Does a "nice" Bakugon exist?

[HappyMommy2]

My son wants a Bakugon, but they all look totally evil and spew bullets and other horrid things. 

My son tells me they have nice ones, but they are "for girls" because they are pink and purple.  He would be fine with a red one, or any more neutral color.  He likes the "transforming" aspect of them, i think.  (I think they transform when dropped or something????)  Help!

Edited by HappyMommy2 - 12/14/10 at 8:03am

[kibba]

I think he is talking about Zoobles! :) They are little creatures.

[kibba]

here's the website, http://www.zoobles.com/#/Home/ 

also I have seen them on sale on amazon.com... target and toysrus also carry them.

[One_Girl]

We have a bunch of Bakugons and none of them have bullets with them or evil looking faces.  We got ours at Fred Meyer but they are everywhere.  Maybe if you look through the pile you will find some that don't scare your son.  The ones we have are little magnet balls that pop up into different shapes when you put them on something metal.  From what I have gathered from children who watch the tv show they have magical powers and not bullets and I haven't noticed any bullets on the ones in the store.  I think it is great to be sensitive to violent play, we don't allow gun play or violent play in the house, but I have really not noticed these being a violent toy.  It is really cool to put it on the refrigerator and watch it pop open.  There is a girl version of balls that pops open according to my dd but it looks like a toddler toy and I don't think it is as intricate as the boy version.  We saw them at Toys R Us and I don't know what they were called, I don't remember any being neutral colors.

[HappyMommy2]

Would you mind telling me which ones you have (if you can tell)??  All the ones that I have seen have guns or swords or say "battle"-something.  I'm encouraged that you don't think they are violent... but I am wondering if I am just looking at the wrong ones...?

Oh - and it isn't because is scared, it is because I don't want guns. (If the kids make guns out of toast and sticks, so be it, but I'm not buying it!)

I checked out the zoobles, and they are too babyish and "girly" for my 5 year old.

[4evermom]

The bakugan come in different sizes.  The mini balls are the original thing.  They are pretty cool.  They pop open when they roll across something metal because they have a magnetic release.  They are about an inch big.  But I've seen "giant" ones that are maybe 2 1/2" big that I assume are just larger versions.  None of them do anything other than pop open into a cool figure.  Kids like to collect them and I suppose some even play the battle game as intended (laying out cards, rolling the balls across, if two pop open on the same card they battle by comparing attack points and hit points.  Or something like that).

Then there are bigger action figure type things that come with weapons.  And more recently there are the even bigger transforming things that shoot.

[LuckyMommaToo]

Well, Bakugan are definitely "Battle Brawlers" and my DS does like to yell, "Bakugan, brawl!" as he rolls them onto the cards. So, no, I don't think there are "nice" ones. But they don't have weapons, and seem really innocuous to me. Use Google Images and you'll see tons of them in their unrolled form. They are like magical creatures -- very similar to the Pokemon story.

-e

[Drummer's Wife]

My kids have both Bakugan and Zoobles.  I guess I would show him pics of the Zoobles and see if he wants those - but really, they are marketed to little girls.  Anyhow, I don't see the Bakugan toys as violent - and they don't shoot out any bullets or anything.  My boys just play with them by opening and closing them (sticking them on magnetic surfaces), and making up their own games w/the cards.  They don't play it at all how it's intended, and I think most younger kids (like under age 8) don't either. 

[Owen'nZoe]

Total agreement with the others - Bakugan don't have weapons, per se. They are just little dragons that fold up into a ball.

Some kids just collect them, some kids play the battle game (which a 4evermom described accurately). My son loves the battle game, and I find it innocuous. In fact, I think the game is a fun way for the kids to develop their math skills - every battle has them adding up two to four 3-digit numbers. My son is in first grade, and I have watched his ability to add 3-digit numbers in his head develop as a direct result of the game. I must admit that I find the game a tad boring, but I love that he likes it!

[One_Girl]

I am not sure what kinds we have, the cards are somewhere at the bottom of the toy box.  I looked closely at dd's and one does have silver claws that could look like bullets, if you knew what to look for and wanted them to look like bullets, that isn't something my dd is exposed to so she has never made that leap and neither did the boy I watched who was obssessed with her bakugans because he watched the show constantly.  We have the smaller ones in a variety of colors including black, teal, red, tan, and blue but I don't know if they only make one of each color.  My dd doesn't watch the show so she has named them things like firefly and duckwing and they are in school right now.  Is it the packaging that is turning you off of them or the actual toy inside?  If it is the packaging or the card would you be willing to compromise with him and get the ball but immediately throw the packaging and/or card away?  Is it something you would let him spend his own money on?  This is what I did with dd at first and once I saw what they were I bought her some for Christmas and birthdays.  If it isn't something you want in the house I don't think you should feel guilty about that.  I don't help my dd fulfill her desire to have every fad that goes through her school.  If it is a longer fad, she really wants it, and not something I object to I will sometimes help her out so she doesn't feel like the odd one out, but I have found that I can generally wait these things out.  Don't feel bad about saying no to this if it just doesn't fit with your family.

