How to play Toy Battle: connections, covering and medals

The first player takes 3 troops; the second takes 4. Shuffle your 24 troops, remove 4 without looking, randomly choose the starting player, then draw the starting troops. Keep your rack hidden from your opponent.

Rule source: Rules p. 2 · Setup

Yes—draw only 1. Normally choose either drawing 2 troops or placing 1 troop. The rack holds at most 8. With 7 on your rack or only 1 in reserve, draw 1; with 8 on your rack, you cannot choose drawing.

Rule source: Rules p. 3 · Turns and rack limit

Covering your own troop does not compare strength; covering an ordinary enemy requires strictly greater strength. Roxy 7 can cover enemy Star 6, but not enemy Roxy 7. Connection and terrain restrictions still apply; use the player aid for Kwak’s covering exception and Hook’s base-connection exception.

Rule source: Rules p. 4 · Placement; player aid p. 1 · Troops

Resolve newly placed troops’ abilities before the special-base effects of uncovered troops. A troop placed by Cap’n also resolves its ability first; optional effects may be declined. Claim remaining medals as soon as a region is fully controlled, and win immediately on reaching the map target or capturing an enemy HQ.

Rule source: Rules pp. 3, 5–6; player aid p. 1 · Cap’n

Compare medals, not bases. If the current player can neither draw nor legally place a troop, the game ends: more medals wins, and a tie is lost by the player who triggered the end. With 2 medals each, the player unable to act loses.

Rule source: Rules p. 6 · End of the game

No. Read the medal target printed on your side of the map; Castle Field requires 7 for either side. Claiming 3 in the lesson completes an exercise, not the full game. Claimed medals stay yours even if you later lose the region.

Rule source: Rules pp. 2, 5–6 · Map targets and regions

Hook cannot bypass the HQ connection rule. It may ignore connection when placed on a base, but an HQ is not a base. Attacking enemy HQ still requires a connection to your own HQ and compliance with terrain restrictions.

Rule source: Player aid p. 1 · Hook

No troop disappears automatically. A disconnected troop stays on its base and the top troop still determines control. An isolated base does not start an HQ connection for ordinary deployment. Hook may use its connection exception when placed on a base.

Rule source: Rules p. 4 · Stacks and HQ connection

No. Kwak changes enemy-covering strength comparisons, but HQ connection and terrain restrictions still apply. It cannot be placed on your own HQ. Any enemy troop may also cover Kwak.

Rule source: Rules p. 4; player aid p. 1 · Kwak

You may inspect stacks but cannot reorder them. Revealing a covered troop does not trigger its ability again. Only the top troop occupies a base; covered friendly troops do not maintain connections. Abilities follow a new placement, and revealing an old troop is not a new placement.

Rule source: Rules pp. 3–4 · Placement, stacks and connections

Region control does not add an HQ-connection requirement. If your visible troops occupy every surrounding base, take all remaining medals and keep them. A region emptied of medals awards none again. Troop placement itself must still be legal.

Rule source: Rules p. 5 · Controlling a region

It still counts toward the limit of 8. Battlefield temporarily prevents that troop from being placed; it does not discard it. The opponent cannot use it on their next turn and returns it to their rack at the end of that turn.

Rule source: Player aid p. 2 · Battlefield

Taking the central bridge covers Red’s Hook and extends Blue’s connection. Filling the right flank prepares the southern region. In this exercise both choices use Star’s optional draw ability. Both spend Star; neither claims the region yet.

Editorial analysis of these prepared positions, not a guaranteed benefit. The opponent’s next response remains uncertain.

Filling the right outpost controls all five southern bases and immediately claims 3 medals. Advancing left does not complete the region. Claimed medals stay yours, but Castle requires 7; 3 is not a game win.

Editorial analysis of these prepared positions, not a guaranteed benefit. The opponent’s next response remains uncertain.

Hook may legally bypass the connection rule onto the left bridge, but that troop remains disconnected. Ordinary troops cannot use it as a connected starting point. Filling the left outpost connects the front to HQ. Neither move claims medals immediately; bypassing leaves the isolated-base restriction.

Editorial analysis of these prepared positions, not a guaranteed benefit. The opponent’s next response remains uncertain.

In this position Blue has a continuous friendly route to Red HQ. Placing Roxy on HQ wins immediately. Taking the left outpost is also legal but claims no medals and does not end the game. Check a certain immediate win before expanding; this prepared result is not a guarantee in an unknown position.

