Ideas #013: 21305 - Maze

[firos]

First images:

http://www.hispabrickmagazine.com/content/21305-%E2%80%A2-maze-review

[Deanfjr]

I like it, just a classic childhood toy Labyrinth, seems cool that you can build & rebuild different mazes, put me in for 2 one to build & play 1 to collect 

[Sandwraith]

Really glad they went with the 2 in 1 build, the original ideas ones were a bit more interesting, but oh well.

[Alpinemaps]

The create of the Maze has posted on /r/lego and does have a website.  He's said that he plans on posting alternative layouts for maze's upon release.

Quote

Once the Maze set is released, I will be posting instructions for additional mazes here, in case you want some inspiration on where to begin. I’ll also be posting a review of the set and a comparison with my original Ideas submission. I may have some other surprises in store as well, so be sure to watch this space!

Author's site here.

[ISO8T0]

LEGO Ideas Maze (21305) Officially Revealed

Posted: 02 Mar 2016 12:15 PM PST

 

 

LEGO has officially revealed the next LEGO Ideas set with the Maze (21305). The set was conceived by Jason Allemann (JK Brickworks) and it will be available on April 1st for $69.99. Along with the Maze build, the set will also have a removable container to store the balls. Read more about the design process of the Maze (21305) over on their blog post.

LEGO Ideas Maze – The reinvention of a classic!

The latest LEGO Ideas product reinvents the classic ball and labyrinth game, but adds a twist of creative LEGO building to the fun.

Built entirely from LEGO elements, the LEGO Maze consists of a base frame and a simple tip and tilt mechanism made up of LEGO beams and axles. You turn the wheels to move the maze up and down or from side to side guiding the ball away from the traps.

The interchangeable maze system means you can easily swap maze plates without having to rebuild the entire game. Once you’ve mastered the two maze designs included with the set, you will find lots of inspiration to start creating your own mazes using the bricks included or any of your own LEGO elements.

 

 

The post LEGO Ideas Maze (21305) Officially Revealed appeared first on The Brick Fan.

[Stud-Flipper]

I'm sure to get some heat for this, but I really don't understand the hype. IMO I think investment-wise, this will do poorly (just like many of the sets from the Games line a few years back, of which this is a similar product, only pumped up on steroids. And mentioning the failed LEGO Games theme, practically all of those sets can now be had at equal or less than their retail price). Like, I don't see the market for it. To the collector, sure it will be interesting to play with for a few days, but then it will become a boring eyesore to collect dust on a shelf. Of which there is no display value. And for the average child or his/her parent, $60 or $70 will be far too much for them to shell out on what is essentially a board game, when they can go out and buy Connect-4, Monopoly, Battleship, etc. for a quarter of the price. Or spend that money on a more traditional set with more obvious playability and "coolness", such as can be found in Super Heroes or Star Wars.

[Lordoflego]

I was born in late 70' in communist country so poor-mans games are my thing....but I never really played this more than few times on some little hand held version of it. Not interesting to me at all, will buy for investment few though.

i kind of agree with a BPer above but looking at the pictures, I like this Lego set more than I thought, plus doesn't it look like this set/game opens doors to almost unlimited number of custom levels? That's sounds cool to me.

[jbacunn]

I think the ability to design new mazes will keep the fan base interested. I could see people designing some really cool custom mazes and really getting creative with it. Having said that, I do think this will have a more limited appeal than most of the other Ideas themes. As far as the investment potential goes, if it is unpopular and has a short lifespan it could do well post retirement. I won't be buying any though unless there is a significant discount or we see that it will retire quickly.

[Phil B]

I imagine a super maze MOC of 4 of these in 2x2 setup, with connections between the 4 independent mazes. Now that would be cool

[Sfcommando14]

I don't get it personally. It doesn't appeal to me so I may suffer from internal bias, but I don't see any long-term interest of new AFOLs seeing this was once made and "needing" it. There is no IP attached (DeLorean) or visual appeal (Birds), so who is the market? Are these games wildly popular somewhere or were they ever?

[justapilgrim]

Not for me, pass

[Frank Brickowski]

I'm already waiting for a recall of the Maze after the first ones have been sold and buyers complain about the fact that you cannot turn the wheels with your fingers on upper side / bottom side but only by touching it left / right, meaning it's uncomfortable and harder to control because there is not enough room to put you fingers below the wheels.

Quality control issues in the IDEAS line have already become a beloved tradition somehow. After "SHEILD eyes from light", the double-fail on WALL-E's head and the "Ecto-1 fits in the garage (if you tear out the whole interior that is...)" on the Ghostbuster-labeled IDEAS GBHQ from Sergio, I would not be too surprised if this time they did in fact miss to test if the Maze's wheels can be accessed properly all round.

Or do I misunderstand the construction / handling of the Maze (meaning the missing space below the wheels will not be a problem)?

[feed]

Think it’ll do fine.  Due to the opportunities to Mod and create new mazes fairly easily/cheaply with the standard parts 

All it needs is Eurobricks or someone to run a competition to design a new maze level and it’d be popular.  Most ingenious, most challenging, best themed.  Hell, if I had a decent sized brink link store, I’d be half tempted to see if I can sponsor one.  Could be a lot of fun. 
 

