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7 in 1 Maxus Drago Ages: 4+

What We Think Fun factor: Durability: Ease of assembly: Novelty factor: The Good: Innovative, pocket-sized toys that are enjoyable to play with. The Challenging: Additional Bakugan pieces are necessary to play the game properly. In a Nutshell: With seven unique pieces, an essential part of any Bakugan player's collection.

Get in on the latest craze with Bakugan.

Unleash the fearsome power of the Maxus Dragonoid on your Bakugan foes! View larger.

The mission of the Bakugan strategy game is to capture the opponent's metal gate cards. This is achieved by rolling your Bakugan warriors onto these cards and doing battle with defending enemy Bakugan. The game involves a surprising amount of strategy, and features various tactical cards and trap pieces that help protect your Bakugan warriors.

Room for the Imagination
This game combines skill (aiming your Bakugan) with strategy (placement of the cards). Players also enjoy the way the warriors pop open on the magnetic cards -- although sometimes they do it even when they don't land on the cards. Players unfamiliar with the TV show, may feel a little lost at first in the world of Bakugan. But with the help of the colorful, animated Bakugan Web site, they will get what the game is about and how to play.

Even without the official strategy game, Bakugan toys are enjoyable and can be played with like regular action figures. Fans of the show will like role-playing as one of the various characters, such as the fiery 12-year-old leader "Dan" or the wise "Marucho."

Maxus Dragonoid Expands Your Bakugan Collection
This particular set contains one Bakugan warrior (named Neo Dragonoid) and six Bakugan traps (Grakas Hound, Dark Hound, Grafias, Brachium, Spitarm and SpyderFencer.) These pieces can be combined together to form the massive Maxus Dragonoid monster. The transformation process is a bit complicated, but the set includes clear instructions that make assembly easy. The assembled Dragonoid is a unique toy, although a bit unwieldy -- if not positioned correctly, he will easily fall down.

Each of the seven Bakugan that compose Dragonoid can be used individually in the strategy game. Avid players will be happy to know that this set also includes a special ability card, which will come in handy when you're devising a strategy to topple your enemy. Just keep in mind that, in order to play Bakugan properly, you'll need several other Bakugan marbles/cards that are not included in this package. Kids who are new to Bakugan might be better off with one of the various starter packs.

What's in the Box
One Bakugan warrior, 6 Bakugan traps, ability card and metal gate card.

Maxus Dragonoid disassembles into smaller Bakugan that can be used in the official strategy game.