Do i only need 1 game to play with all the different skylander characters? or are there different games as well? i am a mom and i don't understand it.

We own the skylanders spyro ps3 game and these work for that. Not every set works with every game. We have been burn on this before. On the back or side of the package it will show if it will work for spyro, minis, or giants etc.... Some work for some games! It is a little confusing. I am also a mom. I went online and typed in what console I had. Ps3, Xbox, or whatever then typed in the game I had. The one I was holding in my hand. Asked the online site which ones would work. That is the only way I figured it out.

Can these characters be used with the xbox one?

Any of the skylanders characters can be used on any of the consoles. Only the portal differs. In addition, all characters from a game can be used in future games. For example: All Skylanders Spyro's Adventure characters can be played in any game. All Skylanders Giants characters can be played in giants, swap-force, and future games. You just can't play new characters in older games. Example: Swap-force characters and versions of characters cannot be played in giants or spyro's adventure.