Adult Collecting vs. Play

[pesgores]

Well, I mostly collect LEGO to play BrikWars. From time to time, my desire changes. It has already been for Brickfilming, for reenacting all big SW scenes,...

I'm 14. And BrikWars changed my life. Well maybe not.

[WesternOutlaw]

It's really interesting to read all of the various responses, but what I have come to realize is that many of you still" play", but how we define PLAY varies. I suppose you could say that buillding and setting up a town is play, as well as writing fictitious stories/mysteries about your creations. At the same time, I am really referring to that play as a child that could keep you amused for hours "acting out" various scenerios, talking to yourself, and making vehicle noises.

I wish I could recapture a lot of that imagination and desire for play. I find myself setting up elaborate scenarios on our layout...but never doing anything with them. I have a story behind almost every little scene on our layout...but I never actually 'play' with the scenes. I need to get back to doing that.

After reading all of the responses so far CB, yours seems to mimic my feelings the most. I spend a lot of time setting up a large display (like a jungle adventure, desert/Indiana Jones, Castle, Train Town, or other), but then it sits where it collects dust until destroying. I think the last time I actually had a lot of fun "playing" involved the Wild West Weapons Wagon and Frontier Patrol, setting up a small scene against a small group of Indians. These few sets created a lot of enjoyment for me, although it was very different than PLAY when I was a child.

As an adult, I write mysteries and stories about Grave Stone, but this is far from play, but rather another type of imaginary outlet. The play that I would like to enjoy is sitting down with a single set, swooshing it through the air, making "battle noises", and genuinely enjoying the lighter side of the hobby (smash-up is still pushing it). To me, this is the play that I've lost, and have not had the ability or the strong interest to create again.

[SuvieD]

I play. I build stuff, move it around, make noises, have intense battles, and all around play with my LEGO. Not in front of company mind you but when it is just me I play just like a did as a child. I can hardly pick up a handful of bricks without playing with them.

I find that playing helps me build better. If I can barely play with a MOC it isn't finished or needs to be reworked. Sadly, my compulsion and bargain hunting skills buried me in excess LEGO to the point I get sick of trying to deal with it all. Since I have been selling it off though I find my interest beginning to build again and I look forward to busting out pages worth of MOC ideas and get building.

Playing is a learning experience I think most people consider childish. In some ways it is. Only once since I have been an "adult" have I ever "played" with other adults. Three of us shot fireballs, fought, and powered up dragonball Z style in a public park a few summers ago. It was an interesting experience for sure. People walking through the park must have thought we were mental asylum escapees but the people we knew that were there were amazed that we could still play like children and judging by their comments it seemed like they wish they could drop the barriers and join us.

I am not sure we lose the ability to play. I think most of us box it up, trivialize it, or deem it improper behavior for an adult to engage in. On top of that we complicate play with knowledge and reality. Children can have a minifigure jump off high castle walls without a scratch. As an adult, I know full well that no man can jump fully armored off a forty foot wall, fifteen feet outward, land on his feet and then expect to do anything other than go to the hospital or morgue. Our perception often limit our ability to play like children.

Of course everyone plays differently. I never smashed toys into walls or even each other at any age. I also prefered building up in place of tearing down. Many children play doing both of those things.

Collecting is only an enabling for my wildest play wishes from childhood. I always wanted dozens of soldier to battle instead of seven and now I can. I never collect just to collect though. If I am not using it I am going to sell it off and put the money toward something I will use. Having for the having sake is lost to me as I don't care or want things I won't use. I do wish I had collected SW sets from 99-01 when I found so many 50-75% off as I could have made a mint but even now I can pick out sets I know will double or triple in value and I have to open them and get some use out of them.

PLAY WELL

Play on!

[Ralph_S]

But you do let people smash your helicopters into walls when they're on TV .

Well, yeah, although I wasn't told about that in advance!

Cheers,

Ralph

[tedbeard]

Apparently I almost never played with my LEGO.

LEGO for me is about building.

and

It's really interesting to read all of the various responses, but what I have come to realize is that many of you still" play", but how we define PLAY varies. I suppose you could say that buillding and setting up a town is play...

Like them, I built. I imagined backstories and what every spaceship/building/boat/whatever did or could do. But once I was finished the actual construction I hardly ever spent any time "playing" with it. I do remember a couple of glorious afternoons with a friend building indestructible vehicles for smash-up-derby fun but even then the design/building:smashing ration was at least 4:1.

My creations stay together far longer than they ever did as a kid. When it was time to tidy up I would fully or partially demolish my creations and dump the parts back in the bin. Now I actually leave things together and display them on my shelves and sometimes let my kids play with them.

