Lego Games: Are they worth it for AFOL?

[roamingstop]

After coming out of my dark ages I noticed that Lego had released a load of Games - including themed (licensed) versions. However Ive never dug into them to work out if they are worth playing, or have unusual pieces which are specifically useful in MOC's etc.

Clearly some are really designed for children, whilst creationary could be more TFOL based. However what are the views of other AFOL community members?

Do you buy the games to play them or strip for parts?

If you play them, who plays with you - family and friends (mainly adults / teens or children?)

If you play them, for how long do they hold interest? One week - then into the MOC pile? Or regularly revisit? Or indeed use your MOC pile to improve the game?

Do you feel some games could have an educational element? I could imagine a technic variation where you have to build a specific mechanism (like creationary).

Thanks for any thoughts....

[Aanchir]

I've played Race 3000 and read the instruction booklets for the others. Basically, they're as good as any other board games, but if you have trouble making time to play board games in general (or finding people to play them with you), chances are you won't be playing the LEGO Games that much either.

Parts-wise, they're fairly impressive. Race 3000 has the telephone piece in a great variety of colors. A lot of the games have a nice assortment of basic plates and tiles. And I'm sure builders could find a use for the microfigs, including the beautiful Classic Space ones from Lunar Command and Meteor Strike.

I'm sure Creationary could appeal to anyone, but the others may only hold your interest for a little while. Again, it depends on whether you find time to play board games in general, and what board games you play. Creationary has the same sort of creativity-based gameplay as games like Scrabble, Pictionary, Cranium, and other games that adults and kids alike tend to enjoy. So AFOLs might get more enjoyment out of that than out of, say, Monster 4 or Race 3000. It really varies based on your own interests.

[CorneliusMurdock]

I really enjoy Minotaurus. My wife and I have played quite a few times and have played it with our friends and one of our nieces as well. It's not hard to learn but there really is a good competitive element there so that the game gets harder when you play against adults. There is also quite a bit of potential for coming up with your own variations. Not only can you customize the board any way you want, but you can also change any of the rules or add new rules to the game.

Edited October 1, 2010 by CorneliusMurdock

[Skafte]

the game gets harder when you play against adults.

Yes, I prefer playing with my two year old, I keep winning!

Seriously, the games are great both for playing and for parts, so I could never just sort the parts into my collection. I currently have Lava Dragon, Shave a Sheep and Ramses Pyramid, but will get Creationary this weekend and plan to get more...

Check out the many reviews here on EB and the parts inventories on BL!

[Joebot]

I play a ton of of boardgames with my family, but I haven't picked up any of the Lego games. From what I've read, they skew a little younger than my kids (10 and 14), and I think we'd get bored (no pun intended). I think the build-the-board-out-of-Legos novelty would wear off quickly, and then you're left with a game only slightly more complex then, say, Chutes and Ladders or Sorry.

I would LOVE to see TLC make a heavier strategy game aimed at an older demographic. Probably not a lot of demand for that though, because then you're competing with video games. The lure of video games is a constant battle in my house!

[Leo-J]

I played a couple of games with my kids. They are actually fun! Some sets got interesting parts.

[not-in-use-anymore]

I like games like Oriental Bazaar(bought), Pirate Code and Hogwarts, but Race 3000, Lava Dragon(bought, only one at my Target ), Minotaurus are okay on parts but mostly you just get your player to the middle while you avoid walls. I think Lego sells them as not just games, but cool part packs also. Unfortunately either they have a really cool part in a silly color, or a really cool color/print on a peice that probably won't be used alot.

Lego Games: Build--Play--Change--Get all the shiny new parts

[dr_spock]

I bought Hogwarts for my son. After many losses, I finally won my first game tonight against him. My son made a Minotaurus clone from his spare parts. They are quite fun to play.

As for parts, Hogwarts has some large tiles.

[Legoist]

I was wondering the same, my wife saw Creationary in a retail shop and immediately wanted to get it for Christmas, but the others look like they might be too simple for adults.

