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Legos in Adulthood?

FoxLovinPat

FoxLovinPat

Well-Known Member
Perhaps this post would fit better in the Hobbies section but I didn't see an appropriate category for this so just putting this here in Off-Topic instead.

Anyways I fairly recently started collecting Legos again after years without owning any.. well technically I bought a knock off set that's some sorta garden themed hotel/cafe but it's a good quality knockoff, and I also bought some classic 90s era Lego Town vehicles too off of eBay, and a sealed Lego Rock Raiders set but that one will probably stay sealed because that's valuable.. oh right and I also bought a lot of classic Bionicles too.

However I haven't been able to bring myself to actually play with them after I built them, I just kinda displayed them. Is it actually okay for adults to play with Legos outside of playing them with little kids? Or is there something seriously wrong with a grown adult building and playing with Legos? Thoughts like that are what have kept me from actually playing with my sets.

As for why this is? Well at the start of my teens my father gathered up my Lego, and Bionicle collection and sold them on eBay telling me "You're too old for those now!". It was very upsetting for me but I just went along with it because it's not like I had a choice in the matter. However after my little brother was born and got to the right age for Legos my father got him a bunch of Legos and he gradually got more sets as gifts over the years. Anyways it was deemed acceptable for me to play Legos with my little brother because "Well it's just the older sibling playing with the younger, so that's fine."

Cut back to the present day and I recently, as in a few months ago, thought "You know what I'm still fond of Legos even as an adult, I think I'll get myself some!" and so I went and got some for myself and I even intend to get more as well. However I can't shake those thoughts on it not being right to play with my new Legos since I'm an adult now and I'm not playing with them alongside a child.
I guess what I'm trying to get at here with all this is to hear from the community here on if it's okay for me to play with Legos still as an adult or if that's weird and not right to do? Should I just ignore those thoughts that it's not right for me to play with Legos or should those thoughts actually be listened to?
 
Lego is meant to be played with, that's what it's for.

For years now I've been playing a video game that's very much like Minecraft, except it's free and you don't have to play online. It's a building blocks game, computer Lego. It's the most peaceful, relaxing and satisfying game I've ever played, no aims or goals, just play around and build stuff. And far more blocks than my Mum could ever afford when I was a kid. :)
 
Collecting and building Lego can be a hobby in adults, but if you play with them is up to you. I understand how you feel though, it's not unusual to feel silly playing with things like that when you're an adult, although in reality it's not silly at all really, it's just what society tells us. It's also what psychology teaches us, that the reason why adults don't play is because it's due to the mind maturing, causing most of us to not want to play. But I think all adults get that urge to play sometimes, just nobody will admit it. But who knows what people do in their own homes?

Playing with toys or hobbies isn't as freaky as adult babies babbling away and pooping in a diaper even though they're fully capable and not got an illness or a developmental disability. I've seen videos of that on YouTube and it's like watching a cat bark. But I've watched adults play with toys on YouTube, but not like a baby, and it's nowhere near as freaky.
 
I remember when I was 12 I said to my mum that the following summer I was going to have a picnic in the new little wooden shed in our backyard with all my teddies. My mum said that I'd be a teenager then and asked if I'd feel embarrassed. I'd never really thought of that until she said, and then I suddenly did feel embarrassed. So I just mumbled "yeah, probably", and never did do the picnic with the teddies.
I think it's hard when you're 12-13 because you're still a child, your mind is still maturing, you're still learning, you're still too young to do a lot of things adults can, yet you're too old to play.

Judge said:
My brother discovered Legos a few years ago.

He's 73.
Click to expand...
I don't think society judges elderly people playing with toys as much.
 
Look at this:

Screenshot 2023-12-15 152841.jpg


One of the most well known modern board games, "Zombicide". Giant boards and about 5 bazillion plastic zombie figures. The entire hobby LOVES plastic figures, usually referred to as miniatures, or minis. And yes, I took that photo myself.

Kinda looks like toys, yeah? This hobby is primarily enjoyed by adults (as many modern board games are a bit too complex for young children). People get into these. And I mean like, they REALLY get into these. There are entire Youtube channels also that do things like just have playthroughs of different games or stuff like that.

And any theme you could imagine, someone has probably made into a board game. Whether it's serious, goofy, or both at the same time.

Did I mention this is for adults?

Seriously, your lego hobby is fine. Just play with the blasted bricks as you want to.

And if someone else says it's childish, well, you know what, let them go back to their sad existence of just watching sports or politics on TV all day. You keep doing fun stuff, and heck if others dont like it. You make your own decisions instead of letting others do it for you. To me, THAT is maturity.
 
Thanks to everyone who's responded so far.

What I'm hearing is that it'd be okay if I roleplayed little scenarios with my Legos despite being an adult?
Seeing as that's what I had in mind, like playing with that off brand Lego Garden Hotel set and having the little Lego people check into the hotel and eat at the cafe and stuff.

I mean that's what I was tempted to do after building it but w little voice inside my head said "But you're an adult, you can't play with them!", but perhaps that's just my father's voice interjecting. Darn him!

I know nowadays they actually have sets marketed towards adults but those are super pricy, heck all Lego seems to be nowadays unfortunately but I guess that's inflation for you right?

