Scope: Battle Tops = competitive/collectible battling spinning-top toy systems — Beyblade-style modular systems (current Beyblade X: blade+ratchet+bit; legacy Beyblade Burst: energy layer+forge disc+driver) and cross-brand competitors (e.g. Infinity Nado) — sold as complete battle sets, starter packs, single tops/boosters, or replacement parts/accessories (launcher, stadium). Excludes non-battling spinning tops and simple string-pull board games (e.g. classic Battling Tops).

Seed:
1. The generic trap is the Attack/Defense/Stamina/Balance "type" printed on the box — listings and buyers treat it as the whole story, but the Ratchet (height + contact points) and Bit (tip shape) stacked under the same Blade change how it actually plays; type alone doesn't predict outcome.
2. A tournament judge/competitive blader notices first whether two tops being bought even share a spin direction and generation/system — a top can't score a Spin Finish against an opponent spinning the other way, and parts from one generation don't fit another; a gift-buyer looking at box art wouldn't think to check either.

Sources:
[wikipedia_beyblade] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyblade — four generations are cross-incompatible; Attack/Defense/Stamina/Balance types; Beystadium wall/pocket differences; burst mechanic; launcher ripcord vs string; scoring points — fetched excerpt
[hasbro_x_product_page] https://instructions.hasbro.com/en-us/instruction/beyblade-x-xtreme-battle-set-with-beystadium-2-right-spinning-top-toys-and-2-launchers — "Ages 8 and up", "Choking Hazard — Small parts. Not for children under 3 years", "authentic die-cast metal parts", right-spin tops, X-Celerator Gear System/Rail, part names "Dagger Dran 4-60R Attack Type" — fetched excerpt
[hasbro_x_instructions_pdf] https://assets-us-01.kc-usercontent.com/.../F9588EU40_INST_531047_BEY_BBX_FALL_BATTLE_SET_FAR%20(1).pdf — "8+" age icon, Blade/Ratchet/Bit assembly steps, right-spin alignment, "Only compatible with the Beyblade X System", eye/face impact warning, "Burst rates vary" — fetched excerpt (pdftotext)
[monkeemods_bits] https://monkeemods.com/blog/beyblade-x-bits-guide — Flat/Ball/Taper/Needle bit shapes and their tradeoffs; Metal Needle banned by WBO in ranked play since 2024-05-13 — fetched excerpt
[monkeemods_blades] https://monkeemods.com/blog/beyblade-x-blade-types — Attack/Defense/Stamina/Balance blade silhouettes; Ratchet code = protrusion count + stack height in mm, flagged as community consensus not an official spec — fetched excerpt
[monkeemods_glossary] https://monkeemods.com/blog/beyblade-x-glossary — Blade/Ratchet/Bit stack; 4 finish types (Spin/Over/Burst/Xtreme); left-spin parts exist to steal spin from right-spin opponents — fetched excerpt
[cpsc_astm_f963] https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/01/18/2024-00741/safety-standard-mandating-astm-f963-for-toys — ASTM F963 is the CPSIA-mandated US toy safety standard, effective generation F963-23 from 2024-04-20 — fetched excerpt
[wikipedia_battling_tops] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battling_Tops — 1968 Ideal precursor game: string-wound tops released into a concave arena, no swappable parts — fetched excerpt (WebFetch)
[search_infinity_nado] Infinity Nado brand — 4 tip types (Attack/Endurance/Defense/Balance), cord launcher, own Sword Launcher naming — search excerpt (WebSearch, before budget exhausted; not independently re-fetched)
[monkeemods_cx] https://monkeemods.com/blog/beyblade-x-cx-system-guide — CX (Custom Line) splits the Blade into Lock Chip, Main Blade, Assist Blade; first release CX-01 Dran Brave — fetched (curl)
[beybase_cx] https://beybase.com/beyblade-x-custom-line-cx-buyers-guide/ — independent confirmation of the Lock Chip/Main Blade/Assist Blade three-part CX split, plus a four-part Expand Blade variant — fetched (curl)

Branches:
- package_type=battle_set -> ask stadium_type, toy_system: a complete set is sold with its stadium, so stadium features are decidable immediately (wikipedia_beyblade stadium section).
- package_type=single_top_or_booster -> ask toy_system, blade_type, spin_direction: a single top/booster listing names its system, tactical type and spin on the box, each needed to confirm it fits an existing combo (hasbro_x_product_page part naming "Dagger Dran 4-60R Attack Type"; hasbro_x_instructions_pdf right-spin alignment instruction).
- package_type=single_part_or_accessory -> ask part_kind first: which single part you need changes every other question (monkeemods_glossary three-part stack).
- toy_system -> cross-generation parts are not compatible, so system must be fixed before any part-level question (hasbro_x_instructions_pdf "Only compatible with the Beyblade X System"; wikipedia_beyblade four-generations note).
- primary_goal=gift_or_first_battle -> makes ratchet_profile and part_kind irrelevant: a casual buyer wants a working set, not a tuned combo (seed persona contrast).
- primary_goal=competitive_tournament_tuning -> ask blade_type, bit_tip_shape, ratchet_profile, spin_direction: ranked legality and tuning turn on exactly these four part properties (monkeemods_bits bit-shape tradeoffs feeding the MN ranked-play ban; monkeemods_blades ratchet-code tuning read).

Noise: "Winder/sword/Proto launcher power level" (wikipedia_beyblade launching section) — left out, folded into launcher_mechanism's why_experts_care rather than its own facet, no independent buyer-facing spec. "X-Celerator Rail / Accelerator Rail zone layout" — folded into stadium_type values rather than a separate finish-type facet. "Exact Ratchet digit engineering meaning" — monkeemods explicitly flags this as unconfirmed by an official spec sheet; kept qualitative (profile class) rather than a numeric facet. "Companion-app digital-battle scan/tracking feature" (hasbro_x_product_page "COMPETE IN DIGITAL BATTLES... scan code... Beyblade app") — left out, a phone-app feature layered on top of physical play rather than a trait of the toy itself, and doesn't change which part fits what.

Corrections (2026-10-26):
- part_kind: added lock_chip/main_blade/assist_blade values plus vocabulary (CX, Lock Chip, Main Blade, Assist Blade) for the CX line's split Blade, confirmed with a second independent source (beybase_cx) alongside monkeemods_cx.
- toy_system: dropped both branches (beyblade_burst_legacy -> makes_irrelevant bit_tip_shape; other_brand_system -> makes_irrelevant ratchet_profile) — Burst's Driver is the functional Bit equivalent (now in vocabulary), so bit_tip_shape isn't actually irrelevant, and the other_brand_system claim rested only on the uncited, un-refetched search_infinity_nado excerpt; neither held up on re-examination, so softened to no claim rather than an invented citation.
- vocabulary: added Energy Layer, Forge Disc, Driver (Beyblade Burst terminology) and Proto launcher, all already referenced elsewhere in the register but previously undefined.
- package_type=single_top_or_booster and primary_goal=competitive_tournament_tuning branches: added the missing Branches citations above rather than dropping, since both legs are supported by sources already in Sources.
- notes.md Noise: added the Hasbro companion-app/digital-battle scan feature as an explicit, justified omission.
- primary_goal: reworded the cold-start question (split and facet) from "First battle set, tournament tuning, or collecting parts?" to "A first battle set, ranked-combo legality, or collecting loose parts?" to anchor it to a battle-tops-specific stake (WBO ranked-combo legality) instead of a generic first-timer/tournament/collector framing.