Review: 21188 The Llama Village
Posted by Huw,To the bewilderment of many AFOLs, the Minecraft theme is still going strong eight years after its launch. Although the sets may not hold much appeal to adults, it's a different matter for young fans of the video game.
For that reason I've asked my cycling friend's son William, aged 8, to take a look at the largest set from the theme released this year, the 1,252-piece 21188 The Llama Village.
Summary
21188 The Llama Village, 1,252 pieces.
£114.99 / $129.99 / €129.99 | 9.2p/10.4c/10.4c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
Lots of working parts and special Minecraft pieces
- Excellent play value for Minecraft fans
- New characters and animals
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Box and instructions
Images on the box were really good, and showed all the characters that were included in this set.
The instruction booklet was easy to follow, and it took me four and a half hours to build.
Minifigs and animals
Six figures and three animals are provided.
Blacksmith and Savannah villager, who both are working in the stores that surround the village
Pillagers, these are the bad people, and you can tell who is the boss as he has a board above his head!
Vindicator, which I think appear in the American version of Minecraft. In the UK they are called Pillagers.
Llama herder with a shovel to help get the food out of the ground and llama Knight who has a sword.
There are two llamas, whose faces are so cute, and make them so realistic, and a baby sheep, which is pink, but it is so special in Minecraft!
The llama
The Llama Village is fun, as it is easy to take the legs off, and that changes how you can play with it, as well as the top of the Llama’s back comes off and that is where you can see all the great features of the Village.
There are lots of realistic features inside.
Minecraft map and compass - this is very important as it is used in Minecraft to find other people who are playing on the game.
Bookshelf - this is so realistic.
Beds - the colours are just the same as in the Minecraft game.
Secret door - opens up to reveal a great way to escape.
It is brilliant that the Llama spits out bricks by pulling the red lever on its neck.
I attached the stores and stables to the base of the llama, so they were fixed in a place, rather than in the instructions where they were free standing, but I prefer them fixed in place.
There are lots of different parts to this village, including the stable, the flowers and the bell to ring. I named my Llama ”Jimmy”, and I just love playing with all the characters and spitting out the bricks!
In my opinion it's a great LEGO set!
Thanks William! You can read his thoughts on another of this year's Minecraft sets, 21187 The Red Barn, here.
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38 comments on this article
I can enjoy playing Ms PAC Man one day and Minecraft the next.
Gaming is for every age. Great review!
Are the face prints of the llama herder and llama knight a little bit not aligning well? Anyway, who cares? Only care about llamas, cute llamas. ^v^ Llamas are all that I see.
This is just fugly from my POV. But hey, if it works fot others, by all means.
It looks like the finale of a horror film
"Come, it is time to keep your appointment with the Wicker Llama"
Minecraft is 10 years old, so at this point there’s plenty of adults who love it. Microsoft buying it for over 2 Billion is apparently paying off, as it seems to be as popular as ever.
Delightful review!
If I'm not mistaken, Vindicators and Pillagers are not actually different names for the same mob. Vindicators are the ones with the (Deadly!) axes, while Pillagers are the ones with the (less scary) crossbows.
"Vindicator, which I think appear in the American version of Minecraft. In the UK they are called Pillagers."
Calling the axe-wielding illagers vindicators is not just an American thing. Pillagers are a separate mob; they have different clothes, different spawn conditions, and crossbows. No offense intended.
Yes! One of my all-time wanted sets finally gets a review! (hopefully I'll get it soon)
I loved reading that! Always nice to get a different perspective on a set.
Delightful to see another LEGO Minecraft review here! I'm equally surprised to see the theme going strong all these years later, but there's a lot of passion behind the theme from the design team. As others have mentioned, there is something very classic about LEGO Minecraft - simple construction, bright, big colorful bricks, and no stickers in sight. These sets obviously prioritize fun over aesthetics, but I think that's a good thing and is going to shape a lot of great memories for younger builders. Thanks again for the review, William!
@CCC said:
"It's incredible this theme is still going strong. I never thought the micrscale ones would sell, and same with these minifigure based sets, especially when the general impression was that Minecraft as a game was on a decline. But clearly there is a market for them.
"
I believe Minecraft as a game is in much of an evergreen status much like how Lego's own City or Ninjago lines have become... yes there will always BE games more popular than Minecraft, but Minecraft is always there and its kid friendly-ness is attractive especially since some of the kids playing it now might actually be the young children of millennials who discovered Minecraft in High School or College ten years ago when the game was new. Much like Mario or even say Tetris, it has the benefit of having been on the market long enough some parents were fans of the game before their kids were. And since Microsoft bought out the brand, they are certainly committed to keeping it in the public eye, even if on the periphery.