But ya I wasn't sure if when it comes to adults with Lego if all that's societally permitted is to collect, build, and display Lego not play with Lego unless you're playing it with your kid.
 
Misery said:
Look at this:

View attachment 122450

One of the most well known modern board games, "Zombicide". Giant boards and about 5 bazillion plastic zombie figures. The entire hobby LOVES plastic figures, usually referred to as miniatures, or minis. And yes, I took that photo myself.

Kinda looks like toys, yeah? This hobby is primarily enjoyed by adults (as many modern board games are a bit too complex for young children). People get into these. And I mean like, they REALLY get into these. There are entire Youtube channels also that do things like just have playthroughs of different games or stuff like that.

And any theme you could imagine, someone has probably made into a board game. Whether it's serious, goofy, or both at the same time.

Did I mention this is for adults?

Seriously, your lego hobby is fine. Just play with the blasted bricks as you want to.

And if someone else says it's childish, well, you know what, let them go back to their sad existence of just watching sports or politics on TV all day. You keep doing fun stuff, and heck if others dont like it. You make your own decisions instead of letting others do it for you. To me, THAT is maturity.
Click to expand...

Ya I've seen and heard about that. Actually kinda wanted to try and get into D&D which does a lot of that stuff too but I sadly never could get into it because I got nobody to play with.
 
Misty Avich said:
I remember when I was 12 I said to my mum that the following summer I was going to have a picnic in the new little wooden shed in our backyard with all my teddies. My mum said that I'd be a teenager then and asked if I'd feel embarrassed. I'd never really thought of that until she said, and then I suddenly did feel embarrassed. So I just mumbled "yeah, probably", and never did do the picnic with the teddies.
I think it's hard when you're 12-13 because you're still a child, your mind is still maturing, you're still learning, you're still too young to do a lot of things adults can, yet you're too old to play.


I don't think society judges elderly people playing with toys as much.
Click to expand...
They aren't "toys" to him. They're sophisticated puzzles. Once assembled to be appreciated as abstract models.
 
FoxLovinPat said:
However I haven't been able to bring myself to actually play with them after I built them, I just kinda displayed them. Is it actually okay for adults to play with Legos outside of playing them with little kids? Or is there something seriously wrong with a grown adult building and playing with Legos? Thoughts like that are what have kept me from actually playing with my sets.
Click to expand...
If you like playing with lego, then go ahead, that is not wrong. It is common for adults to build/collecting many kinds of models like, cars, ships, planes, trains, and they don't just build them - they play with them, not only things made of Lego, but also scale models, - go to any hobby store, and you will see the majority shopping there are adults :)
 
Misty Avich said:
I don't think society judges elderly people playing with toys as much.
Click to expand...
To quote your own post- Toys. :oops:

Frankly though given Legos corporate income, I don't think they care who thinks what as long as demand for their products remains where it is. Wildly popular product, whatever people may call them.

Besides, finding a newer market with much older enthusiasts with disposable income seems like a slick marketing decision. However they are absurdly expensive...but then this somewhat parallels the plastic model industry, marketing shifted to better, more sophisticated products for adults more than children.

I've gotten one for my brother for Christmas last year....couldn't believe how intricate they can be.
 
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Legos are for adults, too. Both my boys, nearly 30, still create with Lego bricks. My youngest actually uses a CAD program to create replicas of his own real life train locomotive designs, then sells them around the world to corporate employees. He is a design engineer for a locomotive manufacturer. My other son is into building those giant Star Wars ships. Then there are creations like this.
 
Judge said:
To quote your own post- Toys. :oops:
Click to expand...
Oh right, sorry, I forgot about that last little part of my post. I just meant if your grandfather did decide to play with them it seems more appropriate (as a social construct point of view, not mine) for elderly people.
 
Misty Avich said:
Oh right, sorry, I forgot about that last little part of my post. I just meant if your grandfather did decide to play with them it seems more appropriate (as a social construct point of view, not mine) for elderly people.
Click to expand...
MY grandfather? I'm old enough to be a grandfather! :p

But getting back to the serious side of this, I don't think you're familiar with the present products line. They're making some kits that are closer to scale models in complexity. Not necessarily with the intention of playing with them, but simply to display them.

One I sent my brother had many parts. More than a small kid would tolerate.
 
Judge said:
MY grandfather? I'm old enough to be a grandfather! :p

But getting back to the serious side of this, I don't think you're familiar with the present products line. They're making some kits that are closer to scale models in complexity. Not necessarily with the intention of playing with them, but simply to display them.

One I sent my brother had around 600 parts.
Click to expand...
Yep
They have Lego flower bouquet sets now, and a Lego Bonsai Tree, and a working Lego piano (dunno if it necessarily plays music or if working just means the keys work). The adult sets are crazy intricate but also crazy expensive x.x

Also technically they've had sets more for display for a long while now, mostly thinking of the UCS Star Wars sets.
 
Yeah- The one big caveat. "Crazy expensive". :eek:

That's what I've been sending my brother. He's keen on anything Star Wars. Especially the Darth Vader and Imperial Trooper busts.
 
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