Disclaimer: Sent for review by Iello
Little Soldiers brings a toy battlefield to life, where toy soldiers are fighting the opposing team, and if you lose you don’t die you just go back in the toy box. The goal is to take all your opponents off the field. Each soldier moves via literal shoestring movement measurements. The soldiers also attack in unique ways, with incredible specials. A grenade is a dice being thrown onto the field and anyone near it is in trouble. A toy catapult is used for another soldier to fling the dice at the opposing soldiers.
Have we played any other titles by this publisher?: Yes! Some self-purchased and titles we are reviewing currently.
First impression: We don’t like to compare games to other franchises but the first thing we thought was “it’s like Toy Story!” You literally put together terrain out of existing items you have and are even encouraged to use toys. Everything just needs to be to the same scale. Luckily for us, with a toddler we have plenty of great blocks and little toys that work well. Once you start playing, you realize this is a wargame akin to Warhammer, but with a lot less complicated rules. You don’t have to do a whole lot in terms of stats, measurements, line of sight or decide if the terrain you’re standing on is steep and then do some math to see what happens. It’s all very fluid and easy to learn, especially compared to heftier wargames.
How often will this game return to the game table?: Often. This game is creative in a way that we haven’t seen before and we think it is one of our most unique titles to bring out. It’s a lot easier to setup terrain when you can just get your candles, toy blocks and game boxes instead of big giant terrain pieces. Anything fits the aesthetic of this game and it’s wonderful for it.
Language Barrier Playability: Decent. You do need to be able to read the cards to know the abilities but these can be explained fairly easily. The rulebook also comes in a nice variety of languages.
Storage: Good. The boards and rulebooks all sit on top with the smaller components fitting in three slots at the bottom with baggies for extra security.
Artwork: Playful and fun. The little toy soldiers have the classic look of the original toys. The cards feature the toy soldiers with expressions that give them more dynamic characterization. The colorful shoe strings for movement measurements are on theme and so fun. The cards are sturdy and well designed.
Instruction Manual: Great. The instruction manual explained everything thoroughly. We only referenced it for attacks when we were first starting because there are some important details to account for. Another thing to note is that there is not only the instructions for the base game (the boot camp book) it also comes with a missions book and a module book, giving an amazing number of ways to play the game.
Who would we recommend this game most for?: Everyone? When our child is older we are definitely playing this game with them, we think they will enjoy getting to create the terrain out of either what’s already there or their own toys. For adults, the game still offers a nice level of strategy and brings that childlike wonder and silliness to the table for seasoned board gamers, especially war gamers who might be used to more “serious” looking battlefields.
Favorite moment while playing: Flinging the grenade dice! We enjoy that the dice are used as weapons themselves and it isn’t something we’ve seen previously.
Sushiball Games 