Has the LEGO group released too much 18+ sets this year?

[jimmynick]

2 minutes ago, JintaiZ said:

All 18+ sets are fun to build for me. Adults probably won't enjoy Duplo sets much.

Well that's an entirely subjective value judgment, isn't it? And you cannot insist that your taste is correct and everyone else's is wrong.

If you find yourself breaking the bank because you have to buy all the 18+ sets LEGO releases, then the commodity fetish has bitten you particularly hard.

[JintaiZ]

4 minutes ago, jimmynick said:

Well that's an entirely subjective value judgment, isn't it? And you cannot insist that your taste is correct and everyone else's is wrong.

If you find yourself breaking the bank because you have to buy all the 18+ sets LEGO releases, then the commodity fetish has bitten you particularly hard.

Not saying you're wrong, but if you have built a 18+ set you'd probably understand...

[jimmynick]

Unfortunately my collection at present only goes up to 16+. I must have a severe taste deficiency

[JintaiZ]

3 minutes ago, jimmynick said:

Unfortunately my collection at present only goes up to 16+. I must have a severe taste deficiency

Not really, 16+ sets have better playability.

[MAB]

35 minutes ago, JintaiZ said:

@Peppermint_M, I didn't actually play LEGO when I was a child, I just recently got to it in 2015.

I know you're trying to make your cousin happy ?
 

@Toastie@Mylenium@MAB, to be more clear,

Talking about the build experience:

18+/16+/14+ = ★★★★★

12+/11+/10+ = ★★★★☆

9+/8+/7+ = ★★★☆☆

6+/5+/4+ = ★★☆☆☆

3+/2+/1.5+ = ★☆☆☆☆

Hopefully you all get it.

 

Still not clear. I think you can have small adult-targeted sets that are not necessarily a good build experience but are great display pieces. Such as mosaics - some people will hate building those but love displaying them.

[JintaiZ]

2 minutes ago, MAB said:

Still not clear. I think you can have small adult-targeted sets that are not necessarily a good build experience but are great display pieces. Such as mosaics - some people will hate building those but love displaying them.

I really enjoyed building the mosaics.

[MAB]

1 hour ago, Mylenium said:

Exactly the point. LEGO couldn't care less if you put your expensive Siàn box on fire and throw it into the dumpster five minutes after you bought it. They got their deal out of it. Capitalism is about selling stuff, not how it's actually being used.

I imagine they hope you will enjoy setting it on fire, so much so that you buy similar products in future.

[JintaiZ]

13 minutes ago, MAB said:

I imagine they hope you will enjoy setting it on fire, so much so that you buy similar products in future.

I'd seriously prefer if they would put the Sian in a regular box and reduce the price...

[MAB]

37 minutes ago, JintaiZ said:

I really enjoyed building the mosaics.

Yet other people will find them repetitive and boring, but really enjoy building more complex sets. Across the entire product range and within each age bracket, there will be different types of sets - build style, size, price, playability, displayability. Which is a good thing, as people are different. But that means that some people will enjoy a particular aspect in a different way to someone else.

[howitzer]

I'm quite sure a four year old will like 10929 better than 42115 in terms of both, building experience and playability. Different people get enjoyment out of different things and what's great fun for someone may be boring or frustrating to someone else. That's why it's nice to have all kinds of sets for all kinds of audiences.

[JintaiZ]

19 minutes ago, MAB said:

Yet other people will find them repetitive and boring, but really enjoy building more complex sets. Across the entire product range and within each age bracket, there will be different types of sets - build style, size, price, playability, displayability. Which is a good thing, as people are different. But that means that some people will enjoy a particular aspect in a different way to someone else.

Another reason that it's 18+ is because kids probably won't have much fun with it since it has no playability.

However, some 16+ sets has excellent playability. When I was young, I had a blast with the 10247 Ferris Wheel.

[Peppermint_M]

2015 

I have been a Moderator longer than that!! It is bad enough that my little brother who was my building buddy from 5 is now 19 and old enough to use the forum...

The thing is, enjoyment is subjective. I have an epic time at a Metal gig full of fellow fans. I can easily say that would be a horrible evening for many others. Likewise, I cannot stand watching Cricket. I know plenty of people who would say it is a perfect pastime.

[JintaiZ]

4 minutes ago, Peppermint_M said:

2015 

I have been a Moderator longer than that!! It is bad enough that my little brother who was my building buddy from 5 is now 19 and old enough to use the forum...

The thing is, enjoyment is subjective. I have an epic time at a Metal gig full of fellow fans. I can easily say that would be a horrible evening for many others. Likewise, I cannot stand watching Cricket. I know plenty of people who would say it is a perfect pastime.

Yep, you read that right! My first set was the 10247 Ferris Wheel and I really got into LEGO after that.

And congratulations on being a moderator for so long!

Edited September 9, 2020 by JintaiZ

[JintaiZ]

On 9/9/2020 at 11:12 AM, howitzer said:

I'm quite sure a four year old will like 10929 better than 42115 in terms of both, building experience and playability. Different people get enjoyment out of different things and what's great fun for someone may be boring or frustrating to someone else. That's why it's nice to have all kinds of sets for all kinds of audiences.

Of course! For a parent the 42115 will hit their wallet hard...

[JintaiZ]

On ‎9‎/‎9‎/‎2020 at 6:29 AM, ArneNielsen said:

On the contrary, DUPLO is mostly about playability, not much about building

For babies...

[Toastie]

59 minutes ago, JintaiZ said:

For babies...

