There are dozens of Skylanders toys available but you don't have to buy them all to see everything Skylanders Swap Force has to offer. Below, we present the absolute minimum purchases you'll have to make to unlock everything.

Several areas in each level are cordoned off with an Element Gate such as the Life Gate seen above. There are eight Elements in Skylanders so you'll need at least eight toys. The Starter Pack (you can't purchase the game by itself), which retails for $74.99, comes with three Skylanders which covers the Fire, Water and Life Elements. So, you only have to buy an additional five Skylanders, right?

Nope!

There are also Swap Zones you'll need to unlock with the powers specific to the Swap Force Skylanders. There are eight powers in total and each Swap Force Skylander has a one. This means you're going to have to buy the more expensive Swap Force characters ($14.99 compared to $9.99). The power needed to unlock the gate in the above picture is the Rocket power. The Swap Force figures that comes in the Starter Pack cover the Rocket and Climb powers. Now that we know all this, what toys should you buy if you want to see everything but want to buy as few things as possible?

As mentioned, the Starter Pack has the Fire Element, Water Element, Rocket Power, and Climb Power covered with two of its pack-in characters: Blast Zone and Wash Buckler. In order to cover the remaining Elements and Powers with as few characters as possible, you must buy:

Unfortunately, if you look at the Launch Guide, only four of them are available at launch. You'll have to wait before you can pick up Stink Bomb and Rubble Rouser.

You will also need one of the Giants characters to open certain chests. These run $14.99 but they're older toys so you can probably find them for under $10. You only need one so pick your favorite.

But that's not all!

There are also two levels locked away in Skylanders Swap Force that can only be unlocked by purchasing the Sheep Wreck Islands and Tower of Time Adventure Pack. They run $24.99 each. Only the Tower of Time Adventure Pack will be available at launch.

If you want to see everything two-player mode has to offer, you'll need to purchase the Fiery Forge Battle Pack for $24.99 to unlock new battle arenas. This pack is available at launch and is the only Battle Pack we're aware of thus far.

So, to sum up, here's the minimum purchase requirement to see everything:

Starter Pack - $74.99

Rattle Shake - $14.99

Magna Charge - $14.99

Free Ranger - $14.99

Hoot Loop - $14.99

Stink Bomb - $14.99 (not available at launch)

Rubble Rouser - $14.99 (not available at launch)

Any Giants character - $14.99

Sheep Wreck Adventure Pack - $24.99 (not available at launch)

Tower of Time Adventure Pack - $24.99

Fiery Forge Battle Pack - $24.99

Total: $254.89