[Sozial]

It is a funny I idea, but I can't image how this should be sought after EOL. I will pass!

[firos]

The creator already has mods with instruction ready, awaiting only the release of the set to publish them on his website/youtube channel.

Altough i agree that this one wont be a great seller. Problably good to part out as Minotaur and Pirate Chess were/are.

[Sharkbait]

14 hours ago, Frank Brickowski said:

I'm already waiting for a recall of the Maze after the first ones have been sold and buyers complain about the fact that you cannot turn the wheels with your fingers on upper side / bottom side but only by touching it left / right, meaning it's uncomfortable and harder to control because there is not enough room to put you fingers below the wheels.

Quality control issues in the IDEAS line have already become a beloved tradition somehow. After "SHEILD eyes from light", the double-fail on WALL-E's head and the "Ecto-1 fits in the garage (if you tear out the whole interior that is...)" on the Ghostbuster-labeled IDEAS GBHQ from Sergio, I would not be too surprised if this time they did in fact miss to test if the Maze's wheels can be accessed properly all round.

Or do I misunderstand the construction / handling of the Maze (meaning the missing space below the wheels will not be a problem)?

I don't think that the missing space below the wheels will be a problem. If you put your thumb and index finger out like you're going to grip something, it is much more natural to have them horizontal at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions, rather than 12 and 6. And you're going to be doing small turns of the wheels to get the table to tilt, anything more will send the ball flying and out of control. So if you're at 9 and 3, and you do small rotations, you're fingers aren't going under the wheels at all. 

[citymorgue]

On ‎3‎/‎4‎/‎2016 at 6:43 PM, Frank Brickowski said:

Quality control issues in the IDEAS line have already become a beloved tradition somehow. After "SHEILD eyes from light", the double-fail on WALL-E's head and the "Ecto-1 fits in the garage (if you tear out the whole interior that is...)" on the Ghostbuster-labeled IDEAS GBHQ from Sergio, I would not be too surprised if this time they did in fact miss to test if the Maze's wheels can be accessed properly all round.

I'm not sure what you are referencing with the 'shield eyes from light,' but yes Wall-E sure had some quality issues.  I don't understand how Lego didn't catch onto that fact before it was ever released.  It seems entirely too obvious.

As far as your Ecto-1, that's not a quality issue, that's just a design input.  The Ecto-1 itself is a fantastic set, with no problems whatsoever.  And I've mentioned this in the GBHQ thread, it's unrealistic to expect to fit the Ecto-1 properly without it becoming some $500 monstrosity.

And as others have mentioned, I've played with this 'game' before, and honestly you don't need to have your hands underneath it at all.  It was designed to be sensitive enough that you don't have to turn the wheel like a car to make the board move.  Plus with the ball, you really don't need much of a tilt to get the ball going.

[firos]

First unpacking and building video, made by the Ideas project creator, jkbrickworks:

It seems to be a good set to part out, lots of tiles.

[Guest TabbyBoy]

"Available on April 1st" Does that mean it's a joke and not being released at all? ;-)

This is a difficult one to predict as the games theme has mostly bombed yet Ideas theme does well (apart from the Exo Suit). Personally, I can imagine this being a bit of a faff to play with once built so, I'll pass for now.

[Manse1001]

2 minutes ago, TabbyBoy said:

"Available on April 1st" Does that mean it's a joke and not being released at all? ;-)

This is a difficult one to predict as the games theme has mostly bombed yet Ideas theme does well (apart from the Exo Suit). Personally, I can imagine this being a bit of a faff to play with once built so, I'll pass for now.

I agree, I 100% appreciate the complexity of the model and kudos to JKBrickworks for its design (certainly not something I could do) !! But can I see it on my shelf next to Ecto-1 and Wall-e . . . probably not.

[Phil B]

I will definitely get one to play with (do we know the price point on this?). Looks fun and the kids will love it. Then, if part-out value is what it looks like (Is that 6x6 tile new, have not seen it in a set before and the designer skips over it) once there are some interesting sales I'll pick up a few for part-out .... great brick and tile selection. I think this is a great IDEAS set.

[firos]

Price is high, 69.90$. Pieces count +700.

[Phil B]

Right at the $0.10/pc mark. So with a 20% off deal somewhere, potentially with discounted GC, one could pick this up for ~$50 plus tax in the future (although TRU might have its price jacked up to negate those savings partially). As long as those 700 pieces are in good demand (who doesn't want 1x8 or 1x12 bricks?) shouldn't be too bad.

[Guest TabbyBoy]

After all my time on BP, I still don't get the "price per piece" as a judge of value. Shouldn't it be "price per weight" so that you actually know how much plastic you're getting for the money? I can see this being very expensive in the UK.

[gregpj]

53 minutes ago, Phil B said:

I will definitely get one to play with (do we know the price point on this?). Looks fun and the kids will love it. Then, if part-out value is what it looks like (Is that 6x6 tile new, have not seen it in a set before and the designer skips over it) once there are some interesting sales I'll pick up a few for part-out .... great brick and tile selection. I think this is a great IDEAS set.

The 6x6 tile is not new, but certainly not all that common.. http://alpha.bricklink.com/pages/clone/catalogitem.page?P=6881&name=Tile%206%20x%206&category=[Tile]#T=C