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A new genre has grown up alongside historical and fantasy games. "Toy games" are growing in number. Many are based loosely on children's play with plastic figures. The are a happy blend of classic wargaming and playfulness. Most toy games are of the skirmish, small unit or man-to-man variety. The majority on modern types of warfare (World War II to the present), but there are also Western and Medieval games among them.
Standard playing pieces are the common plastic toy figures, sold normally in bags or boxed "playsets." Aspects of each playing piece are determined by the figure itself: its armor, weapons, equipment, etc. There is no scaling down here, no "one figure represents twenty". Everything is as it is...sort of. The rules of playtime tend to outweigh the aspects of the real thing. In Toy wars, a six-gun revolver can fire eight bullets, and a tank can be a virtual juggernaut except that any bazooka can zap it with one shot.
Several rulesets are simply "watered down" versions of classic wargaming rules. (Many of our Sandy Hook games fall into this category). The simple rules are for quick games for adults, and a basic introduction to wargaming for children. Others are more complex, trying to replicate the imaginary playtime world in which children imagined their plastic armies.
Getting started is simple, as the overwhelming majority of rules require a bag of figures, some dice and a measuring stick.
The growth of these new toy games has been spurred by another phenomenon: collecting plastic figures. For years, only metal figures were regarded as "collectible." Recently, older plastic figures have grown in popularity. The collecting of older plastic soldiers has been catalytic to the growth of "toy" wargames.
Sandy Hook Battle Games - very basic games, very simple, these were originally posted to introduce people to the hobby. Advanced supplements are being produced for them. These are what I remember of several games we used to play in the 70s, of our own design. Definitely fun stuff!
Backyard Wars - an army man game that is intense, and involves the use of actual projectiles, from toy cannons or catapults.
Fighting Plastic by Corey Butler - an action-packed game for plastic toy soldiers, easy to learn and play
Little Wars and Floor Games by HG Wells. Online versions of these classic boooks. Little Wars was the fore-runner of modern wargaming, and is the classic treatise on toy soldier games. Floor Games is another of Wells ingenious ideas.
Sham-Battle - a wargame book from 1929, Shambattle is a simple miniature game using toy soldiers. It was originally intended for children. The site includes info on new versions of the game.
Plastic Wars - a nice rule set for having battles with modern-era plastic soldiers and tanks. It has been upgraded a couple of times.
The Army Men Homepage - the premier website with info on the fun of plastic figures. Find articles, news, facts, history, nostalgia and humor here, along with extensive photo galleries and links. It's our website!
The Miniatures Page - http://theminiaturespage.com/ Everything for the miniature wargamer: message boards, forums, news, links, etc. There is asection for Toy Gaming. This is a big site loaded with good things for the hobby.