OT - Bakugan

[irene_dsc]

I think it really depends on your timing. My ds was big into Bakugan this summer, but is tired of them now. But, really, your best bet is to check during the week when they are re-stocking, and you may get lucky.

By the way, if they decide to actually play the game, you can do some good practice with addition, subtraction, greater than and less than. Though, I got bored with it after not that long, to be honest.

I agree that it's annoying that the names aren't on the packages!

As for paying over MSRP, I was shocked on Amazon the other day when looking at the Sorry Sliders game. MSRP was $25, Target was sold out at $15, and everyone else was selling them from $34 to $70!!! Needless to say, I gave it a pass, and got dd Twister Hopscotch instead, lol.

 

[scouthawkk]

if anyone is headed to WDW I saw a bunch of them in Epcot. i have girls who have no interest in these so I don't know if they were *good ones* or not. Just noticed they had many of them in Japan.

The whole thing is based on a tv show. Kind of like Pokeman, but in order to win, your Bakugan has to have the highest point value (g's). There are power up/down cards that are used to factor in who has the most powerful one. Here is a link to their site: http://www.bakugan.com/en/index.html.

I thought Epcot would be a great place to look. So when my dad was there last month, I had him look. He even asked a couple of the sales people in Japan. Seems they have been having problems stocking them as well.

Funny thing is, when I was there in August, I remember seeing tons of them! But of course, DS didn't know about them at that point. Talked to someone who stocks them at our TRU. Said they had full stocks of them over the summer, but once school started, and word got around, they flew off the shelves and can't keep them in stock.

DS got his first couple of them for his birthday in September from friends, and has been crazy for them ever since. I got lucky at the end of October. I got to TRU about an hour after they opened, and they had a few in stock. The sales guy said they were fully stocked at opening, and that someone just came in and bought most of them. At that point, why not take them all. Guess the person felt guilty for taking them all. So I lucked out and was able to get a few to put away for Christmas. I keep looking every time I go somewhere, and even managed to get 2 more starter packs from WalMart on line, but those were used as gifts for 2 of DS's friends (against his protests of course).

DS does have the battle arena. It helps to keep him in one spot to play with them. And also one launcher that he bought with birthday money, and a couple of the belt clip things to cary them with. Though he doesn't use the launcer much. To keep them from getting lost at home we have a clear plastic tub just for Bakugan stuff, like we do for all the things he seems to have large collections of. Works well.

 

[Poohbug]

My 8 year old niece has asked for these for Christmas. I have no clue about them. I have managed to find 3 different ones but they are typcially very hard to find.

Which ones are good? How do we know?

I'm so glad my DS4 is too young for these things! LOL

Don't let your son see them. I bought a set for my older boys and when the 20 mo. old saw them he freaked out. He loves to play with them. Of course they are not safe for him, so he only gets to look at them when I am there watching.

 

[LilGMom]

I'd be interested to know more about this holder... where did you get it? How much?

It is called a 'Bakurack Collector's Case' and we got our at Target

I noticed this past weekend that they now have a black and green one that my DS7 informed me is for the evil Bakugans.

 

[lntsmom]

the whole story but here's a summary: YuGiOh maxed out it's fan base, so the Japanese are now foisting not only a card game, but a magnetic-expanding-marble card game on the youth of America.

Go to WalMart. They have an exclusive duel mat for around $14...about $10 less than the regular dueling board. Then, buy a 3 pack or two of the actual bakugons (Unless you want your head to explode, don't try to figure out which ones are more evolved, therefore more desirable. Just don't buy the big ones...stick with the small size.) Buy a pack or two of expansion cards. And, get a shooter. WalMarts is a basic one for about $9. Target has the snazzy version for about $14.

My youngest son is 7...I am SO glad that this cartoon fad age should soon be in my past!

I invested huge amounts of money in YuGiOh cards for my older son, all the Thomas toys for the younger one, Bionicles for the younger one, and now Bakugon.

My older son grew out of this stuff around the age of 9. I've got about 18 months to go if the younger one follows that pattern!

One warning: Think twice before taking your kiddos to TRU for their duels. My older one went to one or two of the Saturday morning duels they used to have for YuGiOh. What we found was that there were a lot of older teens and adults there. Why? To "win" valuable cards from the little kiddies who didn't know better. I'm sure a lot of those cards ended up on Ebay.

Also, you might want to make a strict NO TRADES rule for your kids. There's a bully at my younger son's school who is savvy enough to know which of the characters are most highly evolved (rare) and he used the "If you're really my friend you'll trade with me..." technique repeatedly. When the other boys wanted to trade back he would play stupid and pretend he'd lost the ball.

This is also the lovely child who was excluding children on the playground if they didn't have Bakugon. The school here doesn't seem to think that blackmail and ostracizing others are bullying. UGH. Luckily, I saw the kid's true colors last year and as soon as my son told me what was going on this year I told him that under no circumstances could he ever loan or trade. He's one of the few kids who hasn't been taken advantage of by bully boy.

 

[Neesy228]

Ahhhh, see, this is why I love the DIS...clueless Mom's united! My DS7 has also been talking about these, and now I at least have some idea on what to get him! I was standing in front of the display at our Target the other day and was completely confused....

Thanks everyone!

 

[LilGMom]

Also, you might want to make a strict NO TRADES rule for your kids. There's a bully at my younger son's school who is savvy enough to know which of the characters are most highly evolved (rare) and he used the "If you're really my friend you'll trade with me..." technique repeatedly. When the other boys wanted to trade back he would play stupid and pretend he'd lost the ball.

We had to make that rule with the YuGiOh cards when my DS7 got into them and the boy down the street knew all about the 'rare' ones, etc. He gasped, ohhed and ahhed about one of my DS's cards and then tried to play it off. He then started telling my son "I'll give you these three cards for that one. Think about it, you'll have three more cards and we can be best friends too." I overheard it, called my DS into the kitchen and told him that they could play the cards in the house but he wasn't to be trading the cards or giving them away unless he had duplicates. Same with the Bakugan balls. Luckily DS7 is a little more in the know now about the Bakugans and YuGiOh cards so he just keeps what he has.

 

[Laurabearz]

Is there "lists" of the rare cards for the various games... Pokemon, Yugioh, Bakugan etc?