Tag Archives: Games

Enter the LEGO D&D dungeon at BrickCon, if you dare!

One of the things I enjoy most about this wonderful LEGO hobby is the people I get to collaborate with on projects. And this year at BrickCon, I have the good fortune to participate in a massive Dungeons & Dragons project with so many talented builders. For the last 5 months, all 24 of us have been working independently on our own rooms for a mega-dungeon, both large and small ones. And I guess builder Doug Hughes stopped reading after “large.” In his intricately-designed room, he’s housed a fearsome lava centipede being controlled by a group of dark elves. The lighting is splendid, the design appropriately ornate, and the technique on the monster gets Volothamp’s seal of approval for sure! Let’s hope our band of adventurers can get past before it escapes its bonds.

And in case you’re wondering what I contributed, I guess I can give you a peek at that below. I wanted to go for something that felt a bit more like a “finale.” Anyone care to roll for initiative? And as for the rest of the dungeon, you’ll have to head to BrickCon or look out for pics from the convention after next weekend of the whole thing assembled and on display.

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LEGO D&D party of eight: your table is ready

While LEGO just announced the Dungeons & Dragons crossover/contest, these two hobbies have long been intertwined through builds to aid many DM’s dungeon designs, as well as a one-shot during a LEGO convention. And I’m delighted to spice up my next Session Zero with Dan Ko’s blocky character creation process seen here. This octad of adventurers covers genre staples like a half-orc barbarian, but also strays into the more exotic with an aarakocra monk. And while my level nine warforged wizard isn’t represented, my favorite has got to be the dragonborn paladin with its excellently sculpted light gray armor. I love the pauldrons made of escalator steps and the giant gear adorning its chest. Its face is a masterful concoction of green pieces providing that perfect lizard-y look.

Which party member is your favorite? Is it the tiefling sorcerer with hot dog horns? The human fighter with a leafy orange beard? Or is it the purple-robed gnome wizard and his owl familiar?

Get a bird’s-eye view of the LEGO House with Microsoft Flight Simulator’s latest update [News]

The Microsoft Flight Simulator new free update featuring the Nordic region has added details from the home of LEGO in Denmark. The update according to Microsoft includes detailed landscapes, regional architectures and 78 carefully selected points of interest. A treat for LEGO fans, we’re glad that the LEGO House made it into this update.

Click for a video showcasing a flight above the LEGO House

Poultry Pinball

2020 being the first year in a long time without a licensed LEGO video game is a disappointing moment for fans. It is yet another faction of business affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to GameRant. While there is still hope for the tentative release of LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga in 2021, this might be a good time for The LEGO Group to develop pinball game sets. Sure, this screams old school. But TLG already notched success when they captured the nostalgia for Super Mario and the Nintendo Entertainment System. Let’s also not forget the brick-built retro games, plus 2016’s Ideas Maze (21305). Just one look at the Chicken-Pen-Ball machine, made by Eli Willsea, has us stuck on tilt.

Eli’s fifth creation in the Iron Builder competition used the Track Switch 9V in yellow 19 times. He continues to outdo himself going up against Jonas Kramm, another gifted builder. Eli’s use of the Track Switch 9V balances function and form. They serve as the flippers, the flowers (dandelions?) in front of the barn, the handle on the ball shooter, and even the cabinet’s feet. It’s an egg-citing creation that takes our cheap chicken puns to the next level in this demo video. Check it out.

Super Mario has a huge headache he’s not telling us about

The LEGO Nintendo/ Mario craze has started thanks to the recent releases to plunder our wallets dry. Full disclosure, the person writing this article has never (ever) had the chance to play Super Mario during his younger years, but surely knows of how famous he is thanks to popular culture permeating all forms of media. First things first, this is a superb representation of Mario mid-flight by Lee Chi Wing (city son) that I’m familiar with, especially with the level of flexibility engineered into a brick-built character.

Click to see Mario in action

Rock, papercuts, scissors, wait...

The players of the game that settles it all can get a little carried away sometimes. In this cute LEGO vignette by Pedro Sequeira some of our favorite players; rock, paper, and scissors are brought to life in three dimensions and we can see the consequences of such rough play!

Each player – rock, paper, and scissors are made up of some pretty standard small elements such as slopes, tiles, and small bricks. The faces on the objects and their expressions are what make this scene both adorable and hilarious. The rock and paper characters feature woodoo balls with eye prints, while printed round 1×1 tiles with mischievous squinting eyes decorate the face of scissors. A stream of tears on poor cut-up paper’s face is cleverly rendered with a couple translucent clear dragon’s fire elements. I enjoy the lines on the paper created with grey plates to give it that loose-leaf paper aesthetic. Maybe rock can talk some sense into scissors while poor paper heals its wounds from battle. Sequeira does mention that this brick-built vignette is based off of an illustration which can be viewed here.