Not sure what that means but it works for me.

[Svelte]

To me it does not matter whether the play functions would be used, I feel that I want to build these into my model. The medium of Lego requires a certain appreciation of its stylised nature to be used succesfully, and to me the creation should not be static, rather able to withstand handling, and incorporate moveable and play functions where possible.

Absolutely! Part of the fun for me is designing the functions, even if they are rarely used. It's kind of the 'Idea Book' mentality, or even the pleasure we get from looking at new set images - part of the fun is guessing what the functions are and how they work.

For that reason, the single greatest invention in System remains the minifig, as it allows the child/AFOL an 'actor' who can interact with houses, cars, spaceships, other minifigs, and so on. Without the minifig, Lego feels sculptural, such as the very earliest Town Plan type sets or Star Wars UCS models which look amazing but do little.

[Davey]

At the same time, I am really referring to that play as a child that could keep you amused for hours "acting out" various scenerios, talking to yourself, and making vehicle noises.

Exactly my personal definition of play. As you note, it seems that everyone has a different idea of what 'play' is. I think that is what makes LEGO elements so unique. Even with so many definitions of 'play'...LEGO elements are still able to support and nurture all of the various ways that adults and childre view 'play'. This is the essence of what makes LEGO elements such an amazing and enduring toy.

After reading all of the responses so far CB, yours seems to mimic my feelings the most.

Yay! A kindred spirit! It's always nice to know I'm not alone out there. You'll come with me when the men in white coats come to take me away...right Brickster?

To me, this is the play that I've lost, and have not had the ability or the strong interest to create again.

For me it's not that I don't have the desire...it's just that I have somehow lost the ability. I think SuvieD made a good point that we may tend to "box it up, trivialize it, or deem it improper behavior for an adult to engage in." I think that pretty much sums up what has happened to me. The corporate world has almost brainwashed me into eliminating 'play'...which is really sad because some of the most creative ideas come out of 'play' which is the whole premise behind LEGO Serious Play. I bought some NERF guns last year and they have sat...in a room in my house...waiting for someone to play. I have the desire...but I seem to have lost some of the ability. I think I will have to work to get it back...and I am not sure how. I think overcoming actually caring what other people think is a big step.

-Dave

[paul_delahaye]

I totally collect,

I want perfect non damaged bricks, I'm collecting and preserving sets I missed as a child, I want instructions and full stickers with my sets.

mmmm

Paul

[user]

Nearly all of my creations have some sort of play features no offense but what's the point of having a toy if you do not play with it?

[Eilif]

Good Idea for a thread.

For myself, I "play" much the same as an adult as I did as a kid. As a kid, I was far more interested in setting scenes, organizing troops, building, and equiping than in fighting and action. Not in a OCD way, (I've never had any problem disassembling, taking apart, or modifying) rather I was simply far more interested in "creating" than in "doing".

That pretty well describes the way I use LEGO today. I build largely for the enjoyment of building, displaying, and socializing with other LEGO fans and the public at large.

[TeddiGramz]

Well, when I played as a child, I usually made a random minifig and that sparked an idea, and then that developed into more characters, vehicles, and locations. I made the characters "talk" and interact with each other, and when they died, I oddly enough, acted it out myself. ( ) I disassembled the vehicles and buildings when they were destroyed, but I didn't throw them against walls or anything else. The stories usually didn't last more than a few days, but there were a few that lasted almost a week and Toopia has lasted for almost five years.

But starting when I was about 10, I made battle scenes and just left them sitting around anywhere from a few days to a few months. (If I liked them enough) And gradually from that point I left more scenes together and played less, and now as a teen, I just make MOCs and display them in my room, occasionaly playing with the sturdier ones.

[---Vertea---]

I've always loved legos- the chance to create my own story's in a miniature scale and act them out still amuses me. I do collect- but only for parts potential. The majority of the time I really do play with my LEGOs

[Ricecracker]

Absolutely! Part of the fun for me is designing the functions, even if they are rarely used. It's kind of the 'Idea Book' mentality, or even the pleasure we get from looking at new set images - part of the fun is guessing what the functions are and how they work.

Exactly my feelings! Almost all of my MOCs have some working features, be it working doors, working suspension, or even R/C capabilities. While I spend most of my time building, I feel like there is wasted potential when it's just a, well, sculpture.

That pretty well describes the way I use LEGO today. I build largely for the enjoyment of building, displaying...

I concur. The play features I build in to each MOC are toyed with for about 30 minutes to an hour, and then I put it on my shelf to collect dust, and start another MOC.

