Toy Battle Review
When was the last time you saw a rubber duck wearing Viking garb take on a fire-breathing tyrannosaurus rex? Well such ludicrous match ups are an every turn occurrence in Toy Battle. Prepare for the hurly-burly of battling toys as we review this two player capture-the-flag style board game!
Here we are though, a decade after Codenames was originally released with a refreshed version and here I am with a review of it!
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Setup
Each of the two players takes a wooden rack and either the red or blue components. These tiles need to be shuffled face down before four tiles are removed from the game. Work out who will be the starting player, that person places three troop tiles on their rack, while the player going second places four tiles on their rack.
Next up, players need to decide on which of the eight terrains to play on, placing star tokens on all the relevant spaces. That’s it, you are ready to play Toy Battle!
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Gameplay
The aim of the game is to either place one of your tiles on your opponent’s castle, or be the first to get the correct number of stars.
On your turn you have two options, the first is to draw two new tiles to your rack. You have a hand limit of 8 tiles so if you have that many sitting on your rack you cannot take this option.
Alternatively, you can play one of your tiles to the board. Each troop has a strength and most have a special ability too. They must be placed in a contiguous route to your own castle, with the exception of the pirate monkey, Hook, who can parachute to anywhere on the board. You can always place on top of your own tokens. However, if you wish to cover an opponent’s tile you will need to have a higher strength than them.
There are eight different characters that either allow you to draw additional tiles, discard the other player’s tiles or affect placement rules. Kwak the Viking duck is the exception as they can be placed on any enemy troop regardless of number, but equally any number can cover it too.
Each board also offers different benefits or hindrances when tiles are placed on certain squares to mix up gameplay.
If ever your tiles completely surround a star (or stars), they are collected and count towards the total needed to win the game. In the rare event that both players run out of tiles and neither win condition is met, the person who collected the most stars wins.
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What it’s like
With only eight different tiles the powers are easy to learn and the iconography doesn’t take long for these to become obvious. There is a handy player aid detailing them all for new players or refreshes too.
At first I was a bit worried there was a bit too much luck involved in which tiles you draw and which ones are removed. I am pleased to report that you have much more agency over the game than I gave it credit for. When to play and when to pick up, which tiles to place where, and whether to try and capture their base or stars all play quite a big part in who will win.
That’s not to say there is complex decisions to make, because there isn’t. This is after all, a family weight game suitable for most. But you do feel like you are in control. Similarly luck can play a big part in success or defeat. A perfectly timed Cap’n tile (which lets you place another tile immediately) can be game changer late on, but only if you can place it somewhere useful as a number 2 it is low value.
I really like the tug of war of Toy Battle and that nervy moment where you decide to draw tiles instead of placing. Equally I enjoy it when you can break the chain of your opponent leaving them scrabbling for scenic routes around blockades.
The additional boards are also worthy of mention as the do mix things up nicely. I can’t help but think more tiles and boards may be on the way in the form of an expansion.
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Table Presence
Toy Battle looks great on the table with bold artwork . It offers lovely little star tokens to collect. All the different boards set a joyful and attractive backdrop to the two player match up. Each board has a note of how many stars are required to win on the edge which is a helpful reminder as it varies.
I’ve had a few people ask if the lovely wooden racks are included, I’m pleased to report that they are.
The tiles are nice and chunky and the artwork that adorns them is fun! Star, the tattooed unicorn with rainbow hair, is obviously a highlight. I think Jumbo the knight and XB-42 the wind-up robot are somehow quite similar, in ability iconography as well as in artwork, and I wonder if that might trick some younger players.
Congratulations to Repos Production for minimising the amount of plastic in the game. The tiles all get stored away in cardboard tuck boxes and the stars arrived in a brown paper envelope too. There is also very little air in the box. Touches like this are much appreciated and should be celebrated when publishers make these changes.
My only real negative is that there is no medal track to keep the scores on, although a PDF version does exist for you to make your own if you wish. I’m torn whether I would want more abilities or some asymmetry as it works really well as is, especially considering its target market. I would’ve liked each player’s characters to be unique even if they had the same powers just for a bit more aesthetic pazazz.
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What the kids thought
Max (11): I like how you can’t use a strategy that is planned due to all the random tiles. I love the different gimmicks on each board and the artwork is superb. Toy Battle is great!
George (14): Toy Battle is one of my favourite two player games. I love the variety of the boards to make games different. There’s a lot of strategy for such a small game and its very quick so you can play multiple games at a time.
Harrison (17): It is a solid quick two player game! I think it is surprisingly tactical. The theme is clever and fun, and I particularly enjoy the unique abilities of each token.
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Final thoughts on Toy Battle
It’s probably about now that I should share that Toy Battle was my most played game of 2025. There is a lot of competition with the amount of games I own. Yet It hit the table 31 times… and it only arrived halfway through the year! That doesn’t include some digital plays on Board Game Arena either. The reason behind that is clear when you read the kids opinion above. Their enthusiasm is matched by mine.
It’s a great option for another quick game before bed, or after something else. The only trouble is that we will quite often play a few times as it’s such a fun little two player game! I really do thoroughly enjoy playing Toy Battle. In its weight and class, it will survive a hurly-burly with most other fast family-weight titles and certainly deserves your attention.
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Key Facts
Number of players: 2
Board Game Review Recommended Age: 7+
Publisher’s Recommended Age: 8+
Playing Time: 15 minutes
Setting Up and Take Down Time: 1 minutes
Designers: Paolo Mori and Alessandro Zucchini
Publisher: Repos Productions
RRP: £23.99
Summary
Toy Battle is fast, fun and pretty fantastic! I have enjoyed numerous duels with my family, and I am cherishing the thought of many more to come!
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Artwork and Components
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Complexity
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Instructions
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Interaction
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Value for Money
Overall
Pros
- Two player only
- Different boards for replayability
- Quick to play
- Family friendly
Cons
- Some luck
- Two tiles could be too similar
- No Star Medal Track
Need more games?
If you already own Koi and enjoy it, or are looking for other inspiration, you might also like these similar games:
- Agent Avenue
- Star Realms
- Air, Land and Sea
- Schotten Totten
Buy Toy Battle
If you want to buy Toy Battle after reading our review click on one of our affiliate links below (note there has been no affiliate links until this point)
Reviewer’s Note
For clarity: we don’t get paid for our reviews. We also paid for this game with our own grown up money. We have tried not to let this affect our review in any way.
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