Editorial analysis of these prepared positions, not a guaranteed benefit. The opponent’s next response remains uncertain.

After placement, you may draw 2 troops from your reserve.

Conditions: Respect the reserve and the rack limit of 8. This ability does not grant another placement.

Example: If 7 troops remain on your rack after placing Skully, draw only 1.

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You may make 1 extra legal placement and apply the new troop’s effect.

Conditions: The extra placement still checks connection, strength and terrain. Newly placed troop effects resolve before special-base effects.

Example: After Cap’n connects a base, the extra troop may advance along that new connection.

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You may discard 1 visible enemy troop adjacent to Jumbo.

Conditions: Adjacency requires one section of path. Remove only the top troop; this effect does not compare strength or remove the whole stack.

Example: Jumbo 3 may remove adjacent Roxy 7 with its ability, although it cannot cover Roxy by ordinary strength.

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Hook may ignore HQ connection when placed on a base.

Conditions: Covering still compares strength. Enemy HQ is not a base and still requires connection. Terrain restrictions remain in force.

Example: An isolated bridge may be legal for Hook, but it does not automatically connect later ordinary deployments.

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You may randomly discard 1 troop from your opponent’s rack.

Conditions: Do not inspect and choose it, and do not remove a troop from the map. Place the discarded troop faceup in the discard.

Example: An opponent with 3 rack troops has 2 afterwards, but you cannot guarantee that Roxy is discarded.

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No. You may choose to draw 1 troop from your reserve to your rack.

Conditions: The reserve must contain a troop and the rack cannot exceed 8. The prepared lessons choose to use this optional effect.

Example: After Star covers Hook on the central bridge, it may draw 1 troop, without granting another placement.

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No. Roxy has ordinary strength 7 and no effect.

Conditions: It covers weaker ordinary enemies, not another enemy Roxy. Kwak may cover it and legal effects may remove it.

Example: Roxy covers Star 6, but 7 versus 7 is not strictly greater.

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Yes. Kwak may cover any enemy and any enemy may cover Kwak.

Conditions: This strength exception does not remove connection or terrain restrictions. Kwak has no effect.

Example: Kwak may cover Roxy 7, but enemy Skully 1 may later legally cover Kwak.

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With special-base effects enabled, you may return another visible friendly troop on the map to your rack.

Conditions: Do not retrieve a covered troop or exceed 8 on your rack. This page’s lesson disables special-base effects for first games.

Example: Retrieving a sole connection point may disconnect the front line; check dependent bases first.

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No. Marked special bases and HQ accept only their printed strengths.

Conditions: Check this before placement. Kwak and Hook do not automatically bypass terrain restrictions.

Example: If a target does not allow strength 4, exclude Hook and choose an allowed strength.

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With terrain effects enabled, a special base may draw 1 reserve troop to your rack.

Conditions: Resolve newly placed troop effects first. Do not draw from an empty reserve or exceed a full rack.

Example: If a troop effect fills your rack to 8, the base cannot add a ninth troop.

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Move a visible enemy adjacent to the special base to a base adjacent to its starting base, ignoring ordinary placement rules.

Conditions: Adjacency uses one path section; the destination is a base, not HQ. Recheck visible troops and regions afterwards.

Example: Moving an enemy off a junction may reveal a friendly troop below, changing connections and region control.

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No. It returns a friendly troop from the face-up discard to your rack.

Conditions: The 4 troops removed unseen at setup are not in the discard. The rack limit remains 8.

Example: You may retrieve your discarded Jumbo if the rack has room, not a troop returned to the box.

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No. Capturing any one enemy HQ wins.

Conditions: There are no special bases. Blue has two HQ and Red one; read the medal target printed on your side.

Example: Red wins by capturing either Blue HQ, without capturing the second.

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Under full terrain rules, troop effects do not apply on these special bases.

Conditions: Check the restriction before placement; do not assume Hook can enter a disconnected blocked-effect base.

Example: Star placed on a blocked-effect special base does not draw a troop for that placement.

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It remains on the opponent’s rack but cannot be placed on their next turn.

Conditions: Point without inspecting its face. It returns at turn end and still counts toward the rack limit of 8.

Example: A rack with 8 troops, including one blocked troop, still has 8 and cannot choose ordinary drawing.

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