[POLL] The Next BIG LEGO Pirates Contest

[Mister Phes]

 

It's time to start thinking about our next BIG LEGO Pirate Contest with glorious prizes!

So we’d like to know what kind of theme would you inspire you to enter?

Obviously “Pirates” is the LEGO theme but what kind of inspiration would you like behind your builds?

The Return of Classic Pirates contest focused upon remaking classic-style LEGO Pirate sets and/or inventing new ones, so we need a new direction for the next contest.

What should that direction be?

Please note this survey is for market research purposes and does not strictly determine the direction of the next contest.

The Poll Choices

Read the blog post for more detailed information but here are some abridged summaries:

Monkey Island Madness

Do you fight like a dairy farmer?

Show everyone what a mighty pirate you are by building a MOC inspired by The Secret of Monkey Island video games.
 

Distant Waters

Want to sail beyond the usual Caribbean setting?

From the Barbary Corsairs to the pirates of the South China Sea, build a MOC inspired by pirate from other parts of the world.

But this isn't Ninjago, so set your creation prior to the 19th century.
 

Pirates of Pop Culture

Got a favourite fictional pirate?

Build a MOC inspired by pirates from your favourite film, video game, cartoon series, literary work or other media source.
 

The Infamous Steve

For many a year this minifigure was simply known as "The Merchant" who came sailing into the Imperial Trading Post onboard "The Cutter" .

While The LEGO Group has recently acknowledged the name "Steve", they never officially named the minifig or provided a backstory - let's change that!

Are there more merchants like Steve who use the same insignia on their flags and sails?

How Steve did find himself onboard the Skulls Eye Schooner? And why has his cutter been commandeered by Soldiers at the newly renovated Eldoardo Fortress?

Build a MOC expanding upon Steve's story... past... present... and future...

Including the Steve minifigure will NOT be mandatory, nor will including the cutter ship.  Steve can depicted at any age, wearing any clothes... or on any ship or location... maybe when he's older he has a grey beard... or no beard at all... You decide!

I've Got a Better Idea!

Tell us!  If others like it, we may add it to the poll.

But your suggestion must be relevant to LEGO Pirates and set in the Age of Discovery or Golden Age of Piracy (15th to 18th centuries).

So no suggestions involving:

• Other LEGO themes, for example; Castle/Medieval, Adventurers, Ninjago, Vikings, etc.
• Cross-overs with modernity or futuristic elements, for example; 20th/21st century pirates, Steampunk, Sky Pirates, Space pirates, etc.
• Entries strictly focused on non-SYSTEM LEGO lines, for example; Duplo, Fabuland, Friends, Technic, etc. although borrowing specific elements may be acceptable.

VOTE NOW!!!

And then post your thoughts in this topic...  tell us what you think of those ideas... tell us if you've got a better idea...

[NOD]

This is a very good idea and I like the presentation with the photos!  Distant Waters and Pirates of Pop Culture are very interesting. I prefer Barbary Corsairs or the pirates of the South China Sea because it is something new. Of course, the other choices are also interesting.

[Samarth]

Why not have all four ideas as the basis? Individual MOCs are judged on their individual designs anyway. And it gives builders a wider choice… 

[Mister Phes]

4 hours ago, Samarth said:

Why not have all four ideas as the basis?

We might as well just say free choice.

The objective is to create a distinct theme for the contest.

Which in turns influences the how the contest will be marketed.

 

15 hours ago, NOD said:

This is a very good idea and I like the presentation with the photos!  Distant Waters and Pirates of Pop Culture are very interesting.

 

Thank ye! 

[SpacePolice89]

"Distant Waters" sounds like a very interesting idea. I'd like to have the soldiers fight highwaymen or bandits in a Scandinavian setting. In my area (Hangö) in the 18th and early 19th centuries the local Swedish garrison had to fight against Russian ships that were raiding the coast and burning villages as well as rebellious farmers that lured ships too close to the rocky coastline and then plundered them. All this gives me lots of ideas. 

 

[Yperio_Bricks]

I have to go with Monkey Island and want to see a truckload of mocs from y'all

[Garmadon]

Maan, I would love lots of monkeys but I'm gonna have to go with distant waters myself, would love to see and build MOCs outside of our usual pirate-y comfort zone!  But any pirate contest is a pirate contest, can't go far wrong there!  

[Professor Thaum]

Like already said :

1 hour ago, Garmadon said:

any pirate contest is a pirate contest, can't go far wrong there!  

Let's go !

[Mazin]

If You're looking for a title for this Contest i propose "Steve's Guide to Pirates Multimonkeyverse" to keep all the ingredients ;)

Or "Legos of the Carribean: on Stranger Vibes" ;)

As for Your Poll, I opted for Popculture, even tho i'm more into expanding Lego Pirates universe into more extotic, distant eras and areas ;) However, there are reasons why i opted in a more "conservative" way.

