Toy Fair 2013: Friends, Games, and More

[Hapori Tohu]

Today on the Toy Fair front we have an interesting variety - Friends, Board Games, and the LEGO Booth. An odd combination, to be sure, but there's still some cool stuff to be seen. To check out what was on display, read on!View the full article

[Lyichir]

This year's Friends sets look fantastic. I find it hard to get excited by the board games until I know how they're played, and the Chima microfigs seem less impressive than the Ninjago ones from two years ago for some reason. Probably the fact that they represent generic tribe members instead of specific important characters.

[Valendale]

When I first saw the Helm's Deep game, I thought it was a new Heroica set. Then I noticed the Uruk-Hai.  Oh well, it looks like the board and figures will be easily integrated.

Edited July 31, 2016 by Valendale

[J46 Nui]

When I first saw the Helm's Deep game, I thought it was a new Heroica set. Then I noticed the Uruk-Hai. Oh well, it looks like the board and figures will be easily integrated.

I think that it uses the same rules from Heroica too. Just look at the die. The only difference is the Ring tile. I will definitely pick it up, and probably the Batman one too, but I want to know how it plays before I commit to it.

[Aanchir]

When I first saw the Helm's Deep game, I thought it was a new Heroica set. Then I noticed the Uruk-Hai. Oh well, it looks like the board and figures will be easily integrated.

I think that it uses the same rules from Heroica too. Just look at the die. The only difference is the Ring tile. I will definitely pick it up, and probably the Batman one too, but I want to know how it plays before I commit to it.

 

It's very hard to judge what the level of enjoyment of the LEGO games will be before owning them. For instance, the Ninjago board game somewhat exceeded my expectations, but the collaborative (rather than competitive) nature of it cut into its replay value a bit, since there was a lot less uncertainty than there perhaps should have been.From what I hear the best LEGO games are generally the non-themed ones which focus on creative expression and a variety of challenges versus a very particular sort of gameplay. Creationary has a lot of replay value, as is to be expected of something that's more or less a Pictionary clone with LEGO bricks, and I imagine LEGO Champion is also pretty fun. With that said, I think the LEGO game from this year most likely to have lasting appeal is LEGO Story Mixer, though I don't entirely understand what its gameplay is like.The Legends of Chima game is quite clever in its design, but whether that carries over into its gameplay is hard to judge just from the board layout.This year's LEGO Friends stuff is stellar. The sets continue to be packed full of detail while exploring an ever-wider range of subjects. The Dolphin Cruiser and Heartlake High are my favorite sets-- naturally, since being the largest sets of the year they are able to pack in the most detail.

[Hitoshura]

In my opinion, the Lego Games are more fun to build than play after a while. It depends on the game, because I have the Harry Potter one (it was pretty boring) but other games look more fun, especially the newer games (like the Hobbit and LOTR) look pretty cool to play (I googled it because the link still wasn't working).

[Meiko]

This year's Friends sets look fantastic. I find it hard to get excited by the board games until I know how they're played, and the Chima microfigs seem less impressive than the Ninjago ones from two years ago for some reason. Probably the fact that they represent generic tribe members instead of specific important characters.

I like that about it... I really want to get the Chima game. The gameplay looks interesting, and the pieces are nice (as are most LEGO games sets).