Skylanders uses toy figures to unlock characters and save progress. It is no longer manufactured but can be found second-hand quite cheaply and is a lot of fun for young players, particularly when played in cooperative two-player mode.

The novelty is that the toy figure not only looks great and unlocks content in the game, but it also remembers the players progress. While playing you place the figure on a round plinth that plugs into the console and automatically brings it into the game.

There are a series of Skylanders games that added a novelty each year. The newer games can use the older figures:

• Skylanders Spyro's Adventure
• Skylanders Giants introduced large Giant toys and game characters in 2012.
• Skylanders Swap Force introduced mix and match character torso's and legs in 2013.
• Skylanders Trap Team introduced collectable crystals that let players capture and play as enemy characters in 2014. Its portal had a speaker that created a great trapping audio effect.
• Skylanders SuperChargers added toy racing vehicles and kart-racing modes in 2015. Only Skylanders with Online Multiplayer (Xbox One, Wii U and PlayStation 4).
• Skylanders Imaginators added characters you could create yourself from parts you won in the game in 2016.

The Starter Packs for each game provided everything you needed to complete the game, but additional areas and characters are only available by purchasing the additional toys. There were around 30 of these each year. Now the game is not being updated you can find the Skylanders toys very cheaply second hand.

The game is available on different systems. The Skylanders toy figures work on all the systems interchangeably. Console and PC are main versions, but there was a full version on iOS for Trap Team that comes with its own Bluetooth portal peripheral. Similarly, there are 3DS versions that come with a portable version of the portal peripheral.