(Ouuhhhh, dangerous! Babies may swallow them! They get the Primos!)

For children of a certain age. I remember having great fun in building a pirate ship from DUPLO bricks for my daughters. Which we then played with. Hmm. 

As TLG is providing sets (and other stuff) for a very broad range of folks, with different experience, capability, and most importantly taste - you will get as many answers as there are all the diverse LEGO-head characters out there. There is no scheme and almost no "on average". However, in a room with children and DUPLOs present, chances are high that the kids play with DUPLOs. Hardly, they will display or collect or keep them in mint condition.

I guess this observation may even count as a more general thing. And thus DUPLO sets and bricks fulfil an essential criterion when assessing "playability". It is a very weakly defined term though - playability.

(I believe you'll get as many answers to what playability means, as you get when you ask: "It this set cool?")

Best
Thorsten

 

[JintaiZ]

3 minutes ago, Toastie said:

(Ouuhhhh, dangerous! Babies may swallow them! They get the Primos!)

For children of a certain age. I remember having great fun in building a pirate ship from DUPLO bricks for my daughters. Which we then played with. Hmm. 

As TLG is providing sets (and other stuff) for a very broad range of folks, with different experience, capability, and most importantly taste - you will get as many answers as there are all the diverse LEGO-head characters out there. There is no scheme and almost no "on average". However, in a room with children and DUPLOs present, chances are high that the kids play with DUPLOs. Hardly, they will display or collect or keep them in mint condition.

I guess this observation may even count as a more general thing. And thus DUPLO sets and bricks fulfil an essential criterion when assessing "playability". It is a very weakly defined term though - playability.

(I believe you'll get as many answers to what playability means, as you get when you ask: "It this set cool?")

Best
Thorsten

 

Yep, and I'm just standing from a teenager/adult perspective.

[Darkdragon]

On 9/7/2020 at 4:56 PM, JintaiZ said:

Duplo sets = No playability

 wrong.

Definitely nothing wrong with all the sets for adults, all the sets for teens, all the sets for kids. It's all parts to me anyway. Many of the adult-marketed sets have the lowest PPP of anything on the market other than the boxes of parts. Yes, there are a lot of high dollar sets this year and that's frustrating in the current climate especially but to say that there's a problem with it is just short sighted. New parts, new colors, new themes, all sorts of fun things. 

2 hours ago, JintaiZ said:

For babies...

You show your selfishness and one-sided views with this sort of statement.

[JintaiZ]

@DarkdragonPerhaps we had different stories...

I haven't played with LEGO at all when I was a baby...

[Darkdragon]

Just now, JintaiZ said:

@DarkdragonPerhaps we had different stories...

I haven't played with LEGO at all when I was a baby...

Yes, that's the problem. You can't look at the situation from anyone else's perspective it's just your perspective. Therefore you want more teen targeted sets because you are a teen and when you are 25 you will want more adult targeted sets.  That's simply not the way things work   Unlike many other toy companies, LEGO does a great job at serving all ages 0-99 and making products that appeal to wide variety of interests. It's a great thing! It's nice to be able to find a gift for almost anyone in the offerings.

[JintaiZ]

1 minute ago, Darkdragon said:

Yes, that's the problem. You can't look at the situation from anyone else's perspective it's just your perspective. Therefore you want more teen targeted sets because you are a teen and when you are 25 you will want more adult targeted sets.  That's simply not the way things work   Unlike many other toy companies, LEGO does a great job at serving all ages 0-99 and making products that appeal to wide variety of interests. It's a great thing! It's nice to be able to find a gift for almost anyone in the offerings.

Of course they do!

When it comes to sets that I want, I look for the ones with an interesting build and I could care less about playability

[koalayummies]

23 hours ago, JintaiZ said:

When it comes to sets that I want, I look for the ones with an interesting build and I could care less about playability

That's in line with the 'adult builder' mindset desiring realism over play features and echoed a lot when an AFOL thinks a set could've been better made without Lego constantly thinking of kids. There's other mindsets than just viewing sets from the build, or playability, or that it has minidolls, or whether it's 'too girly' or just for children.

For example MOCers are often solely concerned with the Price Per Piece ratio and consider the entire gamut of themes for desirable pieces disregarding any of the above listed concerns. From this perspective everything is awesome and there's almost nothing to complain about, except the people constantly complaining.

[White Phoenix of the Crown]

Why are they rated 18+ ?

[JintaiZ]

7 minutes ago, koalayummies said:

That's in line with the 'adult builder' mindset desiring realism over play features and echoed a lot when an AFOL thinks a set could've been better made without Lego constantly thinking of kids. There's other mindsets than just viewing sets from the build, or playability, or that it has minidolls, or whether it's 'too girly' or just for children.

For example MOCers are often solely concerned with the Price Per Piece ratio and consider the entire gamut of themes for desirable pieces disregarding any of the above listed concerns. From this perspective everything is awesome and there's almost nothing to complain about, except the people constantly complaining.

I am also concerned about the PPP. When a set has a high PPP, I look at the parts included and see if they do the justice. I also care a lot about accuracy, just like what 18+ sets are really about.

However, even when a set has a not-so-good PPP, I buy it if I really like it.

[Peppermint_M]

22 minutes ago, Ragana9289 said:

Why are they rated 18+ ?

They are not rated as 18+, they are marketed as products for those over 18. So, Not A Kids Toy so that an adult would not feel like they are purchasing a childish thing. The 18+ sets are implied to be premium products, items for the grown-up who has a fondness for LEGO, an art project or item for a hobbyist.

Just a marketing gimmick.