Hapori Tohu

BZPower has long had a very rigid and stringent advertising policy limiting what our members could link to on the site. There are several reasons for this, but primarily we want BZPower to be a family-friendly place, and lets be honest, a lot of stuff on the Internet isn't very family-friendly. But still, times change, and BZPower must be dragged kicking and screaming into the future. That's why today we're announcing a major overhaul to our advertising policy and some new functionality on the site to help us keep our family-friendly focus.View the full article

The following are the winners of the raffle Anniversary Big Raffle: 1. Place: 75019 AT-TE

Earlier this year we began to have some problems with our Archives, the instance of the old forums with all the posts from before the recent major upgrade. This was in part due to a malicious individual who deleted parts of the database as well as several backups that were stored on our server. The Administration has done our best to try to restore things, but there's still a lot of missing content that I'm afraid no longer exists. In addition, the software that keeps the archives running has become outdated and insecure, and may be part of how portions of the site were hacked recently. With all this in mind, we have made the decision to close down the Archives and move forward, focusing on our new forums and the future of BZPower. It was not an easy decision, but in the end, there was not much we could do. On behalf of the Administration, I'm truly sorry that we have to do this, but I'm hoping everyone can understand the reasons behind our decision.View the full article

For the last few years, BZPower has had a policy in place requiring the first five posts (originally ten) of all new members to be approved before they are able to utilize all the features BZPower has to offer. Today it brings me great pleasure to announce that we will no longer be requiring new user to go through this process. New accounts will still be approved by the Administration, but once activated they will be free to post as they see fit. I appreciate the patience of all our new members in the past few years and hope that this change will help encourage more discussion on the forums.View the full article

Chima is the headliner at Westchester this weekend, as a <a href='http://www.legolanddiscoverycenter.com/westchester/news-events/event/617/lego-legends-of-chima-event.aspx' target='offsite'>two-day event</a> focusing on the Legends of Chima theme takes place at the LEGOLAND Discovery Center. The event will feature Speedorz competitions, the debut of a new 4D twelve-minute Chima movie, a scavenger hunt with a four-pack of annual passes as the prize, and several other activities based upon the theme. The event takes place on July 27-28, but annual pass members can access a preview event on the 26th from 4-9 p.m., with last admission at 7 p.m.View the full article

BrickFair Virginia is almost here, so what better time to report on the previous BrickFair, which took place in New England. Better late than never, I always say. Anyway, Manchester, New Hampshire was home to the first major AFOL convention in the Northeast, and the fans turned out a-plenty. There was a great turnout, especially among Bionicle fans, which was one of the best-represented themes there. The public presence wasn't as good as we would have hoped, but everyone still had a lot of fun. To get an idea of what was on display - read on!View the full article

I think it's safe to say the big LEGO game for this year is LEGO City Undercover for the Wii U along with its prequel LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begin for the 3DS. LEGO has graciously given BZPower a copy of each game to give away to some lucky members and what better time to do that than during our anniversary? Head over to our new <a href='http://www.bzpower.com/board/index.php?app=raffles'>raffle section</a> to enter to win the game on the platform of your choice!View the full article

It's been a crazy week both on and off site, and I'm sure many of you know exactly why: The San-Diego Comic-Con happened over the weekend. We'll probably be catching up on everything that happened all week, but for now I'll leave you with the <a href='http://mashable.com/2013/07/21/lego-marvel-super-heroes/' target='offsite'>newest trailer</a> released for the LEGO Marvel Superheroes game.View the full article

Many moons ago, there was a game played on BZPower the likes of which had never been seen outside of reality television. Today, <a href='http://www.bzpower.com/board/index.php?showtopic=10599'>Staff Survivor returns</a>! Fourteen staff members find themselves on the island of Voya Nui and only one can be crowned the winner. They will face trials, first as teams and then on their own. Who will that come out on top? It's up to you to decide. Go find out how you can play!View the full article

It's no secret that forum activity hasn't been what it was since Bionicle ended. A couple years back we did some reorganization when we unveiled the newly-redesigned forums. Today we're announcing that we'll be combining and moving some things around in an effort to streamline the forum experience. For the full details, please read on!View the full article

Yesterday we announced our new raffle system and the first raffle to go along with it. Today we announce five more! LEGO is providing us with the following sets that are up for grabs: 70500 Kai's Fire Mech, 42002 Hovercraft, 79005 The Wizard Battle, 44008 Surge, and 75010 B-Wing Starfighter & Endor. You can head over to the <a href='http://www.bzpower.com/board/index.php?app=raffles'>raffle section</a> to go enter. Unlike our big raffle from yesterday, these are all free, and you can enter as many or as few of them as you'd like. Good luck everyone!View the full article

A new teaser site has appeared advertising LEGO Mixels, and features three interesting brick-built characters. Apparently they're coming in Spring 2014 and are connected to Cartoon Network. You can view the <a href='http://www.lego.com/mixels/' target='offsite'>teaser site here</a>, as well as the <a href='http://www.brickset.com/news/article/?ID=7128' target='offsite'>BrickSet article</a> that includes a picture of the models from Comic-Con.View the full article

It's time for more anniversary fun! We like to try to introduce something new each anniversary to celebrate another year of BZPower. This time around, we're introducing a <a href='http://www.bzpower.com/board/index.php?app=raffles'>raffle system</a> to make it easier to give stuff away. The first set we'll be raffling off is the <a href='http://www.bzpower.com/board/index.php?app=raffles&raffle=1'>75019 AT-TE</a>, which has been graciously donated by LEGO. If you want a shot at it, tickets are $1 each, and you can buy more for a greater chance to win! The money will go to covering the cost of the raffle system and supporting BZPower's ongoing server costs. Good luck everyone!View the full article

