Kung Zhu Pets Battle Arena

Kung Zhu pets are now officially on the Hot Toys list for the Christmas season. Kung Zhu pets are an aggressive reincarnation of the mild Zhu Zhu pets from last year. They are aggressive, battle ready warrior hamsters. Actually, the are peaceful and quiet until they experience training in a extra Ninja or extra military camp (or you can swipe a extra key card that comes with varied packages). As you probably surmised, there are two teams - the Ninja warriors an the extra military hamsters. When they get their training, their personalities change and they come to be aggressive warriors. Built-in synthetic intelligence lets Zhu warriors interact with the Kung Zhu Track system pieces and play environments. The centerpiece of the Kung Zhu play is the battle arena. Teams enter through own gates and rush to battle. The battle ends when a victor emerges. The victorious hamsters have been known to do a "victory dance". The battles are fierce - pieces of body armor fall off, Zhu Zhu pets get shot with missiles and cut with knives. When the battle is over, kids can reassemble damaged armor, and Kung Zhu hamsters are ready for other battle.

Sometimes the battles are over speedily - a warrior gets upended and that's the end. But often they will last quite some time. One way to make the battles even more fun is to have four Kung Zhu pets battle in the Arena at the same time. Each team fields two hamsters, ready for battle. They can trip through extra tunnels and tracks. There are also two training bases - extra military Alpha, and Ninja Do Jo base. You can also get extra military Headquarters and extra military Mission Control, there is the Ambush Alley, and the Ninja Snake Pit, and the Ninja Training where the Ninja will cross a long bridge, then leap across the stepping stones, trying to avoid the blazing Katanas of fire. If they emerge from those trials, they will be ready for the real battles.

Mindstorm Education

The fun does not end with the battle, though. After the battle is over, armor pieces have to be put back together - things do fall off during a fierce battle. They have to be reattached before the Kung Zhu pets can face opponents again. Re-attaching pieces of armor will exercise and improve any child's by hand dexterity. This is also a good time to plan new battle strategy.

If kids speak their fascination with robots as they get older, parents can get them more educational robotic toys, like the Lego Mindstorms Nxt. With those sets, the fun is open ended - kids will be able to build and program their own robots. In the meantime, though, let children have fun watching the Kung Zhu pets battle for dominance.

Kung Zhu Pets Battle Arena