subject: Lego Kingdoms - the new king of the castle? [print this page] Lego Kingdoms - the new king of the castle?
Lego Kingdoms is a new range of medieval Lego sets themes launched in 2010. It is the successor to the top-selling Lego Castles sets and is also based around knights and castles, though with less of the fantasy elements of Castles.
The story behind the range is that the King has reigned justly over his Lego kingdom, but is now faced with a threat in the form of the Dragon Knights, who have attacked his kingdom. He must defend it at all costs!
So, there are good guys and bad guys - the former boast several fortifications, in particular the biggest set in the Lego Kingdoms range and the heftiest but most worthwhile investment, the King's Castle, which comprises no less than 933 pieces - enough to keep the kids busy until next Christmas!
The Dragon Knights, the bad guys, mostly have offensive capabilities, with siege equipment including a catapult that actually flings Lego bricks against the King's strongholds (or into Dad's cup of coffee)!
Castles, kings, kingdoms and princesses - these are evergreen Lego themes for a new generation and it is hard to go wrong with this range.
Here are some of the key sets in this series:
Lego Kingdoms King's Castle
The valiant King has to defend his castle against a marauding enemy. As mentioned earlier, the castle is the major set in the Kingdoms range, at 933 pieces, and if you are going to buy one set for your children, this would be the one. It will keep them going until they go off to college!
Lego Kingdoms Prison Tower Rescue
The King's Knight on his white horse is tasked with rescuing the Princess from the clutches of the Dragon Knights in their Prison Tower Stronghold (currently the only 'bad guy' fortification), avoiding a cauldron of boiling oil and a catapult as he does so.
Lego Kingdoms Advent Calendar
The Advent Calendar counts down the 24 days of December before Christmas (for any year) and offers a different Lego build every day to keep the children busy during the holidays.
There are also several other smaller sets offering other scenarios and pieces, including a horse and carriage and a court jester, as well as numerous other minifigures.
This range might not be an absolute classic from Lego. There have been some criticisms that this range is not a great advancement over its predecessor, the Castles range, but is seems unlikely that Lego would reinvent the wheel when they have a successful formula, and no doubt Lego Kingdoms will be snapped up by a new generation of Lego fans and become a fondly remembered part of their childhood.
