Adults ruined LEGO. There I said it.

Ruined seems like very strong phrasing when nothing important has been ruined.

They sell new Lego sets in stores every day. They might seem expensive for a few bags of plastic bits and some instructions, but then: They've never been cheap.

A kid can still grow up playing with Lego today, just as they've always been able to.

I still remember building my first new Lego widget. Set 918. It was just a small basic spaceship and no real accessories but a little Lego space dude. I'd already scattered the pieces around and stuck them together in strange ways when I noticed that there was an instruction book so I could assemble it the "right" way. That may have been the first instruction book I'd ever followed; I remember the sense of wonderment as I learned the value of it. That model didn't last long before I tore it apart and went back to sticking the pieces together in strange ways. :)

Anyway, it seems like it would have been about $6.50 back then, or about $31 in today's money.

That's not so different from today's prices -- in fact, it looks things may have actually gotten a bit less expensive since then for a given amount of complexity.

That's not ruination; it's the opposite of it. The kids are fine. Lego is fine.

---

I do see that someone on eBay that someone hopes to get over $2,000 for a new, sealed copy of set 918. That's a about sixteen more fuckton more than $31.

And I can't justify spending that kind of money on some Lego.

But I don't have to spend that kind of money. If I have a Lego itch that I want to scratch, then I'm a grown-ass adult. I can just go to the store or some online seller or whatever, and buy a new set that I like, and put it together.

I don't need to spend $2k to pretend relive a part of my childhood. I already experienced it once, and I remember that part very fondly.

Nothing here is ruined.

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turtlebits an hour ago | parent [-]

Ruined as in - Lego sets are glorified EZ-mode puzzles and not creative toys anymore. Too many limited sets means it's trending toward "collector items" and not kids toys.

	▲	ssl-3 14 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		I see both kinds of sets for sale. I do not see ruination. Both kinds present an empire of creativity when they're disassembled and mixed up together in a box, as tends to happen with Lego. It's fine. Or, alternatively, it may be possible for a person to be such a profoundly grown-up adult to be unable to see it that way. If that's the case, then I guess you're right: These adults are incapable of being creative with Lego, and therefore adults have ruined Lego. For themselves. But if that's the case, then it was ruined for the old coots from the very beginning. :P

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komali2 19 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

The only place in Taiwan to get good hot wings is Hooters, so I was there the other day with some folks, and we noticed this dude alone at a table for a bit. His beer arrives, and he pulls out an unopened Lego box set for some car. For the next hour he slowly drinks his beer while building the entire set. Finishes the beer and set simultaneously, puts the car in his bag, pays his bill, and walks out.

There's few strangers I've encountered that I've respected more and the rest are all firemen.

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iwontberude 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

They ruined Pokemon too, not that it was any good to begin with but these scalping chuds took it subterranean.

	▲	throwaway85825 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		The pokemon company intentionally limits the supply to drive up demand. Cardboard is in no way a limited resource, they could print as many cards as there is demand for if they wanted. The problem is not the scalpers but the corporation who values the artificial scalped demand more than gameplay. That no one in the so called community can correctly place blame is an indictment of their intelligence.

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pyb 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

and Disney

	▲	fortran77 an hour ago \| parent [-]
		and My Little Pony.

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FireBeyond an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

Star Wars LEGO seems to be the worst. I went to the Bellevue, WA store a few years ago before Christmas. I have no interest in SW or SW LEGO (I'm much more into the Architecture series).

I was walking around though, and an associate came up to me and pointed out that the Death Star (IIRC) was about to stop being sold so if I wanted one I should grab it... "... and that we have several of it, so if you want allll of them."

I despise scalping, though, but perhaps I should.

	▲	bena an hour ago \| parent [-]
		I assume they were talking about 75159 right before it retired. I think that was when Lego speculation was just becoming a bigger thing. Now, I don't think something like that could retire with stock being on the shelf. I grabbed Betrayal at Cloud City (75222) from my local Lego Store after it retired because they still had one in stock. I don't think I'll get that lucky again. Especially with the push for exclusive Gift With Purchase (GWP) sets. It's become slightly ridiculous. But I'm not a speculator, I'm just a dude who likes assembling plastic bricks.