Right so my Daughter is getting an Xbox 360 for Xmas and I'm thinking of getting her skylanders. The only problem is i never really paid any attention to the skylanders games when they were a thing because it just wasn't for me. So I'm kinda confused where the best place to start is?

Which version of the game would be best to buy?

What do I need for my daughter to begin playing skylanders on Xbox 360?

Do the old portals work with newer figures or is it only the other way round? (New portals work with older figures)

Any advice you can give me on this matter would be aprechiated, I want to know what I'm doing before taking the plunge. Thanks.

Man...been a long time since I played those. I can't remember exactly how the portals worked, but I would probably suggest getting whatever the newest portal is. I would think, all figures should be guaranteed to work then.

Probably the main thing to look out for that I can think of is making sure the figures you buy work with whatever game/s you get. Newer figures won't work on older games. And, I feel like I remember liking the second game(Giants) the least, but I pretty much enjoyed playing them all.

https://skylanderscharacterlist.com/getting-started/figure-compatibility/

Basically, look up each character on this site. I used to have some good stuff booked marked, filtered spreadsheets and whatnot, when my son was buying all things Skylanders.

The portals are the biggest issue, but if I remember right, the newest portal for the console you’re using should be pretty safe.

Ok so seems like my best bet would be to buy the latest game because all figures should work with it? Are there different themes to each game? Is there a specific one which might appeal to a 6 year old girl most?

The last game, Imaginators, let's you make your own character so she can be anything she wants! Also there are a million figures to collect at this point so I'm sure there's something she'll be into. As for the game itself, it's pretty generic fantasy kid stuff so you should be good. Also there is a Netflix show to watch that's not too bad.

As mentioned the only caveat is that not every portal is compatible with every game. If you get the starter set you will be good to go. The only thing that Imaginators doesn't support is the trap crystals from Trapmasters (two games back). It does support the vehicles from the previous game.

Hopefully the figs are still cheap for you to pick up. We've been picking up random ones for a dollar or two a used book store.

Ok sounds like the Imaginators starter set is the way to go. Thanks for all your help!