Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #447 in Toys & Games
• Brand: LEGO UK Limited
• Model: 3841
• Released on: 2009-08-11
• Dimensions: 2.64" h x 10.71" w x 11.34" l, 1.23 pounds

Manufacturer's Description
The mighty Minotaur, a mythical creature, protects a secret temple hidden deep inside a labyrinth. Be the first to lead your heroes to the temple, avoiding the Minotaur and cleverly placing walls to block your opponents. Clear and simple rules make this game great fun for the whole family.

How to Play LEGO Games
Build: the basic game layout using the included building instructions--there is a maze template to help with this. Play: depending on length of game desired, try to get either one or all of your knights to the centre of the maze. Watch out--your opponents can block you using the blocking walls and they can send in the minotaur (who can move 8 spaces in one go). If the minotaur reaches you, your knight will need to go back to the beginning again. Change: the number of spaces the minotaur can move, the layout of the maze and more.

Box Contains

Customer Reviews

Creative and versatile fun!
Aimed at the 7+ age group, you start by building the game board. The building was enjoyable - particularly for those children who already enjoy playing with lego. The instructions are clear, and easy to follow. My 6 year was able to follow the instructions with minimal prompting. With two children doing it - it's also a good exercise in cooperative play. It's surprising how others quickly wanted to join in as soon as the building began! The white card guide for where to put the "hedges" was really useful, and made the building of the labyrinth very straightforward. On an educational front the children practice fine motor movement, number and shape skills, and symmetry.
The Minotaur was a bit harder to build, and some strength was required to get the lego rod inside the Minotaur. But that was a minor niggle - once built, the Minotaur never needs to be dismantled, and is such a central piece, that it's probably an advantage that it's unlikely to break up.
The game took my kids half an hour to build. I typed up some of the comments they made while building: "It says put these flat bits on top of the stones", "It says we've got to build the hedges in the gaps", and, "This board game really is clever".

As you would expect from a lego game, there is room for plenty of creativity. You can design your own labyrinths, rather than relying on the suggested layout. You can alter the rules - or mix and match the entire set with other lego. If you have any other baseplates and some general lego to raise the second base plate above the first, then it would be relatively easy to make a two or even three level version. The only limit would be the imagination. The other aspect I really like - is that it wouldn't be a disaster if some of the parts got lost. The game would still be playable. Besides - you can always cannabalise other lego as replacements.

The rules of the game are simple, and easy to pick up. And yet the game is remarkably fun. It's a bit like Ludo, but far more fun to play. The object is to get at least one of your pieces to the centre. Players shake a dice, for a number 3,4,5,6 or a grey square to be able to move a wall to block an opponent's route, or a black square to be able to move the Minotaur 8 squares. The Minotaur can land on player's pieces, sending them back to the start. Different strategies start to come out, do you block an opponent - or block the Minotaur? Do you try to persuade other players to help you? A simple game can take 5 to 10 minutes. If your aim is to get 3 pieces into the centre, it can take longer.

I would strongly recommend this. It's a great board game, particularly for creative children. It's so versatile, that it's probably one of the best board game options around for 7-11 year olds. Not only can they play the game as it is, but the possibilities to mix with other lego could lead to endless ideas. My three spent a good couple of hours with it as soon as it came out of the box, rating it 10/10 - and are nagging at me to play again as I type!

Excellent, a surprise winner!
We really did wonder what our 6 year old daughter (who hadn't shown much interest in Lego) would make of this. So, with low expectations, we opened the box.

The instruction book (coloured, easy to follow graphics)was grabbed by our duaghter and , much to our surprise, she thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of assembling the game. Helped by a template, it really was fun for her to 'build' her own game. And then the actual game itself was enjoyed so much that she wanted to play it again...and again....and again!Simple to play but enjoyed also by adults.

The stiff cardboard box is sized to allow the game to be stored intact and, as Lego say, you can vary the game yourself at will to refresh it when it becomes too familiar. Finally, Lego have included some spare parts and the instructions also give part numbers should you ever need replacements.....sensible touch.

So, a very big thumbs up for this game. So much so that we are investigating getting another one for her birthday!

Great idea but needs time and patience
The concept of Lego as an arena for a games collection seems very clever indeed. Lego has surely travelled many light years since the red two-er and three-ers bricks and roof tiles that I played happily with in the sixties. And at least all the bricks and bits to make this game can be safely stored in the robust and attractive box that they come in - hopefully not getting all muddled up in a huge plastic container of a thousand pieces there were once specific items with their instructions lost, as is more usual.

Sorting out this game demands a certain degree of patience and attention to detail so I think that the age range guide is very important. 7+ is recommended for this game. Like a computer game but in 3D the idea of this Minotaurus/Labyrinthine layout will appeal to the children of today who are used to such challenges as beating others to the secret temple and the progress of the heroes around the board. I wonder if these lego games might take off to the extent that war games did years ago - this game is certainly flexible - within the range of the game - and allows the use of imagination. There will a fuss around the home if any bits are lost or hoovered up though as they all seem to be important (and tiny).

I can see that building the game board labyrinth in the first place helps you to get used to the set up. It will take some time to get ready and so is better suited to a child with patience and the ability to apply themselves to a fairly complex task in a calm and obedient way. As a Christmas gift it might be better left under the tree until Boxing Day when there isn't such a frantic atmosphere.

As an adult I found it all fiddly, complicated and demanding to contemplate but I can see that a seven plus year old child could really get involved. So the best review is going to come from one of those! My guinea pig grandson is only five, he knew all bout this game already, from tv I think. He needed tactful direction when making the board up as he was trying to do it his own way and you can't skip steps or do things in a different order, you have to follow the picture directions or the set up won't work. Because it is complicated beyond his years we must work out a way of playing it that is acceptable to him. And of course he will have to win or there will be trouble!