FOR PARENTS

About the website:

All the content we post to bizarroworld.net is what we consider all-ages. The message boards are used by the community and we cannot guarantee their appropriateness, although we do monitor them for content periodically. We have a parents only section of the boards just for you!! Share with other parents your Bizarro Experience.

Be sure to bookmark us as a misspelled url could go somewhere very different.

About the products by owner and parent Dan Urazandi:

COMIC BOOKS
Comic books were the first product mass marketed to a youth audience. They were a realm exclusive to children, one which adults and parents rarely entered or understood. While this was a large part of the appeal for the kids, it led to fear and demonizing among some adults. Before Rock & Roll, comic books were the main societal scapegoat accused of corrupting America's youth. But today most parents are happy to see their children reading anything and look to comics as a visual entertainment more satisfying and stimulating than video games or TV. Still, there are concerns about content. Comic books do not have a universal age-appropriateness rating like the motion picture association, but individual publishers may have their own. Since each family has different standards, we encourage you to speak with our salespersons when browsing the store. There are sections that are entirely all-ages in our new and old comics areas. If you are shopping online we have 3 gradations: A: all-ages, T: teen+, and M: mature (18+) that you can differentiate or search by.

BOARD GAMES
We all know these. They have a strong interactive element, encourage socialization, foster learning, stimulate the intellect and they're fun too. The other games we carry at Bizarro World have these same benefits, plus more, but are newer and less understood, so I'll spend more time discussing them...

COLLECTABLE CARD GAMES (CCG)
These are very popular with the youth and are thus much scrutinized by parents. The three biggest ones are Pokemon, YuGiOh and Magic. These form a kind of gradation where the youngest collectors/players favor Pokemon, the middle aged children go with YuGiOh and Magic is most popular among high schoolers and older teens, although these are by no means set firm; many college students and adults play all three.

Each is a game with a collectible component, and each has many cards of varying rarity, playability and price. Fans may play with, collect, and/or trade the cards. They are released in periodic expansions, usually 3-4 per year, and sold in decks (designed to play out of the box, usually 40-60 fixed cards) and booster packs (9-15 random cards, with 1 or more rare cards). Rarity in the production and playability within the game will determine the value and desirability of any given card.

You do not have to play the games to enjoy the hobby, but speaking as a parent I would ENCOURAGE YOUNG CARD COLLECTORS TO LEARN AND PLAY THE CARD GAMES THEY ARE INTO. By playing, kids get more value out of their card purchase and get further involved in the worlds that fascinate them. They will better understand the value of their collections and gain new appreciation for what they have. Most importantly, these are clever games that stimulate imagination and foster learning. If you play any of these CCGs with your kids (something I also encourage) or watch them closely as they play amongst themselves you will see them not just strategizing and doing a lot of reading and math, but enjoying it thoroughly.

To really encourage play, we hold not just tournaments but tutorials on how to play for children and parents both our events page or give us a call.

ROLE PLAYING GAMES (RPG)
RPGs, of which Dungeons & Dragons is the first and remains the most popular, are the most imaginative and creative games you or your children can play. The game books provide a setting and rules, and maps and miniatures may be used as visual aids, but the players come up with everything else. RPG players are constantly creating and refining characters, settings, situations and plotlines that can be as interesting as those in any novel or narrative. So many entertainments today come with everything already done, but RPGs ask their players to come up with everything beyond the basic framework provided from their own imaginations! The potential is a limitless as that in our children.

Tips born of my 15 years experience in collectible card games (Pokemon, Magic, YuGiOh):

Play the Game: Your card experience will be greatly enhanced all around by playing the associated game.
Learn the Rules: Having a friend teach you is great at first; eventually you will want a rulebook of your own. The rules you made up are not always the same as those others made up.
Protect your cards: Whether you play or not, if you ever intend to sell or trade your cards, condition will be important. A small investment in sleeves can really pay off in the long run.
Know your trades: Don't trade cards until you have some idea of their relative values. Be aware that stores buy and trade at wholesale, or about half value.
Quality over Quantity: The sales design of collectible card games is to intentionally short print some cards so people have to buy lots of more common cards to find these few 'rares'. This means that 10,000 cards together can be worth less than one card; it all depends on which cards.
Have Fun: It's not in every rulebook, but it should be: Don't take the game (or anything else) too seriously.

About our Tournaments:
Tournaments are a great way to expand your social group, learn new strategies, get deck ideas, feel the excitement of competition, and win great prizes! At Bizarro World, we hold a variety of events for every level of play and every player. See our events page to find what fits your child's interests, schedule, style, and level of play. While we have a great variety of games, events, and players, one thing is consistent: we hold everyone at Bizarro World, and especially at our tournaments to the following standard:

Everyone taking part in any game or event at Bizarro World agrees to respect other participants, the staff, all personal property, the building and fixtures and the workings of the business at all times.

This code exists so that no one's actions detract from the fun of the event for anyone else, and so that the events stay possible for everyone to enjoy.