Once in a while though, I will bust out an old MOC lying around and just start playing with it, with stories running amuck in my head. Unfortunately, this time is becoming shorter and shorter. Just yesterday, I brought out my remote control truck and was driving it all throughout my house!

I do love to swoosh. Recently, I built the Boeing jet, and was swooshing it around my house for the day, and, much to my parents' dismay, I even brought it to the dinner table to admire .

I feel I am in a unique position, where I'm just transitioning between playing for enjoyment and building for enjoyment.

Something I've noticed that is speeding up the process is the high standard's teens have for each other. I find that teens can be harsher critics, whether on purpose or not. This is causing other teens to push harder, and try to MOC as much as possible, forfeiting play time.

[Davey]

Something I've noticed that is speeding up the process is the high standard's teens have for each other. I find that teens can be harsher critics, whether on purpose or not. This is causing other teens to push harder, and try to MOC as much as possible, forfeiting play time.

Which in my opinion is a very sad reality. Take it from a krusty old guy like me...treasure your play time. It goes by far too fast. But I think you already know that. It's those other TFOL's I'm worried about.

-Dave

[ziljin]

I have this thing where I plan to mass collect stuff but end up never doing so. I was considering perhaps mass purchase minifigs that I used to play with as a child. I have that castle minifig pack, so that means armies of Black Falcons, Forestmen, Crusaders, and peasants. Then add in the Space ones, Space Police I + II, Blacktron I + II, and M-Tron. But my rational logical section of the brain asks what on earth would I do with all those minifigs? Since by that logic, I should be mass purchasing Space Police III, Power Miners, Crownies, Skeletons, and Trolls now. Minifigs are awesome. But like many things, I stop enjoying it when I have too much of it. Of course I will probably not mass purchase minfigs ever. I originally intended on mass purchasing duplicates of the same gundam model kits to make an army. But I got bored of all the cleaning and despruing, etc. Good thing I never got into miniatures, add in gluing and painting and I would have gotten bored super quick.

If I ever have a large amount of disposable income, I guess I will try to buy every cheap castle/space minfigs I can get my hands on.

[Derek]

Interesting topic.

I consider myself as a collector, but not a compulsive one. I like buying the sets that I can afford and appeal to me, build, and display them. I've started to keep the boxes in case I ever lose interest in the hobby (which I never hope happens )

Now my answer to the question relies on your definition of "play." Sure, I'll launch a castle catapult or some flick-fire missiles, or mess around with the functions of a set, but I don't act out stories or anything like that.

However, I do play like that when I let my 5 year old brother into my Lego room. One of the things I love about Lego is that it can appeal to a broad age range and provide a good, fun activity for kids and adults.

-darthperson

[-JD-]

I now tend to make scenes with my LEGO more than anything else. Occasionally I may swoop a ship making blaster or gun noises, but that is kinda rare. That is my inner child being let loose. I annoys me when my pals tease me every now and then about my LEGO and saying I play with it, when I really use my imagination way more than they do and make movies, scripts, MOCs and post in this community.

"They know naating."

Edited September 1, 2009 by Jammiedodger714

[Big Cam]

When I was a kid, I remember PLAYING for hours with my best friend as we created scenes and action in my Lego Town. I have vivid memories of childhood play, building cars to crash, spaceships to swoosh through the air, and a bright yellow castle to defend. This was real PLAY, so enjoyable and fun.

Now that I am an adult, I have lost the ability to PLAY. It's been replaced by collecting, building to set-up, and displaying Lego. Sure, I still have my imagination which helps me with writing and envisioning my thoughts, but it's so different than the PLAY of a child.

For those of you studying child psychology, why is it that a child can PLAY for hours, yet something inside an adult limits this factor. If you believe that you have not lost the true ability to play, then you feel differently than I. I would be willing to guess that most adults do not PLAY in the same manner as a child. Is it IMAGINATION? I'm not sure, but whatever it is, I can tell the difference.

What are your thoughts in regard to Child's Play as it relates to Lego?

Do you PLAY or do you COLLECT Lego?

Can you still imagine as you did when you were a child or has this changed in some adult evolution/variation?

I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts.

Great post.

I think I can answer this question, at least what seems to be the reason for me.

As an adult we have too many things to think about, to worry about. We have so many responsibilities, and we just flat out don't have the time to play.

When we were younger we had not experienced as much of life as we have now. Life was simple, you thought of nothing but what am I going to do right now, lets play for a few hours. now it's crap, my car payment is due, I need to water the lawn, has the dog been fed? Did I pay the Credit Card, I'm late for work, Will I be able to get that proposal done in time.

Adults have more important things to think about and do (unfortunetaly).

