LEGO Board Games

dingbat

Hi everyone,

Since their release in 2009 and their end of life only three years later, I've really loved the Lego Board Game theme. They were (are!) fun, witty, educational, come in sturdy and beautiful boxes, and most of them are worth buying just for parts. As a matter of fact I've acquired a good deal of them:  some have been opened and played with, others have been left intact in their original wrapping.

I'd just like to know from the community what your thoughts are regarding collecting new and used Lego board games and what's your feeling about them more in general (have they been an interesting theme, would it be nice to see them coming back, are they fun).

But one question over all others:  why aren't Lego board games listed on Bricklink? Are we sure there's no market out there for them?

Happy Holidays to all.

Aleydita

They are listed on BL as gear rather than sets, and the mismatch prevents them being linked to the Brickset database entries.

dingbat

Hey, that's news. Thank you

Cyberdragon

Lego board games are way older than 2009! I have one from when I was a little kid from the early 00s. It's the one where you have instruction cards and a board you pile pieces on and take turns grabbing pieces racing to build what's on the card.

legomason

It seems like none of them were ever actually fun but the idea of what fun could be.

They could make one like Carcassonne with mini road baseplates or Settlers of Catan.

Toc13

Even the Knizia one was just phoned in.
Creationary is an amusing diversion & there's some good microfigs in them but they're better parts packs than games.
Still, I always look out for them in charity shops- can usual get a 32x32 baseplate +bits for £2-3

dingbat

What I also find enticing about them is the incredibly sturdy boxes they come in. Why can't TLG pack regular sets that way?

Baby_Yoda

Heroica was awesome. I bought the entire line as soon as it came out. I have many good memories of that game, despite its simple rules and flimsy board. Of course, I eventually purged it for parts, but some days I regret that.

CCC

legomason said:

It seems like none of them were ever actually fun but the idea of what fun could be.

They could make one like Carcassonne with mini road baseplates or Settlers of Catan.

They are great fun for kids. We play them regularly. Carcassonne and Catan are adult / older kids so not suitable for Lego games.

terfsten

I don't know why but I have always really liked the lego die piece lol :)

Bumblepants

terfsten said:

I don't know why but I have always really liked the lego die piece lol :)

I have one configured as an old tube the with an NES in my red grocer modular. Package deal from minifigs.me I think it was. Looks great.

Astrobricks

dingbat said:

What I also find enticing about them is the incredibly sturdy boxes they come in. Why can't TLG pack regular sets that way?

How much more would you like to pay for such boxes?

datsunrobbie

Astrobricks said:

dingbat said:

What I also find enticing about them is the incredibly sturdy boxes they come in. Why can't TLG pack regular sets that way?

How much more would you like to pay for such boxes?

Could be a new market for LEGO. Premium collector's boxes, all made to the specs of the games or Ideas boxes. To keep costs down, the boxes would contain no bricks, but they would come individually packed in shipping boxes to ensure that the sealed box is in pristine condition. But then those shipping boxes would also need to be in boxes, for the collectors who want pristine shipping boxes for their pristine set boxes. Special super-limited Russia only versions would have a minimum of 5 nested boxes.

Toc13

CCC said:

 Carcassonne and Catan are adult / older kids 

Tell that to my 5yo (okay, having a heavy gamer & a light gamer for parents may have something to do with it :-) )

mak0137

datsunrobbie said:

Astrobricks said:

dingbat said:

What I also find enticing about them is the incredibly sturdy boxes they come in. Why can't TLG pack regular sets that way?

How much more would you like to pay for such boxes?

Could be a new market for LEGO. Premium collector's boxes, all made to the specs of the games or Ideas boxes. To keep costs down, the boxes would contain no bricks, but they would come individually packed in shipping boxes to ensure that the sealed box is in pristine condition. But then those shipping boxes would also need to be in boxes, for the collectors who want pristine shipping boxes for their pristine set boxes. Special super-limited Russia only versions would have a minimum of 5 nested boxes.

Awesome! Best comment I read in awhile. :D

monic76

I remember once hearing someone's theory on why Lego stopped the highly successful Lego Games.

It had to do with the fact that HASBRO is the board game king, and how maybe they didn't like Lego "infringing" on their (HASBRO'S) stomping ground by releasing Lego Games. The result? Kre-O.

Whether Lego took a financial impact from HASBRO'S release of Kre-O I'm not sure. However, I personally don't think Lego is ever going to bring back Lego Games.

Phoenixio

I somewhat doubt that.  Board games are spreading like wildfire, and it goes far beyond Hasbro.  With Asmodee becoming a giant as well, and a ton of smaller companies, I doubt Hasbro alone would block Lego when it can't block competition on its own grounds.

Plus, it's the first time I hear of Kre-O, so clearly their branding failed!  And I pass through toys aisles often.

CCC

LEGO games didn't really impact on the decent games manufacturers and wouldn't have made much impact on the ones sold in chains. Most LEGO games were a bit cràp for gameplay, some were OK and part of the fun was that they were made from LEGO. Good parts packs though.

Briking

^This.  I picked up 10 Ramses Pyramid from Tesco and think it was £1 a throw.  Baseplate plus a bunch of pieces.

mr_benn

^^ Completely agree! I managed to get most at a discount. I recall when Asda were selling off the Harry Potter game - it was I think £2.50 and you got a whole heap of great pieces with that one. I bought quite a few and there were many more up for grabs!

Speedman29

I picked up loads at carboot sales and charity shops. Never paid more than a £1 for any of them. Useful parts packs and a good source of baseplates and large plate pieces.

CCC

That's cheap. I often pay £2 for the smaller games and £5 for the larger (32x32) ones.

I think I probably still have some of the £5 TESCO Battle of Hoth games. Most of my son's friends got that for their birthdays a few years ago.

Oldfan

CCC said:

That's cheap. I often pay £2 for the smaller games and £5 for the larger (32x32) ones.

I think I probably still have some of the £5 TESCO Battle of Hoth games. Most of my son's friends got that for their birthdays a few years ago.

Jealous...we had to import these to the States as they weren't available here. I'm lucky to have ONE!

pxchris

Oldfan said:

CCC said:

That's cheap. I often pay £2 for the smaller games and £5 for the larger (32x32) ones.

I think I probably still have some of the £5 TESCO Battle of Hoth games. Most of my son's friends got that for their birthdays a few years ago.

Jealous...we had to import these to the States as they weren't available here. I'm lucky to have ONE!

Same thing with me and the Battle of Helms Deep game. We never got that stateside and trying to find a copy at a reasonable price has been next to impossible.

Brainslugged

dingbat said:

What I also find enticing about them is the incredibly sturdy boxes they come in. Why can't TLG pack regular sets that way?

And they're perfectly sized to store a stack of 32x32 baseplate in them.