Tell me about Bakugan

[cara1]

My 6 year old has been asking for Bakugan. I had never heard of it. He doesn't watch the TV show, only sees his friends playing with the toys. When I looked it up online, it sounds like a horrible toy. The game involves getting the different Bakugans to "fight". Is this a violent, fighting type toy? Do you buy one little guy, or a set, or what? Somewhere I read that it's actually a game, with playing cards and scoring and stuff. So is it a game, or just a bunch of little toys?

[kboyle]

they really aren't bad at all. they are little plastic marble type balls that have a magnet in them, when they are ROLLED (not fighting) onto the metal (Gate) card they come with they pop open like a transformer. if 2 bakugan land on the same card they "fight" Fighting requires the kids to use math to determine the winner, bakugan with the highest points wins, they may have to add bonus points depending on what their Ability card says.

if you look at the website it gives you some info. you can also search youtube videos to see how it's played.


no violence, pretty much only rolling & math skills required. ds1 loves playing it with the 3 he's got.

you need 3 to really start playing, they are really hard to find, though my local target/walmart seem to have them, they arent big in our area yet, plus ds1 is only in kindergarten, so only a few of his friends even know what they are. we have 3 for ds1 & 3 for ds2, i plan on getting them a few more each for xmas, but till his friends start playing we don't need more. ds1 (5) and i play sometimes while i'm making dinner. it's hard just us playing as he knows which bakugan has the highest points, so he takes those and always wins. i'm sure he'd have more fun if he knew others who could play with him.

[Tondi G]

My 7 year old LOVES Bakugan! They recently had a "tournament" of sorts on a saturday morning at Toys r us! We of course had to go... there were only a few kids there. My DS enjoyed it. You put down your metal cards and then take turns rolling your Bakugan out. If you roll correctly your Bakugan will land on the card a pop open. For each that open you get points... then you check the points on the bakugan themselves... then there are some other points on the cards themselves. In the end you add up all the points and whomever has the highest score wins that round. I had NO IDEA what it was all about... but I do like watching DS have to add up all the points etc. It's a "battle" but there isn't any battle going on as far as the toys are concerned... just points!

Someone just mentioned there was a deal at their local costco for the battle arena and 6 bakugan balls for 30 bucks. Thats a good deal! They can be quite hard to find... we got lucky at Target a couple of times. They now have a rack to store the balls, and clips the kids can put on their belt or waistband that will hold 3 bakugan. My DS is totally into it, as you can see. Bakugan and Pokemon are two of his favorite things right now!

HTH's helps explain them a little bit. I personally think they are pretty neat with the magnets inside and how they pop open onto the cards.

~Tondi

[cara1]

So what's the best way to get started?
Do I get a starter pack like this?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00134MHTO/ref=s9sdps_c4_21_img1-rfc_p-frt_g1-3102_p_si2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-4&pf_rd_r=0V7XETCJK8X9M6YD0F41&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=454436201&pf_rd_i=507846
Does that come with the cards and everything?
I'm guessing one doesn't actually need the "Battle Arena".

[Tondi G]

To get started you need 3 balls .. they come with three cards if I am remembering correctly!

Thats started set would be fine. We started with that and then when I saw more I grabbed a pack in each color. There are 6 colors I believe... red, blue, brown, black, green and white.

You might consider getting a Bakuclip set (comes with one ball). It gives your kiddo a place to keep them... instead of having them rolling all over the car or trying to carry them around in a baggie or their pocket! This site has a picture but I believe Target carries them for around 7 bucks

http://www.atamaii.com/bakugan-78336.html

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/602-1349704-8096611?asin=B001EPYXJO&afid=yahoossplp&lnm=B001EPYXJO|Bakugan_BAKUGAN_BAKUCLIP&ref=tgt_adv_XSMG1060