personal pool and places them on their stand. A maximum limit of eight units on the stand cannot be exceeded. If they have 7, they can draw one more. If they already have 8, they cannot choose this option.
• Play a Unit: The player chooses a unit from those available on their stand and places it on a board space, applying its effect if applicable. The following placement rules must be followed (unless the unit’s effect overrides any of these rules):
  • The space must be directly or indirectly connected (via a path of spaces occupied by units of their color) to a castle of their color.
  • The value of the placed unit does not matter if the space is empty or occupied by one of their own units.
  • If the space is occupied by an enemy unit, the value of the unit being placed must be strictly higher than the visible unit on the space, stacking on top of it.
  • Units cannot be placed in your own headquarters.
  • If, upon placing a unit, all the spaces surrounding one or more areas are occupied by the active player’s units, they claim those medals if they are still on the board.

After this, the turn passes to the opponent.

The power of each unit is as follows:

• Kwak: has no value and can be placed on top of any unit, but any unit can be placed on top of it.
• Skully: has a value of 1 and, when placed, the player immediately performs a draw action.
• Cap’N: has a value of 2 and, when placed, the player immediately performs a play-a-unit action.
• Jumbo: has a value of 3 and, when placed, the player can remove an enemy unit from the board that is adjacent to the space where it was placed.
• Hook: can be placed without following the rule of connecting to the headquarters via a path of tiles, though it cannot be placed directly on an enemy headquarters.
• XB-42: has a value of 5 and, when placed, the player can randomly discard (revealing it) a unit from the rival’s stand.
• Star: has a value of 6 and, when placed, the player draws a unit from their pool and places it on their stand.
• Roxy: has a value of 7 with no effects.

Game End

The end of the game is triggered immediately when a player manages to place a tile in the rival’s headquarters or has accumulated at least as many medals as indicated in the scenario. In either case, that player is declared the winner.

Personal Opinion

Paolo Mori is a peculiar fellow. A designer who is hard to classify, because he can create a Vasco da Gama (famous for Tom Vasel’s negative review back in the day), a medium-to-heavy euro published by What’s Your Game, or surprise us with Blitzkrieg! (here is his tocho-review), condensing all the theaters of World War II to their bare essentials.

One of his defining traits, with few exceptions, is the constant pursuit of “elegance” in his designs. A somewhat grand term used to describe games that combine simplicity, clarity, and depth in a harmonious way. In Paolo Mori’s resume, we find several examples, such as Ethnos (here is his tocho-review), Dogs of War, or The Match of the Century (here is his tocho-review), one of my favorites.

Today we are analyzing a proposal that is causing quite a stir in the gaming scene. Let’s see how this Toy Battle performs on the table, co-designed with Alessandro Zucchini, but not before thanking Asmodee for providing the review copy that makes this lengthy write-up possible.

For gamers of my generation, it is impossible not to think of Toy Story when looking at the cover of this game. First, because of the obvious connection with the word “Toy,” and second, because of the depiction of iconic toys like a T-Rex, a green plastic soldier, or an unfriendly-looking monkey.

And we won’t be far off, as in this title, two contenders will compete to capture the rival flag by reaching their headquarters. They will do so by deploying toys as units on a battlefield set in typical places where children leave their toys scattered around, such as the backyard, the beach, or a swimming pool, though there are also more fantastical scenarios, like a rainbow among the clouds or a cemetery.

Mechanically speaking, the game combines hand management (tiles representing units) with tile placement (the board has interconnected slots to deploy them), route building (one path to victory is forming an uninterrupted chain of units from your own headquarters to the rival’s), and area control (the other path is accumulating medals by occupying all the spaces surrounding certain zones).

On each turn, the player has only two options. The first is to take two units to add to their hand, keeping the hand limit in mind. The second is to place a unit on the board, following the rule that the space must be directly or indirectly connected (via other friendly units) to the player’s headquarters. This second action is the most frequent, since for every draw action, two deployments can be made.

With such simple mechanics, games play out at lightning speed (as long as there are no players with analysis paralysis) in a constant back-and-forth, where tempo management—deciding what to do each turn and, above all, how to use your units—is crucial to achieving victory.

Surely some of you still don’t see the appeal. But everything changes when the unit effects come into play. Each player has three copies of each type of unit in their pool. These have a numerical value between 1 and 7 (plus one with no value). This value matters when stepping on rival units, neutralizing their position by stacking on top of them (without removing them from the board), provided the placed unit has a higher value.

Keeping track of the units deployed by your opponent to calculate the odds of them holding a powerful unit in hand is fundamental. Thus, effects like those of the value five tiles, which allow you to randomly discard a unit from the opponent’s rack, are incredibly potent if used at just the right moment (for instance, when the rival has few tiles on their rack).

To prevent total information control, four units are discarded at the beginning of the game, and neither player will know what they are. This can create certain imbalances if, by bad luck, all three units of the same value are discarded (especially if it’s a high value, the disadvantage will be noticeable). However, since you won’t know until the end, it doesn’t hurt the experience during gameplay.

I really like the dynamics that emerge when deciding where to place units due to the two sudden-death victory conditions, which are somewhat reminiscent of 7 Wonders Duel (here is his tocho-review). There will be games where one player will try to connect the headquarters, forcing the rival into defensive maneuvers. In others, players will be more cautious, placing pieces in strategic positions to force the opponent to use powerful units, which will allow them to surround areas and accumulate medals, making the opponent nervous, since it is difficult to dominate both objectives simultaneously.

Differences aside, this title might evoke Small World (here is his tocho-review), due to the idea of adding units to the board to control positions and hold them as long as possible. However, having a limited number of rounds and not focusing on maximizing money makes the dynamics quite different.

Another strong point is its replayability. Not only because of the fast-paced games (it’s rare for them to exceed twenty minutes), but because the box includes eight scenarios, each with a different layout of spaces and unique features that force players to adopt different strategies.

Obviously, it’s not a game that is going to change your life, but it’s one of those titles that hits the table very easily because the games are snappy and always leave a good taste in your mouth. Designing a game that offers interesting decisions in just a few minutes is no easy task. We could say it’s an even more streamlined Blitzkrieg! with a friendlier theme (the World War II theme deters many players). It’s a medium-box filler.

Moving on to production, which is another standout aspect. The box has almost no insert air, featuring thick, excellently punched cardboard tiles, four nicely thick boards (though slightly less so than the tiles), and magnificent wooden racks for the units. The wooden medal tokens serve their purpose perfectly. It includes two cardstock boxes to store the units, ensuring everything fits perfectly. The rulebook is well-structured and leaves no room for doubt.

On a visual level, Paul Mafayon achieves a very effective result. The illustrations on the units are excellent (with different frames for each player), although the eight scenarios stand out even more, packed with fun details that lighten the tone. This is a toy battle; nobody dies here. This is reflected right from the cover, where the toys look fierce, but they are just that—toys.

And let’s wrap this up. Toy Battle is a medium-box filler that can be explained in five minutes and played in less than twenty. A design for two players that is closer to an abstract game than anything else, where contenders fight for positioning on one of eight scenarios by deploying units with values and effects that create tense and fun situations. Luck can have a slight influence due to drawing from a hidden supply and the initial discard of four units, but the games are so fast that you can just play a rematch. The production is magnificent, another success for the publisher in terms of quality-to-price ratio. It might lack a bit of depth to reach excellence, but it is a highly recommended design. For all these reasons, I give it a…