The Lego sets never really dragged me in, and I have only bought some cheap ones just for the Steve and Creeper minifigures (just to say I had one). But I have a young cousin who is a fanatic for this stuff, and Lego Minecraft IS his favorite theme and has been for 5-6 years of so running now. So when I picture who these sets are for he is the exact demographic Lego is aiming for.
A really excellent review. Well done, William!
Adorable review!
"To the bewilderment of many AFOLs"
Huh? That's a very strange comment. Minecraft is the bestselling video game of all time at 238 million units, still constantly played by streamers, and perfectly suited for Lego. I don't see any reason to question its appeal or longevity, even as someone who personally isn't interested in the theme or the game.
This set is both so very Lego and so very un-Lego in these modern times. I am always bewildered, that some Lego-fans need this game to play with Lego as it was intend back in the day... minus the Zombies, I guess. Too bad I am not into Llama-houses... :D
130 € for a set that looks like a 4-year old child creation made with whatever pieces he had in his room?
@Robot99 said:
"Adorable review!
"To the bewilderment of many AFOLs"
Huh? That's a very strange comment. Minecraft is the bestselling video game of all time at 238 million units, still constantly played by streamers, and perfectly suited for Lego. I don't see any reason to question its appeal or longevity, even as someone who personally isn't interested in the theme or the game."
Alright, I'll play the role of the bewildered AFOL. First of all, let's clear this up: no one is bewildered of the success of Minecraft (the videogame). AFOL might be bewildered that people keeps on buying the Lego Minecraft sets for one simple reason: once you have the main characters, it is very easy to get the basic parts to build just about any scenery you may want to create either digitally or in blocks. It seems that Lego has managed to keep itself relevant in that environment by releasing new elements (animals, equipment, etc) every so often to keep the range interesting for fans. I have next to no interest in that theme even though I find the game quite enjoyable but if it pleases a group of people and it is profitable for Lego and MSFT then it's all good (I think some Lego Minecraft heads have been used for texture in one Modular building 10278).
@Robot99 said:
"Adorable review!
"To the bewilderment of many AFOLs"
Huh? That's a very strange comment. Minecraft is the bestselling video game of all time at 238 million units, still constantly played by streamers, and perfectly suited for Lego. I don't see any reason to question its appeal or longevity, even as someone who personally isn't interested in the theme or the game."
That’s apples to oranges though, comparing the success of a video game to that of a Lego set. I think many AFOL’s have scoffed at these sets in the past.
This set is simply amazing! But I must admit I am still bothered by villagers/illagerseyes being "pixel" too high.
The bewilderment of AFOLs simply doesn't matter, since clearly the LEGO theme is enough of a hit with kids to have endured as it has. Maybe these reviews aren't quite on-target for the majority of the readerbase and they may not care about the theme, but adults not caring isn't really relevant.
“Tina you fat lard...come get some dinner!”
Which one is Napoleon?
In my retail store, Lego Minecraft are 4th bestselling theme (behind Star Wars, Technic, Speed Champions), way outselling supposed top lines of City, Ninjago, HP (which has died a long slow death). So no surpise it's still going strong
@TomKazutara said:
"" To the bewilderment of many AFOLs, the Minecraft theme is still going strong ... "
Minecraft is theme with basic bricks and a lot of possibilities to easily combine or rebuild sets .
It still provide the Lego core idea, unlike many other themes .
Also, Minecraft is over 10 years old by now and still beloved by many, and most of them are adults by now .
Plus the only Lego Licensed themes without stickers .
This is basically an AFOL dream .
I would like to hear from AFOLs who are bewildered be this ."
Completely agree. And I'm not even a fan of the Minecraft game. My daughters are though.
I find it funny that kids nowadays still like to play a game the graphics of which look like they came straight from a 90s game console. I myself have Commodore 64 games that look more appealing to me - and with better game play too.
But there has to be a certain appeal.
Same when it comes to the Minecraft LEGO sets. They might not look as pretty or as sophisticated as say a Modular, or a Ninjago set, but I still have several, and just recently have bought this very set for 75 Euro on Amazon. What a deal.
I usually build them once, just for the fun of it, and then use them as parts packs. There's no easier (and cheaper) way to get plenty of basic plates and bricks in useful colours in large quantities. Plus, Minecraft is the perfect fit for LEGO in terms of source material anyway. Blocky designs that even in the actual game already look as if they are made out of LEGO bricks.
OK, I'll rephrase, "To my bewilderment" :-)
Just here to say that this set looks fun and it seems William had a blast playing with it, and from one Minecraft-loving AFOL to a Minecraft-loving KFOL, I wish him all the best in all of his survival and creative worlds.
Back at it again, William with another great review!
Love it! Keep going, kid.
I'm loving the location of that exit door. Gives a whole no meaning to "evacuate."