I too remember playing for hours and when I recently picked up all my old LEGO's from my parents house, alot of my old creations were still in tact, and it almost brought a tear to my eye, remember the exact way I built a certain set.

Well, for me collectiong is a way to hold on to what I had as a child, and to me, bulding is playing. I usually build while watching TV so it doesn't appear to be a complete waste of time to my wife.

We just have different priorities now.

[The Green Brick Giant]

Collecting to me is you leave it in the box, and I only have one set in the box, that's McDonalds'. I bought three of them. Sadly the one in the box had a lollipop melt to the box. it doesn't look too bad but still.

[Ralph_S]

Exactly my feelings! Almost all of my MOCs have some working features, be it working doors, working suspension, or even R/C capabilities. While I spend most of my time building, I feel like there is wasted potential when it's just a, well, sculpture. I concur. The play features I build in to each MOC are toyed with for about 30 minutes to an hour, and then I put it on my shelf to collect dust, and start another MOC.

Once in a while though, I will bust out an old MOC lying around and just start playing with it, with stories running amuck in my head. Unfortunately, this time is becoming shorter and shorter. Just yesterday, I brought out my remote control truck and was driving it all throughout my house!

I can relate to that somewhat. My MOCs are often quite fragile, but that's usually because of the working functions. Retracting undercarriages on planes, sliding doors on minifig scale vans etc. However, their value is not in enabling me to play with the MOCs, although that is how much of it started many years ago. Their value now lies in the challenge of making them work

I do love to swoosh. Recently, I built the Boeing jet, and was swooshing it around my house for the day, and, much to my parents' dismay, I even brought it to the dinner table to admire .

I've given up on swooshing, except for special occasions:

I swear I wasn't making any noise!

I feel I am in a unique position, where I'm just transitioning between playing for enjoyment and building for enjoyment.

Something I've noticed that is speeding up the process is the high standard's teens have for each other. I find that teens can be harsher critics, whether on purpose or not. This is causing other teens to push harder, and try to MOC as much as possible, forfeiting play time.

I think your observation may be somewhat biased by the type of people you run into on the internet. People for whom playing with LEGO is much more important than building models are far less likely to spend time sharing pictures of their latest models on the internet, through flickr, for instance. Some of the people who are into sharing pictures seem to be pretty competitive which fosters a degree of rudeness.

Cheers,

Ralph

[blueandwhite]

I simply feel that my definition of the word "play" has changed as I've matured. Even as a child building was a primary focus for me. I certainly set up my medieval armies and pretended that the figures were involved in combat. My town folk dealt with fire resuce entirely too often and my space figs were often deserted on distant moons. That being said; MOCing was always my favourite aspect of LEGO. Today I simply build. I love to build. While I may not act out any fire rescues or castle seiges, I certainly enjoy building suitable environments for these activities. I feel that this is simply a reflection of who I am as an adult as opposed to my youthful (and childish) self who felt the need to act out or roleplay these activities.

Ironically, I'm more obsessed with the 'structural correctness' of my MOCs than I was as a child (interiors are essential).

[Sandy]

I've found a new way to play with my LEGO through making comics and story illustrations. But yeah, I still remember the loads of fun I had with playing with LEGO in my childhood...

[TeddiGramz]

I think your observation may be somewhat biased by the type of people you run into on the internet. People for whom playing with LEGO is much more important than building models are far less likely to spend time sharing pictures of their latest models on the internet, through flickr, for instance. Some of the people who are into sharing pictures seem to be pretty competitive which fosters a degree of rudeness.

Cheers,

Ralph

Yes, that applys to me, as I rarely photograph my creations for two reasons. One, I am a HORRIBLE photographer, and two, I would rather build something for my enjoyment rather than to "show it off" on the internet or at conventions.

I'm not saying sharing your MOCs with others is a bad thing, It's just that I personally prefer to keep them to myself. (And play with them occasionally)

[ziljin]

Yes, that applys to me, as I rarely photograph my creations for two reasons. One, I am a HORRIBLE photographer, and two, I would rather build something for my enjoyment rather than to "show it off" on the internet or at conventions.

I'm not saying sharing your MOCs with others is a bad thing, It's just that I personally prefer to keep them to myself. (And play with them occasionally)

You could always do both. Play with your creations, then show it to people. Maybe other people like what you did and they might want to do something similar. Or others can give you tips to improve.

[Peppermint_M]

I share my MOCs on the net, mainly so I can get the feedback I need from others who build well (8 year old brothers just shout cool and nerdy mates just want to "pwn" baddie-figs) plus I can share the story I created while I built the MOC