[MLinPDX]

I wish there was a happy medium between the fighting bakugan and cutesy zoobles.  I have a dinosaur loving 3 year old dd who wants zoobles like her big sister got for her birthday.  I picked the most dinosaur-like bakugan and will remove the packaging before giving them to her.  I also got her some zoobles.

[4evermom]

Originally Posted by MLinPDX 

I wish there was a happy medium between the fighting bakugan and cutesy zoobles.  I have a dinosaur loving 3 year old dd who wants zoobles like her big sister got for her birthday.  I picked the most dinosaur-like bakugan and will remove the packaging before giving them to her.  I also got her some zoobles.

I think that would be pokemon, lol.  They're cute but tough.  They fight but in a martial arts code of conduct sort of way.
 

[lucyem]

My oldest was big into bakugans (the 1inch balls) when he was in 1st-2nd grade.  We have never seen the tv show.  It is all part of a Bakugan Battle card game.  My DS has this whole elaborate way to play it and I am not sure how much is actually made up by him and his friends.  They used to trade them on the bus and play after school.  You roll the balls across the cards (that have metal in them) and they open up and who wins is based on points on the card or the bakugan.  I always thought they were kind of neat.  They did come out with the Zoobles for girls which are cute.  

[MLinPDX]

Do pokemon come in the open up ball style like zoobles and bakugan?  (Like I need to get even more of the things this year.  I think I have 9 so far but that includes a January birthday.)

Originally Posted by 4evermom 

 

I think that would be pokemon, lol.  They're cute but tough.  They fight but in a martial arts code of conduct sort of way.
 

[4evermom]

Originally Posted by MLinPDX 

Do pokemon come in the open up ball style like zoobles and bakugan?  (Like I need to get even more of the things this year.  I think I have 9 so far but that includes a January birthday.)

 

Well, they can come as small figures that come out of "pokeballs."  The balls are how they are caught in the wild and they stay in them for traveling and to rest.  When the kids are having a challenge, they throw their pokeballs into the middle and shout "____, I choose you!"  and tell their pokemon which attack they should use.  The toys don't pop open on their own when thrown but that is how they work on the tv show.  We do have one that can be thrown with a wrist attachment so it does pop open but most of the pokemon toys are not like that.  The throw one is plush so no one gets hurt if hit by one. Here is the "throw poke ball" that does pop open when thrown (due to the string that attaches to the wrist): http://www.amazon.com/Pokemon-Diamond-Pearl-Throw-Poke/dp/B000XRGQVC/ref=sr_1_3?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1292701446&sr=1-3  It comes in different figures.  We have pikachu which is the most popular (like draganoid is to bakugan).

Then there are just little figures that store in balls or little figures that don't come in balls. 

[MLinPDX]

Hmm, so pokeman tend to be little figures that can come separate from their balls?  I at least admire the mechanical aspect of zoobles and bakugan opening and closing.  Other little figures, not so much.  My kids have no idea about either of the tv shows.  They play with the zoobles like they play with their dinosaurs and stuffed animals and other toy figures.
 

Originally Posted by 4evermom

 

Well, they can come as small figures that come out of "pokeballs."  The balls are how they are caught in the wild and they stay in them for traveling and to rest.  When the kids are having a challenge, they throw their pokeballs into the middle and shout "____, I choose you!"  and tell their pokemon which attack they should use.  The toys don't pop open on their own when thrown but that is how they work on the tv show.  We do have one that can be thrown with a wrist attachment so it does pop open but most of the pokemon toys are not like that.  The throw one is plush so no one gets hurt if hit by one. Here is the "throw poke ball" that does pop open when thrown (due to the string that attaches to the wrist): http://www.amazon.com/Pokemon-Diamond-Pearl-Throw-Poke/dp/B000XRGQVC/ref=sr_1_3?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1292701446&sr=1-3  It comes in different figures.  We have pikachu which is the most popular (like draganoid is to bakugan).

Then there are just little figures that store in balls or little figures that don't come in balls. 

[4evermom]

Originally Posted by MLinPDX 

Hmm, so pokeman tend to be little figures that can come separate from their balls?  I at least admire the mechanical aspect of zoobles and bakugan opening and closing.  Other little figures, not so much.  My kids have no idea about either of the tv shows.  They play with the zoobles like they play with their dinosaurs and stuffed animals and other toy figures.

 

Yeah, I think the bakugan figures are cool, the little balls and the way they pop open to transform into figures.  I hadn't run across zoobles before this thread but I can see their appeal.  My ds loves pokemon but he collects the cards and likes the stories (books/videos/movies).  Some kids play a game with the cards (sort of like I described bakugan but without figures, only cards, comparing hit points and attacks, doing the math, and seeing who wins the battle).  Ds was never one to play with little figures much.  And I wouldn't get pokemon figures for someone who wasn't asking for them.  There are bakugan books, as well, but the story isn't all that nice so I wouldn't go there if the kids are happy making up their own thing.  The books could be nice for school aged kids who want to be on the same page as their peers and know what the story is all about.  They're probably meant for 9-12 yos, at least the graphic novels I saw.  Maybe there are others.  The pokemon stories/shows are actually nice.  There are bad guys but even the bad guys do good things sometimes.  Overall, pokemon has good morals and the kids are nice.  It's slightly competitive but not as bad as most shows.
 

Edited by 4evermom - 12/19/10 at 4:48am