There's some difference between games and toys. Traditionally, games are defined by a set of rules which award points to the players to determine a winner based on some combination of skill, strength and luck. Toys on the other hand are merely an object usually intended for a child to play with. Games provide a set of restrictions on their users that typically increase the opportunity for fun as long as the right boundaries are chosen. Toys on the other hand can be used in any way that the user can come up with. An individual playing a game repeatedly can develop skill or strength, or just attempt to happen across better luck while repeated use of toys allows the exploration of a new world of possibilities each time.
Video games are a relatively modern kind of game, although I believe they regularly fill in somewhere between the traditional view of games and toys. In recent years, there has been a great increase in open-ended gameplay. Sometimes, there are products that are called video games, that are really just video toys. For instance, Garry's Mod (for Halflife 2), is a modification of the Source engine that allows the user to place a bunch of objects and interact with them. Often this interaction is very similar to ones that I had with my G.I. Joe figurines when I was younger. I believe there is great value in the interactions we have with toys, and the possibilities are endless when we are allowed to include our imagination in experiences. While I don't always think that adding more open-endedness to video games is a good thing, I do believe that there is a very useful and constructive place for video toys in our lives.
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