Kids' games used to be simple: Tag. Kick the can. Red Light, Green Light. But as any parent or grandparent knows, those days are gone. Wondering what your grandchildren (mostly grandsons) mean when they talk about Pikachu, duelists, or G-power? We're here to help.
Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Bakugan, three of today's most popular gaming brands, all got their start in Japan. Each has a complex backstory that is revealed over various animated TV shows, movies, books, video games, and toys. The main characters are all heroic kids who, in the stories, play some version of the game your grandkids play in real life.
Pokémon
The Basics: The Pokémon franchise has captured the imagination of children worldwide since it was introduced in 1996 by Nintendo, the creators of Mario Bros. games and the Wii system.
Pokémon, or "pocket monsters," are mythical creatures with various powers and abilities. In the Pokémon universe (similar to our own, and yet so very different), Pokémon "trainers" roam the land attempting to capture Pokémon, train them, and then deploy them in competitions with rival trainers. Pikachu, a friendly yellow creature with a tail shaped like a lightning bolt, is the most recognizable of the monsters.
The Game/Supplies: Trainers collect cards containing various bits of information about each Pokémon. Each creature has specific strengths and weaknesses and uses different attacks to defeat others. A good way for a new player to get started is to pick up a collectible tin (available in most big-box stores) containing a "starter deck" and several "booster packs" of cards. The card game is frequently updated; ask an expert at the toy store what the most current card series is. Although there are formal tournaments where trainers battle each other for prizes, most kids simply collect and trade the cards for playground matches. If your grandchild has become obsessed with the popular Nintendo DS Pokémon game, you can get them a Pokéwalker, a pedometer kids clip on their clothes that accumulates extra power points for their Pokémon the more they walk or move around.
Educational Value: With training, Pokémon "evolve" into new, stronger versions of themselves. Cards can also be combined in certain ways to create stronger attacks, so there is some strategy and math involved in the game. There's also a good deal of reading, and a seemingly endless series of books, graphic novels, and character guides called "Pokédex." But mostly Pokémon is all about consuming products: its marketing slogan, "Gotta catch 'em all!" sums it up pretty well. Learn more at the Pokémon parents page.
Yu-Gi-Oh!
The Basics: Yu-Gi-Oh! began as a manga (Japanese comic book). The main character is a high-school student named Yugi Muto, who sometimes becomes possessed by an ancient Egyptian spirit after his grandfather gives him the Millennium Puzzle. Yugi lives in a game shop and plays a card game called Duel Monsters, which is a version of the card game you may have seen your grandkids playing. The game itself is usually referred to as Yu-Gi-Oh!; the players are "duelists."
| Do your grandchildren play Yu-Gi-Oh, Bakugan, or Pokemon? |
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Yes, and I think it's a waste of time 21.8%
Yes, and it looks like fun 61.5%
No, they never took an interest 10.3%
No, their parents won't let them 6.4%
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The Game/Supplies: Each player has his or her own deck of Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, and each card has different power values and abilities. There are Monster cards, Magic cards, and Trap cards. Players lay the cards down on a playing surface, doing battle until someone runs out of points. It's a bit like the old card game War, with many more rules and complications. Learn more
here.
Educational Value: Unlike Pokémon, the Yu-Gi-Oh! card game is less about collecting and more about the game itself. There is a good amount of strategy involved in the game, and it requires decent math ability as well, as players should keep track of their and their opponents' point totals as they play. Yu-Gi-Oh! skews older than Pokémon and there are fewer ancillary products to distract from the game itself.
Bakugan
The Basics: This is the newest of the three franchises. Its story involves creatures called Bakugan who live in a parallel dimension, but enter our world via "gate cards." The complicated plot involves different forms of energy and other incomprehensible things. Learn more here, if you dare. All you really need to know is that the game played by the characters in the animated series Bakugan Battle Brawlers is similar to what your grandkids play.
The Game/Supplies: Players need to acquire magnetic gate cards and Bakugan character balls. They lay the cards on a flat surface and roll the balls onto them, whereupon they pop open and turn into a Bakugan creature. It's a neat trick, at least the first dozen times you see it. Like the other games, each card/creature has special characteristics (G-power, etc.) that can be combined with others to inflict greater damage on an opponent. The toy line has some items (like the Bakugan Maxus Dragonoid) that resemble giant robots from Japanese monster movies.
Educational Value: Explaining why the balls open when they hit the Gate Cards involves some science. Game play requires some math, reading, and strategy. Bakugan skews older than Pokémon as well, and there are no plush toys to buy like the eminently huggable Pikachu.
Conclusion
If you still feel in the dark, don't worry: This stuff is complicated. You will never, ever process all of the information available, partly because the companies keep adding to it (how else will they sell more stuff?), and also because you are older than 10. If you want something explained better, ask your grandsons. They'll be happy to talk you through it.
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