@HOBBES: A Minecraft head was also use as the cosmic cube in 76201 (which is the only time it's actually been cubical) and as a lampshade in 21324. Lego's getting some uses out of that piece.
I really adore this set. It was my must have from the Minecraft line for the year as it goes so well with the other mob buildings they have put out in the past few years.
I find myself building up Minecraft layouts in Lego more than I do in the game. I think I really enjoy the simplicity and the “getting back to basics” vibe that the sets offer. Since it’s mostly bricks on bricks construction with no stickers, it’s great therapy as a stressed out working adult/parent. The sets are also easy to expand upon with basic parts and you don’t need a huge collection to get a lot out of it. I think that’s a big draw to a lot of builders who enjoy the subject matter.
@Huw said:
"OK, I'll rephrase, "To my bewilderment" :-)"
I must admit, I too am bewildered… Not at the game’s success, but that LEGO Minecraft sets are a success… The reason for this, is that Minecraft is a game in which you build creatively to your hearts content… So surely the closest thing to that is just a pile of bricks?
Okay, cool, the minifigures, but otherwise?
Hey, I’m pleased that this theme seems to have such a big audience and success though, with so many AFOL targeted sets these days, it’s hard to know which to pick- so I definitely don’t need another theme to compete for my money!
I need that pink sheep, not forking over that much for it, though, I'll just buy him seperately.
I seem to be an exception among AFOLs, but I love this set! Didn't buy it though, I built it from parts in my collection (got the small set that had llama's in it on discount). Replaced the blue with purple, because I like it better. Lovely whimsical set, still makes me smile when I look at it. Nice surprise to see a review of it!
My AFOL amusement is who is the mystery sector actually buying theses sets; kids usually buy the big themes like Harry Potter, Star Wars etc., Adults already have too many 'big value' sets to choose from. Teenage game fanatics are usually too busy gaming and see building as last century, which leaves tie-in fan groups but they usually move onto the next new tie-in theme. So still selling after 10 years is amazing, especially as more obscure settings rather than the original mine, waterfall sets etc.
From a design standpoint the Minecraft sets do not appeal to me. But these are the best sets to get standard bricks and plates. In this particular set the sheer number of standard white 2x2 and 2x4 bricks and other bricks in useful colors is fantastic, especially considering the lack of a dedicated standard brick only-boxset. When I play with my nephew and niece, they need standard bricks. How else should they build a big wall or house? With special-parts from Spiderman-Mechs? No. They need normal bricks. I wonder what percentage of buyers are people only interested in the bricks itself instead of the set and what percentage are actually Bricklink re-sellers.
Thanks for the expert review! I've got an 8 year old son and this helps explain his fascination with minecraft lego. This review convinced me that this set will make a great Christmas present. Thanks!
I initially got into Minecraft (during its beta) precisely because it reminded me of Lego. I was a big Lego fan as a child and Minecraft launched in the middle of my dark age. The connection seems natural to me and I can totally see how an interest might also develop in the opposite direction (i.e., from Minecraft to Lego), given that digital games appear to be the primary source of entertainment for the children of today. Minecraft sets also work as good "parts sets" for people who may be off-put by the stark colors of Lego's Classic line and have no access to a store that sells parts separately.
P.S.: I love how the lama is featured on the lower-right corner of the box, as if it's a character. :D
I wasn't at all interested in the microscale Minecraft or the initial minifig-sized sets, but I admit the animals are very well-done and the most recent sets, often incorporating a super-sized version of the featured animal, look increasingly fun to build and even display! Thank you for the great review, William!
@TomKazutara said:
"" To the bewilderment of many AFOLs, the Minecraft theme is still going strong ... "
Minecraft is theme with basic bricks and a lot of possibilities to easily combine or rebuild sets .
It still provide the Lego core idea, unlike many other themes .
Also, Minecraft is over 10 years old by now and still beloved by many, and most of them are adults by now .
Plus the only Lego Licensed themes without stickers .
This is basically an AFOL dream .
I would like to hear from AFOLs who are bewildered be this ."
I am absolutely bewildered by this. I believe everything you wrote to be true but to me Minecraft always seemed/seems to be Lego at the most basic level. See "Vintage Set of the Day". That's Minecraft. I guess I just dont understand why people would buy kids a set designed specifically to create something that looks like it's made from random basic bricks and their imagination. Instead of expanding their own minds they're mimicking another and considering it "realistic" because the colors match. I appreciate that the child was having fun but I couldn't help but think about how codified the world is becoming and genuine imagination in play is being lost.
I haven't played Minecraft in since 2014-15 (I don't think Llamas were even a thing back then), but I think this set just looks fantastic.
@alegrippa said:
"I haven't played Minecraft in since 2014-15 (I don't think Llamas were even a thing back then), but I think this set just looks fantastic."
Have been for over 40 million years. ;)