Okay, so the Bakugan Battle Arena isn’t absolutely necessary to play the Bakugan Battle game. It’s not like it’s a part of the rules or anything. But the Battle Arena will make the game more fun for any young boy that loves to play, and here are 3 reasons why.

1. Save your tables and counter tops. As you probably already know–and may have fretted about–these little battlers come rolled up into balls, and only deploy when thrown hard against an unyielding surface.

Unfortunately, these “unyielding” surfaces all too often end up with small, yet very noticeable and unfortunately unfix-able dents. Half an hour’s battle can make your dining table look like a moon landing–complete with craters and weird aliens!

It kind of makes you wonder who the Bakugan Battle Arena was built for–excited kids, or their parents. The first and best reason to buy a Bakugan Battle Arena, really, is to save your furniture from the ravages of (pretend monster) war!

2. No more lost Bakugans. The Bakugan Battle Arena has bumpers on all four sides so that the spherical little toys won’t roll off the table and under the couch, refrigerator, or entertainment center in the case of an “undeployed” battler. This way you don’t have to make the “disgruntled kid vs. hernia form moving the fridge” decision.

3. No more broken toys. If the kids have been using the garage, sidewalk, or driveway to have their throw-down show-downs, they’ve probably broken at least a couple of the toys in the process. And more broken toys means more nagging you to buy, buy, buy!

The money you’ll spend on a Bakugan Battle Arena–about thirty-five bucks if you buy it online–will probably save you a lot more in the price of broken toys and peace of mind.