Review on Exclusive Bakugan And Geogan 6-Pack: Collectible Action Figures For Kids Ages 6+ (Amazon Exclusive) by Sung Shorunov

This 6 pack of Bakugan balls is a great starter set for siblings or for being able to play a game at home. Because the two Bakugan ultra (the more complicated balls) in this pack are more fragile, and because only one of the 6 balls is simple enough for younger children, this set is a good pack for kids ages 11 and up (or otherwise old enough to care for more intricate puzzle balls and not force parts into place).To play Bakugan, there are two players and each player uses three balls. The Bakugan website has full rules, which are way too complicated, but then some packs and especially anything that says "ready to battle" will have a short one page rule sheet. (This 6 pack from ebay came with the one page rule sheet.) Basically, you fold up the balls, spread out the hexagonal pieces, and take turns rolling the balls across the hexagonal "Bakucore" pieces. The Bakugan balls are puzzle balls that fold up and stay closed. Each has a magnet inside, and when the part of the ball with the magnet touches steel, that triggers a release in the ball, and the ball pops open to show a robot animal - the Bakugan character. If only one ball opens, then that person wins the round and the ball stays open. If both balls open, there is a numerical scoring system. The winner of the round keeps their ball unfolded, and the looser folds their ball back up and keeps it in play. The first person to win three rounds (one win for each of their 3 Bakugan balls) wins the match. The one pager rules lay this out, and the game is not too hard to learn and play. Most of the ready to battle sets have 3 balls, on the theory that each person would get a 3 pack. Then, there are several 5 packs available. This 6 pack is great, because it gives 2 people all they need to play a match and this one single box includes everything needed for 2 people to play a full game against one another.My kids were asking for Bakugan. I got a single Bakugan ball for them to be able to look at it. I don't think it's age appropriate for my kids, not even the oldest who just turned 7 and asked for Bakugan for his seventh birthday. I feel like it's more of an adult collectible type toy. I like the Bakugan balls, and I want little puzzle balls that fold up and pop open to animals. I think it's not good for kids, though. The balls are not particularly fragile, but you can't force them. You have to fold arms, legs, wings, head, and tail in in a specific order, and then the ball folds up smoothly and locks into place. If you ever have to force something, you have to hold the ball to something made of steel so that the internal latches release, and you have to start over and try to find the correct order to fold it up in. For me, it is so cool to see little art objects and how they make the animal parts fold into a ball shape. For my kids, they get frustrated or try to force things. And, if they were to carry the balls in a backpack, the balls can open from being banged up, so maybe not great for kids to take around to afterschool either. I also feel they will loose the character cards (each Bakugan ball comes with a character card, and the cards have numerical info on attack strength and stuff like that which you need to have in order to score a round where both balls open) and the Bakucores. At the same time, I feel like this isn't great for adults who do game nights. The actual game is pretty simple and doesn't have the social aspects and psychology that are good for board game groups. (Plus it's expensive to get a big set of balls, and for the money, new board games would be better.) I feel like Bakugan is better for highschoolers or adults and better viewed as a pretext to have small art objects. As a game, it's kind of simple for adults, but it also has intricate expensive pieces for kids that can break if forced into place.Well, it's marketed at elementary school kids. But, it's too expensive and not something I think most kids would be able to keep up with and take care of.At least some good news for anyone buying for a child is that the Bakugan "ultra" is both the more expensive and the more complicated balls, so if you are getting separates for kids, regular is probably better unless they show they will take care of things.When I was showing my kids how to do these, and especially not to force anything and instead to not force the ball and to use metal to trip the magnets and be able to start over, I showed them that they can trip the magnets on the refrigerator door. That means they don't have to have the Bakucores and loose those little pieces. That tip may save you some grief at keeping things tidy.As for these balls.Hydrorus X Trhyno Ultra : This is like a golden triceratops. I feel like this ball is the easiest to damage. Definitely for more careful, older kids, or adults who think these are cool. Not suitable for elementary school kids, and almost certainly will get broken quickly. The front legs fold in then like telescope into the sides of the dino. It's not too hard to do, but definitely if someone forced it, it's a complicated mechanism there with small pieces and multiple hinged joints with springs. The feet also have to be folded just so, to keep them out of the way of other body parts that are folding in. This one is really cool to watch pop open. It really pops out and looks dramatic, and tends to land on it's feet. Like whatever you would expect in a video in a commercial, it does that for real. It rolls over the Bakucore and picks up the Bakucore and springs open and (usually) lands on it's feet. Awesome! The box set includes an instruction sheet on how to fold this one up.Ryerazu : This one looks like a little hug monster when he's unfolded. This ball is super simple to fold up. The only way you could end up having to force something into place is if you do the head first, and if you do the head first, then you can't fold other pieces in. Anyway, folding it was pretty intuitive. This is a good ball for little kids to be able to play and be able to do the game without damaging the puzzle ball. Good for kids. This is the only ball in the set that I feel is a good fit for young elementary school children. While the current Bakugan ball relaunch made the balls easier to break, maybe about 25% of the balls on the market are suitable for younger kids (designed such you can't make a bad mistake while folding, force the next step, and break it; with this one you can't do that). No instruction sheet for this ball, but you don't need one.Tretorous : This looks like a green lizard with a yellow horn on the tip of its nose when it's unfolded. It is a little tricky to fold up but not too bad. I think easy to figure out and keep trying different orders of folding arms, wings, feet. For this one, maybe a more careful child who takes care of things, and probably not good for a child who might throw a tantrum about thing. I'd say better for ages 10 and older, but not for younger kids, because if you fold in the wrong order, then force parts, you can break it. No instruction sheet included.Sairus : This looks like a black dragon with red and purple wings when unfolded. Once again, this is a little tricky to fold up but not too bad. This may be good for a more careful child. Compared to tretorous, I feel like this one is a bit more intuitive to fold up, but that the part where the head sinks down might be a point where someone trying to force things wrong could break this one. Probably for older kids ages 10 and up, and not for young elementary school kids because they may break it. No instruction sheet included.Barbetra : This looks like a golden dragonfly when unfolded. Not particularly hard or easy to fold up. Maybe OK for a more careful child. Probably for older kids ages 10 and up, and not for young elementary school kids because they may break it. No instruction sheet included.Pegatrix X Gogreene Ultra: This is more complicated to fold with little hinged pieces. I feel like an extra finger or two would be helpful in folding it up. This is more a ball for an adult and not a child, since it might be damaged by being forced. It is hinged for example at both the knees and the hips. It pops open quickly, but isn't as impressive as the triceratops (hydorus x trhyno) becase the pegatrix tends to land on its side or upside down, whereas the triceratops tends to land on its feet. The box set includes an instruction sheet on how to fold this one up.All my balls came working great and without any manufacturing defects. They work awesome.Since there aren't any product pics that show the 4 regular not-ultra balls unfolded, I put pics of all the balls unfolded and looking like the characters.The set also includes:12 Bakucores: Bakucores are the hexagonal pieces which are thick slick paper with metal inside so that they trip off the magnets in the Bakugan balls.6 character cards: That is one card per ball. Each character card has the statistics needed to score a round in which both players balls open. And the set includes 6 ability cards, which are something like attacks, defenses, or special moves that can be played on a round.6 metal cards: These can make the balls pop open. They have a bunch of numbers on them. You don't use them in the simpler Bakugan game with the one page rules, which is what I'm playing, so I have no idea what they do.