Beyblade

Beyblade are a popular spinning toy (also made into an anime) that many kids seem to be into these days. The toys are simple plastic and metal, and they look a little bit like a top. You use a special tool (called a launcher) that you shoot the Beyblade out of, and it spins quite fast. Generally, you play with at least one other person, and your Beyblades will “battle” by hitting into each other.

While these toys first came out back in 1999, they were first introduced in Japan. They were released in the United States in 2003, but didn’t become super popular until several years later. In the last eight or so years, the toys have become quite popular in the United States, and the more you look around, the more likely you are to see them.

My initial reaction to the Beyblade toys was that they were a phenomenon like Pogs were back in the early to mid 90s. If you’re not familiar with pogs, then just look them up, or ask your parents about them. This was an extremely popular game for a couple of years until they were banned from most schools across the country. The major difference is that pogs were played to keep (basically a form of gambling) whereas Beyblade appears to be a game simply to win, but you don’t play to win the other person’s Beyblade.

Beyblade is also a fairly popular anime as well. Beyblade Burst (or Beyblade Burst Turbo) are the name of the anime, so if your child is asking for toys related to those names, just realize that they are beyblades which are from the anime itself. The anime is available on Netflix, so it's very possible your child has seen it if they're asking for toys that are related to it.

If your children aren’t into Beyblade, then you can hope to keep it that way. While the game is pretty straightforward and generally fun (at least for a few times), the toys themselves are decently expensive, and ultimately they’re all very similar. For those that are into Beyblade, I’ll probably take some feedback about how each of the blades has different “powers” and “meanings,” but ultimately the toys themselves are basically the same.

That being said, if your child is looking to get into Beyblade, and you’re trying to figure out what to buy, then it’s actually pretty straightforward. While there are a ton of different blades, there are really only a few things that you need to be able to play. You’ll need a stadium. This is a small plastic box that the blades will spin in. They’re built to allow the blades to come together and hit each other. You can go smaller or larger in size depending on how many blades you want to get in the battle.

You’ll also need a launcher, which is the tool that is used to get the blade spinning very fast. There are several different versions of these, but the most common is a square plastic piece that the blade hooks into, and then a zip-tie like “string” that you pull out to get the blade spinning.

The final piece are the blades themselves. There are two pieces to the blades - the bottom plastic piece (generally plastic) and the top piece which is the actual blade. The blade itself is usually metal, and when the blades are spinning and hit, it gives a soft metal on metal sound as if they’re battling. The blades come together, so you don’t have to worry about buying the parts separately (although you certainly can if you’re really into them).

If this is your first purchase for Beyblade, your best option is probably going to be just to buy a set that includes all 3 of these items. Once you’ve got the base pieces you need, then your child will likely want more blades and a different launcher at some point. Start simple though, and move up from there.

Beyblades can be a fun game for you to play with your child as well. It’s pretty simple and mindless, so you can play it while doing other activities as needed as well (I like to clean the room we’re in when playing with my son). While this isn’t generally a toy I’d recommend for everyone to rush out and buy, if your child is into it then you don’t need to worry as long as you keep the spend on the toys down.

Let your child play Beyblades if they want, but don’t force it on them. There are better toys for learning and fun out there.