Details: The birds are angry. The pigs don't stand a chance. Particularly if the other birds are also built out with studs facing every direction. The eyebrows are actually adjustable (the joys of mounting a 1x2 tile on top of small plate), but the really angry look captured here seems to capture the feel of the popular game surprisingly well.
Details: If you've picked up any of the LEGO Games, you may have noticed that many of them come with small characters that look only vaguely like minifigures - they're about half as wide. I'm sure that these little guys will only get more popular with time, and that we'll soon see tons of models based on them. Here, we see a small car - featuring a pair of horse saddles to make the seats. The doors attach directly to the saddles. Suddenly, four-wide seems like plenty to make a decent-looking, 'fig-ready classic automobile.
For bonus points, see if you can figure out how the headlights and spare tire were attached.
Details: If you've tried to play the Ninjago game and had trouble getting the "spinners" to spin (it's OK, I can't do it either), you probably need one of these. This simple Technic device works like the top launchers we've seen before (with a rip cord) but can also be ran by a motor. The result is fast, reliable spinning. No word yet on whether or not this is considered cheating within the scope of the game, but it sure looks like a fun "spin" on the concept.
Details: Have you ever played the game Connect Four? You can't really play this one, but it definitely has the look of the classic game down. The technique here is very simple but tends to be overlooked frequently: you can connect the studs on top of other LEGO pieces to the holes in the sides of Technic bricks and beams. Here, we see that done with round 1x1 plates. The big feat is balancing a round plate just so, like was done for the piece on the top that looks like it's about to go in to the game board.
One of the frustrating things about this hobby is that no matter how many great uses of simple techniques like this we see, we always hear from loud, obnoxious people who don't know what they're talking about that these things aren't possible. You know the sort - the ignorant parents in the toy store who can stare right at the LEGO logo on a box and still insist that Technic elements aren't "real LEGO". They're usually the same people who try to refer to bricks as "legos" and insist that kids can't ever come up with original ideas if they start with kits. If only we could show those people more models like this - simple enough to be easy to build, but still able to show off a great technique in an interesting way - we might be able to get the idea out there that you really can build clever things using the parts that can be found in stores.
Details: People have built Settlers of Catan games out of LEGO before, but I believe this is the first one to feature a collapsible frame for easy transportation and storage. The collapsing feature looks to be a matter of placing regular plates instead of hinge plates in a few places in each hexagon. The game is fully playable, and features microscale building on every game tile. It looks like it would be fun to try to play!
Details: It's a bit hard to grasp the scale of this enormous chess set. Each piece is actually a large Mindstorms NXT robot. The base of each one is fairly standard, but the top of each one actually looks like a particular chess piece - some of them are even animated (note the kicking front legs on the knights). The 38 NXT programmable bricks here are controlled by a laptop through Bluetooth - which requires that the laptop is constantly disconnecting and reconnecting to the "brains" in each chess piece. A project of this scope is beyond the reach of most NXT fans, but since a few of the builders involved with this project have worked with the LEGO company before as part of MCP, MDP, and the BrickWorld staff (according to their bios on the BrickWorld site), I'm guessing that the cost of this (roughly $30,000 retail) was partially subsidized by the LEGO company. This is fully functional as a chessboard - you can play against the computer, play against another human player, watch the computer play against itself, or watch the chess robots act out a saved game. To see this in motion, you have to check out the two videos of this game in action at the site above. Alternatively, you could go to BrickWorld this upcoming weekend to see this in person when these robots make their LEGO convention debut.
Details: Here's an interesting idea - using the NXT tethered to another small computer to play a game on a PC. Apparently the builder had some custom embedded computer vision (CV) and artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms in use. From his description:
Tetris-Bot is a Tetris-playing robot. Jay Leno would say "How lazy are we getting? Now robots play games for us!" Well, not exactly, but I agree, we are getting lazy. I made it in order to engage my kids in a fun and educational project. Tetris-Bot consists of a camera, a TI DM6437 DSP board (running my embedded vision and artificial intelligence algorithms), and a three-finger NXT robotic hand (that presses the keys on the computer keyboard). I was inspired by the NXT Rubik and Sudoku solvers and the Segway-like NXT robots. Unlike them, Tetris-Bot is not an NXT-only system, because the Brick has a limited input bandwidth. That's why I use a TI DM6437 DSP board to analyze the images coming from the camera, recognize the new shape, and find the best place and orientation for it. The instructions are communicated to the NXT robotic hand via LEDs on the board. HOPE YOU LIKE IT !!!
