LEGO® Minecraft: "The First Night" review

When I first saw the LEGO® Minecraft sets at a big box store, I didn't really know what to make of them. I hadn't played Minecraft (I only vaguely knew what the game was), and I didn't own any LEGO® sets. Actually, I hadn't even put together a set since I was 12 years old.

My initial thought was that it was kind of silly. I knew Minecraft was a game about nearly unlimited building, and here was a building set by the most popular brick company in the world.

But soon after our LEGO® collection began to grow by almost a set a week, and I was playing the Minecraft game any moment I could. I knew it wouldn't be long before I had to have a set!

What I really love about these sets, and why I wanted them so badly, was the type of bricks included. I especially love all of the transparent bricks, both colored and clear.  It was those cool transparent blocks (and the bright orange lava) that made want these sets.

Before I get into what I like and dislike about the set, let me state (along with everyone else who reviewed this set) that this is NO ONE's first night in the Minecraft game. No one. Perhaps an experienced player, but not a first-timer. 

The first shelter I ever made wasn't a hole in the dirt, or in a cave, but I didn't make anything close to this elaborate! Does anyone really have time to gather resources for a full house, including cobblestone, planks, a bed, AND sand for windows in 10 minutes? (For the two people out there who haven't played Minecraft, you only have 10 minutes of daylight before monsters attack)

Construction

The First Night has your standard LEGO® instructions. Other than the door and hinge on the house, there are no other moving parts (like trap doors). Overall it took me about 40 minutes to complete, but I'm kind of slow.

As I said before, I really love the bricks included in these sets. They give you great colors and lots basic 4x4, 4x6, and so on. I do love the transparent bricks, and how they are used on the tree builds. 

The pickaxe is included with the set, but if you want
you can still "craft" one.

What's cool (or annoying) about the Minecraft sets is that some of the sections are designed to be moved around to create different landscapes. The roof of this house is made of two separately built pieces that can be taken off and placed to the side of the house, the front, the side (you get the idea). You can simply sit these pieces somewhere or attach them to the build.

It doesn't actually look like anything in the game, but that's OK. This is the LEGO® interpretation of Minecraft; it's not going to be a one to one ratio (can you imagine how expensive that would be?).

The two sections of the roof are removable and
can be placed around the model any way that you want.

What is disappointing with the Minecraft sets is that most of the build is based on single blocks placed one on top of the other.

For example, the wall sections were three to four blocks high without any interlocking with the next block. Trees are built with the square four stud blocks five or six high. With no real structure, these tend to break off easily from the model. I have knocked trees over just casually trying to adjust something or place a mini figure somewhere.

It isn't so bad once you have the roof section pieces in-place, as these are long and do solve the fragile structure problem. But it doesn't help the trees.

Play Value

I'm a little older than target age that would play with a set like this. But if I were a kid, I think I would be really happy playing with this.

 

As for the mini-figures, you get a Steve (also included with every set), a Creeper, and a pig mob. Steve comes with wooden tools: a pickaxe, an ax, and sword. A wooden sword? The wooden pickaxe I understand, and maybe even the ax, but I doubt anyone makes wooden swords.

The house has two ways to play/display. Closed, you get the cool looking structure, but it isn't very big. But if you open the back up, the interior is accessible and the whole set seems a little larger.


Value

Overall this is a nice set if you like Minecraft and LEGO®. I bought mine for $39.99 US dollars (plus tax). For that price you get 408 pieces and the mini-figures. There were a few extra pieces leftover from the build, but nothing special. There isn't much included in the way of rebuilds, but there are certainly enough bricks included to make some great models.

There are some full printed pieces, such as the crafting table and the furnace, but nothing really unique. I think that's what is most appealing about this and the other Minecraft sets: it focuses more on building and creating and not specific pieces that have little other use (other than the Creeper).

Overall, if you are a fan of building, Minecraft, and LEGO®, this is a great set to get. It's a great start to a collection.