The LEGO Group’s story dates back to 1932, in a small workshop in Billund, Denmark where a humble carpenter made a collection of 36 small toys to help the town children to learn about the world. What began as a passion and took root in Ole Kirk Kristiansen would grow, steadily to today being, year after year and decade after decade into one of the world's biggest toy companies inspiring millions of children every year!
90 years later and in the midst of a global pandemic, play has never been more important with the LEGO Group on a mission to continue to bring more play into the everyday, for everyone.
And while a lot has stayed the same throughout these 90 years, as you can imagine, a lot has changed. For example the LEGO logo has undergone some serious refinements over the years, even as recent as 1998, as seen below:
Since its beginnings, LEGO has released numerous gaming inspires LEGO sets, from Sonic, to Super Mario and much more here's a look at some of the best gaming LEGO sets as we celebrate 90 years of building fun. Credit: Thebricksite.com
All information in this section is credit of Thebricksite.com
LEGO 71374 Nintendo Entertainment System
Release date: August 2020
Price: £199.99
2,646 pieces
Age 18+
A NES made out of LEGO! Can you think of anything more wonderful? Actually, we can: a NES made out of LEGO that comes with a TV set (also made out of LEGO) that displays a brick-built Super Mario level on it. This really is one of the best gaming-themed LEGO sets of all time – and we don’t think LEGO will be able to beat it any time soon. Yes, it’s a little on the pricey side, but if you can afford it, it’s worth having. You can even build a games cartridge to feed into the console. Everything about this set is just perfect.
LEGO 71395 Super Mario 64 Question Mark Block
Release date: October 2021
Price: £149.99
2,064 pieces
Age 18+
Almost as perfect as the LEGO NES is the LEGO Super Mario 64 Question Mark Block. At first glance, it’s rather unassuming. A neatly-constructed yellow block, adorned with a ‘?’ on each side. But… it hides something rather special inside. Flip the top of the block and a diorama of worlds from Super Mario 64 will pop out. There’s Princess Peach’s castle, Bob-omb Battlefield, Cool, Cool Mountain and Lethal Lava Trouble. And each one even has gold stars hidden around, waiting for Mario to find them.
LEGO Super Mario 71391 Bowser’s Airship
Release date: July 2021
Price: £89.99
1,152 pieces
Age 8+
The LEGO Super Mario range is rather extensive now. Starting with a Starter Pack containing either Mario or Luigi, you can build your own play course featuring many iconic scenes from Super Mario games. One of our favourites has to be Bowser’s Airship, which just looks wonderful. It folds out, too, revealing more detail inside. From the cannons on the side to Bowser’s face at the bow, it captures the spirit of Bowser in just about every way.
LEGO Overwatch 75977 Junkrat & Roadhog
Release date: October 2019 to December 2020
Price: £44.99
380 pieces
Age 10+
One of our favourite sets from all the LEGO Overwatch range just has to be Junkrat & Roadhog. At 380 pieces, it’s not the biggest set, but thanks to a ‘Junkertown’ stand to place Roadhog’s bicycle on, it’s one of the most brilliantly formed. It also comes with a ‘big fig’ for Roadhog which, if you know anything about LEGO, you’ll know are particularly sought after. It’s a great addition to any gaming room or desk display.
LEGO Ideas 21331 Sonic the Hedgehog
Release date: January 2022
Price: £59.99
1,125 pieces
Age 18+
One of the newest sets on this list is also one of the best gaming-themed LEGO sets ever made. It’s Sonic the Hedgehog’s Green Hill Zone, and it’s absolutely wonderful. It’s been designed as part of LEGO’s Ideas range, which means it started life as an idea from an amateur set designer. They’ve captured the spirit of Sonic down to a tee – there’s also a brick-built Doctor Robotnik, because of course there is.
As you can see there's a whole range of gaming inspired LEGO sets out there including a bunch of Minecraft sets that we could have included and a rather awesome looking Horizon Zero Dawn inspired set.
In 2022 LEGO is bigger than its ever been, and I think there's no better way to celebrate their 90th anniversary than to look back at how far LEGO has come.
LEGO has played a part in most lives, whether it be as a child playing with Duplo or now in 2022 watching the LEGO masters TV show, we all have some connection to LEGO in some way. So congratulations LEGO on 90 years of inspiring imagination. We cant wait to see what future gaming related LEGO sets are in the pipeline.
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