This robot plays the game of Snakes and Ladders (or Chute and Ladders, if you prefer). Light-sensors are used to allow the RCX and NXT to communicate (a clever trick that we're seeing more and more frequently as a cheap alternative to third party IR modules for the NXT). The NXT is the brains of the operation, and the RCX handles most of the motion in the game. Pieces are moved by a robotic arm (with well-placed pneumatics) mounted on gear racks, and there are even appropriate sound effects.
Details: Although LEGO has done a good job with their new official games line (NEW from LEGO® Shop LEGO Games. Play a new way.), they've avoided getting too close to existing games. Sure, some are slightly similar (Monster 4 is loosely based on Tic-Tac-Toe but much more fun, and Pirate Code bears some similarity to Mastermind), but I suspect that the licensing costs weren't worth it to do LEGO boards for established popular games (for the record, I'd be rooting for a LEGO travel scrabble and a LEGO Monopoly city). Today's featured model is an adaptation of the game Snakes and Ladders (also known as Chute and Ladders). Indiana Jones (famous for the line "I hate snakes!") is a natural choice for a character and thematic background. This version of the game allows for up to 6 players (3 of them can be Indiana Jones). Tiles make for great game spaces, and even work well with a bridge over water. As clever as the little snakes and ladders are, I think the real reason to recast this game in a LEGO format is the ability to add real landscaping. Now the ladders actually help you (technically your minifig) climb things and the snakes can really make Indy say "I hate snakes!"
Details: The Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots game involves moving mechanical switches to make "robots" punch each other. You know you've won when the other player finds that you've "knocked their block off". It belongs squarely in the world of fantasy violence that we've all decided is fine for kids to play with. Naturally, it gets that much more exciting when you build it out of LEGO parts. There is a slightly reduced range of motion here (you can't rotate the bots), but that's made up for by the ability to see more of the mechanical goodness going on. The heads are cleverly assembled by using a rubber band to hold plates onto Cyberslam missiles so that they actually pop off properly (and easily snap right back into place for the next game - just like the "real" thing!)
Don't forget that you can use the "All Sizes" button on flickr to zoom-in - it's a must if you want to get a good look at the linkages that make the arms work just right.
Details: An elegant game of pentominoes, complete with box. The size is a bit hard to grasp, but each cube is based on the size of a 2x2 tile (the 1/3rd height elements that are flat on top). Using the 6:5 ratio of LEGO brick dimensions, you get the 2 stud measurement vertically using one brick and two 1/3 elements (either tiles or plates).
Details: Eric Harshbarger hasn't been building too much lately (although he was the first to make a living entirely doing LEGO sculptures and mosaics on commission, he decided to leave the field a few years ago) - but he did make these mosaics of popular board games. He's posted four game boards here (the two visible in this post are for Scrabble and Monopoly, the other two on his website are for Clue and Chess or Checkers), and all of them perfectly capture the essence of the original game board's design.
We here at LMOTD would like to apologize for the slightly off-kilter ad-heaviness of this post. Amazon and Blogger unveiled a new feature together recently with the goal of making links much easier for bloggers like ourselves, and we're trying to experiment with it without adding off-topic posts to the blog (I do genuinely love the game board mosaics featured above and mean no offense by discussing them in this manner - I just wish there was more to be said about how perfect they are).
Details: Snooker is a game similar to pool. It requires a table like this one, which happens to be perfectly scaled for miniland-sized people. The details come out well here thanks to the wise decision to construct the walls and buffers sideways.
Besides the obvious "needs players!" critique, that's really all there is to say.
Details: Every once in a while, my putting off doing a post for a day pays off when somebody posts something amazing during the day and I get to share it right away. Such is the case today, with this spectacular foosball table. While the use of swords may be technically be "cheating" to fans of the sport, Wikipedia's entry on Foosball sure makes it look like we're allowed to have multiple players on the goalie row (and hey! I had no idea foosball was such a complicated topic, or that there were so many names for it!)
To make LEGO fans like myself happy, there are some great details and parts usages - note the "useless" handle element making it's appearance on all the rods (which are themselves an impressive collection of Technic axles and axle extenders, completely in black), the use of Knight's Kingdom head on one side of the table, and the colorful team choice - swashbuckling Pirates vs Castle Knights!
Details: It really is made out of LEGO parts, I swear. This is simply a perfect sculpture - the colors match the original woodtone, the studs-not-on-top work that makes all the details of the puzzle work is brilliant, and the way that it actually works like the real thing is pretty clever. I'm pretty sure it's an original mechanism used inside, and not just a straight LEGO reproduction of the original motion technique. At first glance, the surface of the puzzle looks like it's just a flat wall, but you really need to look more closely - there are arches going in multiple directions to make holes, carefully aligned edges and paths, and far more cleverly-placed 1x1 Technic bricks than I've ever seen in one place before. Of course, I don't know if you'd really want to play this instead of the original wooden game - I'd be a bit worried about scratching up pieces. I know I've featured models with no studs showing before, but....wow.