Epic triple-decker pinball wizardry [Video]

We recently featured a pinball machine with a modular play field. I’m not sure why there is a sudden uptick in pinball builds, but I am totally on board! Bring them on, pin-wizards! I have to say, you may have a tough time competing with this one, created by Nachapon Lego. I’ve seen a few multi-tiered LEGO machines, but this is probably executed the best. The physics behind pinball can be complicated. The size of the field coupled with the size and weight of the ball, plus the angles of the obstacles, all make for a tricky design process. Then you bring LEGO into the mix and the constraints take on another level of difficulty.

The Star Wars theme will be popular for many of you, but if that’s not your thing, the builder made a sister-table. The obstacles are the same, but this one has a creative and colorful adventure motif as a tribute to the vast possibilities of LEGO. The game-play video below will have you wishing you could have a go at it yourself! I particularly like the ball-saving that can be done by kicking it back to the main level once it drains.

If you haven’t already, definitely take a peak at some of our other featured pinball articles! You’ll find my own Classic Space pinball machine, along with a few others that will get you excited about making one too!

Construct your own Connect 4 with LEGO parts [Instructions]

This brings back so many memories of a time where there were no such things as digital devices to distract us from actually engaging with family and having fun! Connect 4 is a classic game that many can relate to and I bet that’s exactly why builder Tiago Catarino put this together.

Click to see the full video instructions

LEGO announces new Star Wars mobile game: Star Wars Battles [News]

LEGO has revealed LEGO Star Wars Battles, a mobile game coming in 2020 to Apple and Android devices. The game will combine elements of tower building, tower defense, character collecting and of course, good old fashioned player vs. player combat.

Characters, vehicles and locations will be drawn from across the extensive Star Wars universe so you can finally watch Yoda take down Kylo Ren on Scarif in a podracer, if you really wanted to. No word on a release date just yet, but hopefully it will come soon enough to help fill the gap before LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga hits consoles next year.

More photos and full press release below.

This Crossy Road-inspired claw machine will grab you

If you’ve spent any time in arcades, you’ve likely been tempted by those crane games where you can win a handful of candy (or sometimes bigger prizes). H.Y. Leung has taken that temptation to the extreme by making their own working version from LEGO bricks.

The base of this build is 80×64 studs (roughly 64×51 centimeters); pretty close to 1:1 scale to a real-world crane game. The arm design comes from LEGO set 42043, the Mercedes-Benz Arocs 3245, with a modified claw. The first control on the left side rotates the arm left and right, moving it through a 200-degree arc. The next three switches handle positioning of the boom and outrigger and opening and closing the claw. To the right of the controls is a slot that accepts tokens, and a switch to activate a pneumatically-controlled horizontal security bar, intended to keep people from reaching up and into the game when it’s not in use.

This claw-machine creation incorporates just a touch of non-LEGO parts in the custom plexiglass, external air compressor, and edible treats. I personally would have liked to see this machine filled with LEGO parts, but I suspect bulk candy is a lot cheaper to refill it with.

Speaking of arcade games, the colors are inspired by the prize machine in the mobile game Crossy Road. Not familiar with that machine? Happily, H.Y. has also recreated a LEGO version to add some context. I like the inversion of the red/yellow styling between the two games.

LEGO and Gameloft unveil new mobile minifigure game, LEGO Legacy: Heroes Unboxed [News]

LEGO and Gameloft have unveiled a new mobile game, “LEGO Legacy: Heroes Unboxed” which promises to bring together minifigures from the past 40 years of LEGO sets into a team-Battle RPG. The game will challenge players to collect classic and modern LEGO minifigures and sets in digital form, then create a team and engage in battles and adventures. The development team even visited the LEGO Vault in Billund, Denmark to research classic sets, minifigures and instructions to help them faithfully recreate them within the game.

“LEGO Legacy: Heroes Unboxed” will be available this fall on Apple and Android devices, though Brickworld Chicago attendees will get an early preview next month. We’ve included the launch trailer and press release after the jump.

Click to see the LEGO Legacy: Heroes Unboxed announcement trailer.

Best two out of three?

I’ve always wondered who came up with the idea that paper beats rock in “Rock, Paper, Scissors.” According to Adam Dodge it must be a fixed match, and I’d have to agree! Especially when it comes to Big Ugly Rock Pieces (BURPS); they’re practically indestructible! How does Paper have a chance? Apparently he’s a “danger between the sheets,” as Adam says.

Of course, we all know what the result would be if Scissors stepped into the ring with Paper. The winner of that bout is pretty cut and dry… Puns aside, this clever build is pretty hilarious. I just wish I had thought of it first!

Adam is a witty guy, but he’s also an exceptional builder. For example, check out his rainbow landscape or his Dr. Who chess set.