Pokemon in Japan

Hubby just got back from Japan today. He brought with him some Pokemon bath toys. He also told me that the Pokemon store in Tokyo is closed.

On the upside, his trip to Japan inspired him to want to take us next time. I sure hope we can go!

Mom Is Playing Webkinz

Well, the girls finally did it. They roped me into playing Webkinz.

Here's how it happened: I was innocently reading my email, and the girls were frustrated because they never had enough money to buy the stuff they wanted on the game. In my mind, I thought, "I wonder if they'll learn to save their money."

Instead, they gave up. Saving would take forever, especially with a four year old who, when left alone for just a minute, spends all the hard-earned cash the 6 year old was trying to save. ("Mommy, I want my own webkinz for Xmas," she tells me.)

I was curious - how hard is it to make money in Webkinz? Especially for a 4 year old?

So I logged in when they were asleep and poked around.

It turns out, Webkinz is really fun! I earned the kids 500 Webkinz Cash (which the 4 year old spent on a fish lamp. For her bear. He likes fish, she says.) It's really not that hard to earn cash (for someone who is old enough to understand how to game the system). And there are a lot of fun games to play to compete with others. Not to mention the toddler gambling - Wheel of Wow, Mining for gems, Webkinz Scratchers, The Wishing Well.

I spent the rest of the day exploring "Today's Activities". Hour by hour, I checked back to see what new cool stuff we could do.

I can see why Webkinz has earned the name "Toddler Crack".

So moms, be wary. It's not just toddler crack, it's mommy crack too.

Bella Sera Is Pokemon for Girls?

There's a trading card game for girls called Bella Sera. It's so... girly. Ponies, unicorns and fairies. Will the girls who enjoy card collecting be the girls who like girly things? and vice versa? Will this draw more girls into the trading card genre?

My girls LOVE pokemon. Seems like Pokemon is a nice balance betwen what the guys want, and what the girls want. Cute little critters that fight each other. Everyone's needs are met. What do Bella Sera's critters do? I'm sure they don't battle. Because, you know, girls don't do battle.

HA! They don't know my girls.

What do you think? Trading cards for girls: thumbs up, or thumbs down?

Pokemon Christmas Shopping and Gifts

My son, my daughter and their two cousins have asked for Pokemon things on their Christmas list. What in the heck can I give them? So I made a list. Here are the things that a pokemon enthusiast might like for Christmas (and possibly not yet have.)

Pokemon drawing books are great for the artist who loves Pokemon. My six year old daughter would enjoy this.

The latest Pokemon board game is actually a DVD game. Can't decide to get your Pokemon enthusiast a game or a DVD? Here's the best of both worlds. All my kids would like this.

If your little Piplup can't get enough Pokemon, or wants to have something to do when his gameboy run out of batteries, here's a book chalk full of Pokemon - only if you can find them. In the same vein as Where's Waldo, Let's Find Pokemon offers hours of fun Pokemon seeking.

Has your Pokemon catcher got an iPod? If so, she can listen to ten years' worth of Pokemon music on her headphones. Over, and over, and over again.

This way, kids can enjoy Pokemon, even when they are asleep.

And finally, for those times it's hard to get the kids to put down the DS and do something, oh, I don't know, like reading... there's Pokemon chapter books.


Happy holiday shopping!

Son Who Loves Pokemon Is Also an Engineer

This year, at the top of my son's X-mas gift list is the I-Coaster. It's sold out pretty much everywhere. We found out with a little bit of Google research that our local Target has "limited quantities." My husband has to go to the Target shopping center anyway to get a suit from Men's Wearhouse. Should I fight the crowds tomorrow for this thing? I'm considering it. Oh, what we do as parents for the things our kids want for Xmas.

Pokemon TCG: Secret Wonders - An Unexpected Adventure

For the first time in a month, we went to our Pokégym this weekend. What a surprise, it was a Secret Wonders new pack tournament!

The buy-in was a pack of Secret Wonders Pokémon cards and two expansion packs. The kids had 20 minutes to put their decks together. They played 2 out of 3, with 3 prize cards.

Our 6 year old beat the Gym leader in the first round! Unfortunately, we couldn't stay because after nearly two hours, our 4 year old was getting really, incredibly, completely bored. And hungry.

There was no prize for winning the tourney other than extra stamps on their Pokemon Gym cards, so we left. Our 6 year old was disappointed. But she was also hungry. So we said our goodbyes to the other players.

Overall impression with Secret Wonders? It's getting hard to keep up with all the cards. But, with there being so many expansions now, the odds are pretty good that if we buy a booster pack, we'll get cards we don't have. The kids love getting cards we don't have.

It's also interesting that the two starter decks for Secret Wonders are Fire/Grass and Lightening/Fighting. Odd combinations, yet complimentary.

Hungry Hungry Hippos

I guess one can never be too old to play Hungry Hungry Hippos. For my son's 9th birthday, that's all he wanted. He wanted it so much, he asked everyone for it.

I was sure we'd end up with several boxes of the game. So I didn't get him one. Of course, he ended up not getting his game and he was really disappointed. So, 6 months later, we finally got it.

It's loud. It's hectic. The marbles get everywhere. But one great thing about this game is that all three kids are on a level playing field. The 4 year old, 6 year old and 9 year old. They smash it with all their might. And who wins? Who cares? It's all about the smashing.

Hungry Hungry Hippos was a huge hit when I was a kid. My brother and I would play it for what seemed like hours of good fun. My mom must have been extremely tolerant (or deaf) because she never complained about the racket it made. I'm not as strong.

Do you remember Hungry Hungry Hippos? Do your kids enjoy the games that you played as a kid too?

No More Pokemon?

It's been a month since we posted. Mostly, it's because we don't play Pokemon much anymore. We've become distracted by Munchkin.

Munchkin is a Steve Jackson game which parodies the classic RPGs. If you are at all familiar with giant rats and undead hammers of invincibility, then this game might tickle your funny bone.

Munchkin comes from a term that pen and paper RPG players coined to describe the kind of gamer whose only interest is to get as much gear and levels as possible, ignoring much of the role playing aspect that gives role playing games their name.

Munchkin has simple rules, simple game mechanics and simple goals - get to level ten as fast as possible by accruing stuff and stabbing your friends in the back. Every man for himself!

We like the game, and we play with the kids. But there are a lot of adult themed references in the card descriptions. The spiked cod piece and "Bad Ass" monster come to mind as examples.

I'd recommend this game for ages 10 and up. Certainly for parents who miss their RPG days, and want a quick fix. And, it's ok for kids under 10 of said adults, who are so enamored by all the RPG satire, they are willing to let the few indiscretions on the cards slip by their little one's perceptions.

Since this is the game we're playing right now, you'll probably see more posts about Munchkin than pokemon. But we do still pull out the pokemon cards from time to time. And we still go to the pokemon gyms on the weekends. So we're not completely done. We can't be! We spent too much money on those cards!