I know this is a second day in a row of real posts, but I am still considering this blog to be on hiatus. It looks like it will be returning at the regular pace around August 10th-15th. In the meantime, I'll continue posting occasionally, but I can't promise daily posts.
Details: For obvious reasons, LEGO® MINDSTORMS NXT kits generally inspire people to build fairly complex robots. However, there are some awesome things that can be done with ridiculously simple programs as well. The program is essentially "wait 5 seconds, then go forward for 5 seconds" - the appeal being that after the program is started, you have 5 seconds to aim for your opponent and then 5 seconds for the two 'bots to go on the attack. It's kind of like a castle-themed video game, but with Bionicle figures instead of virtual violence. Of course, with an NXT intelligent brick and 2 motors in each horse, this isn't exactly a cheap little game, but it looks like lots of fun.
Details: This is a delightful new twist on the Rush Hour Game concept - it's a Space-themed version of the game made with as an avant-garde LEGO® model. Of course, the game itself is hours of fun (seriously - Buy it if you don't have it yet - you won't regret it.) - but this LEGO® rendition uses a number of clever building techniques as well. The "cars" are detailed microscale creations that are designed with parts that reach down to hold the cars in place (there are, of course, skid plates underneath as well). The "tracks" that the cars go back-and-forth on (for those unfamiliar with the game, you cannot turn a car in it) are made with an array of various tiled-plates. The outside of the game has been decorated with a number of curvy and slopey pieces. OK, so this doesn't come with cards or a storage tray, but otherwise, this is one awesome model. You could probably whip up your own version for under $50 too (watch those proportions, though - there's some less-than-a-full-brick-across trickery going on in those grooves...).
The birds are angry
. The pigs don't stand a chance. Particularly if the other birds are also built out with studs facing every direction. The eyebrows are actually adjustable (the joys of mounting a 1x2 tile on top of small plate), but the really angry look captured here seems to capture the feel of the popular game surprisingly well. 
? You can't really play this one, but it definitely has the look of the classic game down. The technique here is very simple but tends to be overlooked frequently: you can connect the studs on top of other LEGO pieces to the holes in the sides of Technic bricks and beams. Here, we see that done with round 1x1 plates. The big feat is balancing a round plate just so, like was done for the piece on the top that looks like it's about to go in to the game board.
games out of LEGO before, but I believe this is the first one to feature a collapsible frame for easy transportation and storage. The collapsing feature looks to be a matter of placing regular plates instead of hinge plates in a few places in each hexagon. The game is fully playable, and features microscale building on every game tile. It looks like it would be fun to try to play!
(or 
, if you prefer). Light-sensors are used to allow the RCX and NXT to communicate (a clever trick that we're seeing more and more frequently as a cheap alternative to third party IR modules for the NXT). The NXT is the brains of the operation, and the RCX handles most of the motion in the game. Pieces are moved by a robotic arm (with well-placed pneumatics) mounted on gear racks, and there are even appropriate sound effects.
), but I suspect that the licensing costs weren't worth it to do LEGO boards for established popular games (for the record, I'd be rooting for a LEGO travel scrabble and a LEGO Monopoly city). Today's featured model is an adaptation of the game 
involves moving mechanical switches to make "robots" punch each other. You know you've won when the other player finds that you've "knocked their block off". It belongs squarely in the world of fantasy violence that we've all decided is fine for kids to play with. Naturally, it gets that much more exciting when you build it out of LEGO parts. There is a slightly reduced range of motion here (you can't rotate the bots), but that's made up for by the ability to see more of the mechanical goodness going on. The heads are cleverly assembled by using 
and 
, the other two on his website are for 
and 
or 
), and all of them perfectly capture the essence of the original game board's design. 
kits generally inspire people to build fairly complex robots. However, there are some awesome things that can be done with ridiculously simple programs as well. The program is essentially "wait 5 seconds, then go forward for 5 seconds" - the appeal being that after the program is started, you have 5 seconds to aim for your opponent and then 5 seconds for the two 'bots to go on the attack. It's kind of like a castle-themed video game, but with Bionicle figures instead of virtual violence. Of course, with an NXT intelligent brick and 2 motors in each horse, this isn't exactly a cheap little game, but it looks like lots of fun. 