Firstly, during the last contest whenever we talked about more exotic vibes, polar pirates, asian pirates, barbary pirates... etc, i felt that there was a strong "no" by many partcipants, as they prefered more classic approach, with all-time-famous carribean branch running the whole pirate business ;)

My second reason is that keeping it with general popculture may be easier for builders and observers, as many folks here may not be that familiar with neither non-carribean sea dogs nor Monkey Islandv & Steve, and perhaps even more importantly, many may not have pieces needed to build attractions, scenes, characters connected with those more exotic cultures... It just might be too dificult to obtain proper headwear, weapons, or sails for say, an Indian Ocean cutthroat, or some straits of Malacca sea robber... 

So I think it will be simply easier to go with any pirate oriented popculture and more people will be able to find something to dig in, to participate in one way or another.

Also, i have always felt that Lego Pirates was largely build on classic pirate flicks, so maybe now it's time for us to give back to that world... mimicking scenes and characters from our favourite titles, while creating something new and worth adding to the Lego Pirateverse, all while hiding Monkey Island references and Steve's cameos, plus introducing "distant" vibes here and there if anyone will have such desire, bricks and talent ;)    

 

[Yperio_Bricks]

1 hour ago, Mazin said:

Firstly, during the last contest whenever we talked about more exotic vibes, polar pirates, asian pirates, barbary pirates... etc, i felt that there was a strong "no" by many partcipants, as they prefered more classic approach, with all-time-famous carribean branch running the whole pirate business ;)

True words. Unfortunately. Lego Pirates could be so much more...

[Mister Phes]

5 hours ago, Mazin said:

Firstly, during the last contest whenever we talked about more exotic vibes, polar pirates, asian pirates, barbary pirates... etc, i felt that there was a strong "no" by many partcipants, as they prefered more classic approach, with all-time-famous carribean branch running the whole pirate business ;)

Thank ye for yer feedback!  It wasn't so much the entrant's preference as the contest specifically instructed them to take a classic approach.  I.e. create a new classic-style LEGO Pirate set or modernise an older official LEGO Pirate set.

5 hours ago, Mazin said:

Many folks here may not be that familiar with neither non-carribean sea dogs nor Monkey Island & Steve [...] So I think it will be simply easier to go with any pirate oriented popculture and more people will be able to find something to dig in, to participate in one way or another.

The poll data seems to disagree. 

Across the three polls, Pirates of Pop Culture is one of the least favoured options.

In this poll topic and on Classic-Pirates.com The Infamous Steve is in the lead

 

The Facebook poll paints a somewhat different picture with Monkey Island Madness in the lead.

So when given the choice between general pop culture or a franchise-specific directive, poll respondents seem to prefer the latter.

Although, Facebook poses a caveat in not being able to include an image proceeding the poll options.  So some respondents may being voting for Monkey Island Madness out of familiarity because they recognise the name, whereas the other three options need to be illustrated to be fully understood.

But in all polls, the infamy of Steve shines through...

[Yperio_Bricks]

Now i have to see if i can find Monkey Island 2 on my old laptop. But i forgot everything about the game and the puzzles/riddles are probably too hard for me nowadays

[Captain Pirate Man]

Steve!! That is all.

[iragm]

Steve seems too niche, I can't believe he's leading the polls.  But, he is perhaps my favorite pirate minifigure..a contest exploring him would be amazing to see.

[Mister Phes]

11 hours ago, iragm said:

Steve seems too niche, I can't believe he's leading the polls. 

Yes, niche among LEGO Pirate fans who've collected the classic sets...  which just so happens to be who the contest is aimed towards.

Just out of curiosity... did you vote for Steve?

[Yperio_Bricks]

3 hours ago, Mister Phes said:

Yes, niche among LEGO Pirate fans who've collected the classic sets...  which just so happens to be who the contest is aimed towards.

Just out of curiosity... did you vote for Steve?

What about Lego Pirate fans who have not collected the classic sets?

[Mister Phes]

2 hours ago, Yperio_Bricks said:

What about Lego Pirate fans who have not collected the classic sets?

Then we may speculate they did not vote for Steve hence why Monkey Island Madness is popular on Facebook.

But I acknowledge that the Brethren of the Brick Seas crowd is enthusiastic about venturing beyond the traditional Caribbean setting.

So maybe that could tie in with The Infamous Steve - because Steve's adventures may have taken place all over the world.

And then Monkey Island Madness could be saved for a future contest.

[iragm]

On 4/27/2024 at 12:19 AM, Mister Phes said:

Just out of curiosity... did you vote for Steve?

Yes

[Captain Pirate Man]

Video is LIVE!!

 

 

[Mister Phes]

5 hours ago, Captain Pirate Man said:

Video is LIVE!!

It's insane!  It's out of this world!   It's got Steve in the video preview image!

[SevenDeadlyStreamers]

5 hours ago, Captain Pirate Man said:

Video is LIVE!!

 

 

Nice video matey! And I must say, you helped me decide on my vote 😉 

[Captain Pirate Man]

45 minutes ago, Mister Phes said:

It's insane!  It's out of this world!   It's got Steve in the video preview image!

Of course it has Steve!! Steve is a LEGEND!! 

24 minutes ago, SevenDeadlyStreamers said:

Nice video matey! And I must say, you helped me decide on my vote 😉 

Thank you sir!! 

[Mister Phes]

14 hours ago, SevenDeadlyStreamers said:

Nice video matey! And I must say, you helped me decide on my vote 😉 

SevenDeadlyStevers