I picked these up from Target. Let me tell you their prices, because some online ones (including, sadly Amazon, atm) are really, really off:
-Habitat: $30, included THREE hex arenas, THREE straight pieces, TWO curved ones, and, most importantly TWO nano bugs! Don't pay more than $30 for it, I've seen it on Amazon for nearly twice that.
-Starter set: $12, included ONE hex arena, TWO curved pieces, ONE nano bug.
-Single nano bug: $8.
I'd *highly* recommend the habitat set, it's the BEST value by far, assuming you don't get a horrible online price.
The starter set is not a bad deal, but it's not as much fun as the habitat.
The individual nano bugs are kind of expensive, and no way to start. Without SOME sort of habitat pieces, you're just chasing this thing around the room. But that may be fun too!
So.... what are these things?
I thought they were little robots. Turns out this is generally what HEXBUGs are, but they've been scaling them down to simpler and simpler things.
These things are completely dumb, no sensors at all. But the design is brilliant.
They have little curved rubber legs that don't move. They have an on switch. When you turn then on, they vibrate. That's it.
But that's all that's needed. They SHOOT across a flat surface, and when they hit a wall, they shoot off at at angle. They even right themselves if they are on their side or back. It's an elegant design. The result is something that looks and behaves amazingly similar to a cockroach, but simply consists of a vibrator (motor with weight), battery, and rubber legs. That's it!
The shapes of the case allows it to both bounce off of walls and right to themselves. They are unstoppable.
I don't know how long the battery lasts, but you can replace it.
My 2 year old LOVES them. He can easily turn them on or off, and he can't (short of immersing one in water) hurt them. He's given each of them names and attaches a lot of personality to them, he acts like they're pets. They are a good size for him, no moving parts to break. It's actually a brilliant little toy.
I kind of want to turn the habitat into a gambling game... roll a couple of them into a habitat (like dice) and first one to exit the open door wins. They are surprisingly entertaining.
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Once again, another seller on Amazon advertises the more expensive set and is selling the cheaper set. That's very dishonest, at best, but Amazon didn't publish my last review where I used stronger language. This is the third different company that I've seen selling it, so something fishy is going on, but the consistent thing is describing the more expensive set.
If it doesn't have a large ORANGE piece, then IT IS *NOT* THE BRIDGE BATTLE! The MSRP of the Bridge Battle Playset is $39.99. We finally had to buy it at Target to make sure we got the right thing because Amazon doesn't stand behind third-party sales the way they do their own products.
Once again, the Habitat set MSRP is $29.99 and is available locally for that price.
DO NOT BUY A BRIDGE BATTLE SET THAT DOESN'T HAVE AN ORANGE ***BATTLE BRIDGE***.
Best Deals for Hexbug Bridge Battle Set
$59! on sale for $30 at ToysRUs, regular price is $35, wow this is really expensive over priced even for Amazon. Check before you buy this item.....
Honest reviews on Hexbug Bridge Battle Set
Got this for my 6 year-old. The habitat actually surprised me, I thought they are just cheap pieces of tubes and little hexagon arenas. They are cleverly thought out and well built. The hexagons have gates that you can close or open on 6 sides and you can interconnect them in so many ways.
My son's only complaint is that the pieces are somewhat difficult to engage and disengage. But once he got the hang of it, it was OK.
Comes with 2 hexabugs. It is more fun to have more than one hexabugs. We already have 1 green, and then 2 more that came with this set. Ours came with a blue and a rare black bug.
You can also enjoy the bugs even sans the habitat. They are so fun to release them on the wild. Let them run around the table or the hardwood floor. (They don't move as much on carpets). Just watch Youtube videos, they have tons of them. It is like a geek toy, your personal microbot.
The batteries are cheap if you search online. 20 pieces for a few bucks. Each bug uses only 1 battery and you will need a watch type screwdriver to replace it.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Hexbug Bridge Battle Set
I put this set together for my little nephew (3 years old) and he loved the little vibrating bugs. He quickly bored with it, as did I, when you realize that the "battle" is really just a matter of which bug will fall off the orange disc on its own accord. The bugs themselves seem fairly durable with high grade silicone for the body and a buff inner vibrator/battery compartment. The track snaps together fairly easily but the legs that hold up the upper levels are very wimpy and wouldn't last a solid play session with younger kids.
Apparently this set has two "ultra rare" bugs (the white and black one) that only larger sets come with so yay for adding to your kid's collection.
Do yourself a favor and tack on a large pack of button batteries to your order if you plan on playing with these for more than a day or two.
