Toy Battle can end by headquarters capture, medal target or inability to act. The first two win immediately. The third compares medals, with a special rule for a tie. These distinctions matter because an exposed H.Q. can end a game before anyone closes another region.
Does capturing an H.Q. win immediately?
Yes. If you legally place one of your troops on an enemy H.Q., you win at once. Your own H.Q. is never a legal slot. On a terrain with more than one opposing H.Q., any one is enough. The placement must still connect to your own H.Q. by the normal path rule. Hook’s exception applies to bases, not an H.Q.
How do I collect medals?
Occupy all the bases enclosing a region. Take every medal printed in its center and keep those markers visibly by your rack. “Occupy” means your tile is visible at the top of a base’s stack; a tile buried under an enemy tile does not count. You may take medals from multiple newly completed regions on one placement. Once taken, medals never return to a region or switch owners when control changes.
Example: you have the visible top troop at every base around a two-medal region. Take both markers. Your opponent covers one base on the next turn. You retain both medals, even though you no longer control that region. Recovering it does not give two more.
When do medals give an immediate win?
Each terrain shows a medal objective for each color. As soon as your total reaches your side’s printed number, the game ends in your favor. Read the target on the chosen face and orientation; do not assume every battlefield has one universal threshold. The optional medal-track goodie is a way to display progress, not a new victory condition.
What happens if someone cannot act?
If the player to move cannot draw or place a troop, the game ends. Compare collected medals. The player with more wins. If both totals match, the player who ended the game by being unable to act loses. This is not the same as a shared draw. A player at the eight-troop rack limit cannot draw, but may still place if a legal connected slot exists; check both actions before ending.
Rules questions that change a close game
Can I cover an enemy of equal strength?
Normally no. Your tile must have strictly higher strength than the enemy’s visible top troop. Kwak’s joker exception can cover any enemy, and any enemy can cover Kwak. Check other printed effects when they apply.
Can I place beyond an empty base?
Normally no. A route from your H.Q. to your destination passes only through bases whose visible top troop is yours. Empty and enemy-controlled bases interrupt it. Hook can ignore connection for placement on a base, with the H.Q. exception above.
Do the eight terrains change the win conditions?
They differ in map layout, targets and special bases, while the basic H.Q. and medal paths remain. The La Croisette additional terrain expressly keeps the same gameplay and victory conditions.
Does collecting a medal consume a turn?
No. You take it as soon as you complete the enclosing bases, usually as a consequence of a placement or an effect. It is not one of the two standard actions.
More Toy Battle guides
- Game overview and buying fit
- How to play
- Strategy and tips
- Victory, medals and rules FAQ
- La Croisette and medals track
Sources and scope
Checked September 2026 against the Repos Production game page, English rulebook and player aid. Printed effects and terrain diagrams control a particular play.