Why is Lego still so popular?

Lego has been a feature of many children’s toy boxes for many years and more than a few parents have discovered how painful it can be to step on a stray brick. But why has such a simple toy lasted so long?

Today Lego sets come in many different types, as well as just the standard big box of bricks. You can now get Star Wars and City sets, to mention just a few, and that’s probably the first reason this toy has managed to stay at the top of its game.

Lego was first made in 1949 and the now famous interlocking bricks were originally called “Self-Binding Blocks”. The first bricks were not very versatile and did not fit very well. The modern brick style was first produced in 1958 and the basic design of interlocking bricks hasn’t changed since.

Even though the toy is now over 50 years old, Lego has managed to keep the brand fresh and relevant by keeping up. Many of the sets for sale today are branded from movies, such as Star Wars or Batman. So while the unassuming little plastic bricks will no doubt end up loose in the toy box like they always have, they begin life as part of an exciting, up-to-date action figure set.

Unlike regular action figure sets, however, the bricks can be used to create anything. So while a Harry Potter figure might be discarded once wizards aren’t cool anymore, a Harry Potter Lego set can still transform into Power Rangers, Transformers, or whatever else is popular at the time.

In fact, most instructions for sets are probably lost forever after the first build. After that, a child’s imagination begins to run free and he begins to create his own robots, spaceships and jet planes. And of course, parents are just waiting for an excuse to sit on the mat and lend a hand with construction projects, too.

Today, Lego is a multi-billion dollar company spanning theme parks, retail stores and movies like the recently released The Lego Batman Movie. All of which helps keep the building blocks modern and relevant.

The other thing that helps Lego stay relevant is that it’s not a toy for boys or girls. Those little plastic blocks will work just as well as a dollhouse as a fortress or a tank. These blocks are also durable, so they can be passed down from one child to the next, or even from one generation to the next.

Best of all, you can spend hours creating a masterpiece, then tear it apart and start over. There’s no messing around with glue or paint and each piece can be reused on another model.

So why is Lego still so popular? Because a set can start as one thing and then turn into anything your imagination comes up with. While the sets may have gotten more complex and the figurines more detailed, Lego’s basic premise is that you can put it together however you want, over and over again. Who could get bored with that?