Today BZPower celebrates its twelfth anniversary. Twelve years - can you believe it? I know I can't, and I'm sure that a dozen years ago when Dimensioneer started up BZCommunity he didn't think we'd still be around. We'd like to thank you all for keeping our site going all this time. And now, onto the fun stuff! For the next week all members will get the perks of Premier Membership - rank images, blogs, poll-making, and more! And if you like what you see, we're also offering sale on <a href='http://www.bzpower.com/board/index.php?app=nexus&module=payments&cat=2'>Premier</a> and <a href='http://www.bzpower.com/board/index.php?app=nexus&module=payments&cat=4'>BioniLUG</a> Memberships - you can get 10% off until August 10th using coupon code BZPdozen. And don't worry, this is just the start!View the full article

It has been a long journey, but at last the final round of <b>Flash Fiction Marathon</b> voting has arrived! Two polls remain: <a href='http://www.bzpower.com/board/index.php?showtopic=10544' target='offsite'>Bionicle</a> and <a href='http://www.bzpower.com/board/index.php?showtopic=10545' target='offsite'>OTC</a>, containing the top-voted stories in each of these overall categories. Now is the time to decide the ultimate winners of the FFM. Now is the time to do your civic duty: read and vote!View the full article

LEGO is unveiling a lot of stuff at San Diego Comic-Con this week, and one of them was the announcement of a series of sets based off the upcoming The LEGO Movie. There are expected to be 17 construction sets, a series of Collectible Minifigures, and even a video game based on the characters and story from the movie. You can read more of the official announcement <a href='http://www.fbtb.net/2013/07/16/lego-announces-the-lego-movie-lego-merchandise/' target='offsite'>here</a> on FBTB.View the full article

It's time to start planning for another episode of the BZPowercast, and that means a new Staff Interview. As you might have figured out from the title, our lucky interviewee this month is none other than Than the Moa, Global Moderator extraordinaire. Send him a message and ask him some questions. Examples include: Why do you like Halo more than BZPower? What is your favorite Bionicle set? Where did you go? When will you make more skins? How excited are you for the Xbox One? Whatever your questions may be, ask them soon!View the full article

American sailors now will get to play with LEGO's most popular robotics sets. Okay, maybe not play, but the US Naval Academy in Annapolis will be using the Mindstorms NXT sets to train sailors to program and work with robotics. I suppose any kids who already have been tinkering with Mindstorms will have something of a head start if they join the navy.View the full article

LEGO Shop@Home is offering an interesting promotion for all you Hero Factory fans. As <a href='http://shop.lego.com/en-US/LEGO-Hero-Factory-Free-Accessory-Pack' target='offsite'>this landing page indicates</a>, with any Hero Factory purchase you can get a free exclusive accessory pack. Based on the image, it looks like the pack contains a special black brain-alien-thing and a fire sword (not the same one that comes with Furno). My guess is you're not going to see some of those pieces in those colors elsewhere, so if you're interested - go get one now!View the full article

I'm pleased to announce today that BZPower will be hosting a party at BrickFair Virginia in less than three weeks. On Saturday, August 3rd, from 4:45PM to 6:45PM, you can join us at Shadowland Adventures for two games of laser tag and some pizza. Space is limited, so we're asking that you pay in advance to reserve your spot. You can buy tickets over in our store. Costs go towards reserving space at the venue, two games of laser tag, and pizza and drinks. We hope to see you all there!View the full article

While we've already reported on Robertson's new book, Brick by Brick, GSR has uncovered another interesting interview with the author: How too much innovation nearly killed The LEGO Company. It offers a particularly interesting insight into the failed Galidor line and and how desperate the company was to create something new for the market. I recommend giving it a read!View the full article

The exclusive minifigures for the upcoming San Diego Comic Con have been revealed. Again, they're associated with the Super Heroes theme: Green Arrow and Black-Suit Superman represent the DC side, while alt-suit Spider-Man and Spider-Woman hail from Marvel. If you're in the area and attending Comic Con, you might get a chance to pick one up, while the rest of us must look on in jealousy. You can see pictures and read more about them <a href='http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2013/07/12/lego-superhero-comic-con-minifigures/2513603/' target='offsite'>here</a>.View the full article

This weekend the largest Canadian fan event, BrickFete, is taking place in Toronto. They're lucky enough to have a new LEGO set revealed there tonight - 10235 Winter Village Market! You can read on to see images of the latest addition to the Winter Village series as well as the full press release. You can also check out the designer video <a href='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVnqxgxiwQw' target='offsite'>right here</a>. It's a great-looking set that fits the theme well and I'm sure it'll be a big hit!View the full article

BZPower Member Damaracx 8.0 pointed out that the Ninjago website has been updated with all of the current TV show episodes. You can check them out <a href='http://ninjago.lego.com/en-us/NinjagoTV/Default.aspx' target='offsite'>right here</a> in the Ninjago TV section. If you missed them when they aired, now is your chance to catch up!View the full article

The battle of words has been fierce and fast-paced, and it seems that the Flash Fiction Marathon has gone by in...well...a flash. But it's not quite over yet: the <a href='http://www.bzpower.com/board/index.php?showforum=75' target='offsite'><b>semifinal polls</b></a> in each Bionicle and OTC category have been posted! These represent the best of the best from all ten flash fiction themes, meaning that this is your chance to vote for the stories that will move on to the final round of voting. So go forth, and give the remaining entries a read and your vote, and make sure the best story wins!View the full article