Bakugan Games to Play

Board Games

• When engaging in Spin Mater Ltd.'s "Bakugan Battle Brawlers," players take turns rolling Bakugan at cards, trying to claim three gate cards before their opponents. When two Bakugan from different players stand on the same card, they battle, with the player having the higher attack power (better known as G-Power) winning the battle/gate card.

  Players try saving the Bakugan trapped in the alternate universe of Vestroia for "Bakugan Battle Brawlers Skill and Action Game." One player pull a rod from the Vestroia tower, which releases non-morphing Bakugan balls; the other player tries catching the balls with two gaming scoops, with the goal of building a gate card puzzle. If players catch a ball before it stops rolling, they receive a gate puzzle piece. If players catch the evil Hydranoid black marble, they lose a puzzle piece. Once the tower has released all-size marbles, players return all rods and marbles and continue play until someone completes their puzzle.

Online Games

• Players try to roll a brawler with greater intensity than their opponent in "Training Battle," accessible at the Big Money Arcade site. Players choose a brawler and try pressing the space bar when the fluctuating "Speed Meter" reaches its highest point. When a player's ball lands on the gate card, the card opens to reveal the brawler and G-Power. The player's opponent then rolls, with the game proceeding to calculate the winner.

  The official Bakugan Video Game site offers two mini-games for Bakugan fans. In "Bakugan Defender," players aim at Bakugan and try sending them back to their realm. Players may aim for heart orbs to gain extra lives, though when players miss 10 Bakugan, the game ends.

  For "Marucho's Card Quest," brawler Marucho needs to analyze cards and complete his strategy for restoring balance to Vestroia. To guide Marucho to the cards, players press the "Left" and "Right" arrows to move, the "Up" arrow to jump and the space bar to grab a card. When players fail to catch cards and lose all their lives, the game ends.

Video Games

• Players join forces with other brawlers to correct an energy imbalance in Vestroia when playing Activision Inc.'s "Bakugan Battle Brawlers," available for various Nintendo, Play Station and Xbox platforms. As in the "Battle Brawlers" board game, players try to collect three gate cards to win the game, shooting Bakugan onto the cards and hoping they stand; if the Bakugan stands, it transforms into "Battle Mode." When two Bakugan stand on the same card, the gate card opens and both Bakugan transform into "Monster Mode" and fight. The better players fight during battle, the more points they earn. Players may use points to buy new Bakugan and upgrade current Bakugan, among other options.

  Activision Publishing's "Bakugan: Battle Trainer," available for the Nintendo DS platform, requires players to nurture their monsters back to health and improve their battle skills. With all Bakugan trapped in the Dark Star, players must rescue the Bakugan one by one. At a top-secret training facility, players heal wounded Bakugan and train Bakugan to increase their G-Power and teach them abilities to use during battle. As players free Bakugan, the Bakugan become part of players' battle team.