However they do seem to be good for parts, depending on an AFOL's need. For instance, the new "Banana Balance" and "Frog Rush" will be great sources of apples and snakes . Maybe not very cheap, I think the ratio is about 10c/piece but nearly all pieces are really tiny.

[Skafte]

Just an update here, I recently got Creationary and got my wife to play it with me. OK, not so much interesting game-wise with only two players, but it got my wife interested in LEGO. "Wow, you can really make anything". She was building her third model or something when she wanted a plate with studs on both sides. I told her "welcome to the world of LEGO"

[KristofBD]

I agree with Skafte. I have creationary and Monsters $. Creationary is excellent to get other people interested in lego. I play it with a variety of people, mostly adults. It's fun and for me the lego part really has an added value. The smaller games loose their novelty fairly easy though. Best, K.

[David Thomsen]

I would LOVE to see TLC make a heavier strategy game aimed at an older demographic.

I'd like to see them combine forces with some of the award-winning game designers out there who make some amazing stuff on their own, and could possibly do something very sublime with Lego.

Some of the Lego games look very... role the dice, move a piece, collect a thing, trade a thing. The rules seem kind of interchangeable and not very sophisticated.

The best games think of whole new concepts. Like... imagine a large Technic engine, each turn you could add or remove a cog or turn a wheel or shift a gear. Maybe you could use these parts to shift parts of the board around. It's the sort of thing that can only be done with Lego, and it could be done brilliantly, if the right minds were put behind it.

Looking at the current games, I'm only really looking to see if I need any of the parts.

[Legoist]

I wonder if there's any online source where you can see the rules, just to get an idea...

[Joebot]

I'd like to see them combine forces with some of the award-winning game designers out there who make some amazing stuff on their own, and could possibly do something very sublime with Lego.

Some of the Lego games look very... role the dice, move a piece, collect a thing, trade a thing. The rules seem kind of interchangeable and not very sophisticated.

It's interesting to note that the Ramses Pyramid game has Renier Knizia's name on the cover as the designer. Knizia is one of the big-time names in European boardgame design. I know that might sound weird, but in the European game market, people will follow game designers much the same way that other people will follow an author or a movie director.

But anyway, I agree David, that a lot of these games don't seem to be taking advantage of the unique "Lego-ness" of the components. Creationary seems like the best example of a game that simply could not be done using anything EXCEPT Lego bricks. The rest of the games could easily have been made with typical wood or cardboard components and a board, which is a little disappointing.

[Mrlegoninja]

I buy games for their parts.

Orient bazaar: GOLD DOMES!

[Aanchir]

I wonder if there's any online source where you can see the rules, just to get an idea...

Glad you asked. service.lego.com's building instructions section is something I use all the time just for consulting the instructions of sets I don't have, but for the LEGO Games they also have the game rule booklets available for download. Most of the time these days I get to these instruction scans via the website Brickset.

Brickset's section for the "Games" theme can be seen here. Click the little instruction-booklet icon under any set number to bring up the instructions available for that set. There's a mix of building-instruction booklets and game-rules booklets for most sets, but the game rules will usually be available from one or two of those links (except for some of the newer games, for which not all the booklets have been uploaded to service.lego.com yet).

From what I've read, Creationary seems to be the game with the most replay value. But the other games are also interesting, so if you do decide to buy any "for the parts" it might be worth playing once or twice before you scrap it. Every game has a few tips on how you can modify the game rules, usually involving using different tiles on the LEGO dice. And you're encouraged to make up your own changes to the rules, in the true spirit of creativity-- just make sure all the players know what set of rules you're using before you start playing!

[Baylego]

I bought Hogwarts for my son. After many losses, I finally won my first game tonight against him. My son made a Minotaurus clone from his spare parts. They are quite fun to play.

As for parts, Hogwarts has some large tiles.

I agree that the Hogwarts game is the best. However, don't buy it just for tiles, because the large tiles are available on Pick a Brick for $1.98 each!