In my opinion, this is the best Minecraft Lego set you can buy!

This playset is probably one of the best in the Minecraft series, since it allows for some imagination.

It is often said that Minecraft is the Lego for this generation. Personally, I think that implies that Lego have been replaced by Minecraft. But the Lego Minecraft series is here to prove that Lego and Minecraft are a match made in heaven, since they kind of have the same basic foundation of building a world one block at a time.

Lego Minecraft Crafting Box - Review

The first three playsets in this series, The First Night, The Farm and The Cave, give you some of the building possibilities you can find in a Minecraft “Survival game mode”. If that’s true, "Creative mode" comes alive in this set, LEGO Minecraft 21116 Crafting Box. Just like in Minecraft where you can create your own world, the Crafting Box allows kids to be able to make their own habitats for Steve or follow the instructions booklet (with eight pre-set options). This set is like the Lego of old where it was about using your imagination to build and create.

The Crafting Box playset is useful in several ways. Maybe you bought one of the other playsets, and once you built them as per instructions, you don't particularly want to disassemble them. This is where the Crafting Box comes in: it perfectly allows for MOCs (My Own Creations) - and just as perfectly compliments and extends any other sets.

It has a huge assortment of pieces (521 pieces), including some that are not in the other Minecraft Lego sets. The minifigures are Steve, a Skeleton, and a very neat Mooshroom (which is so far, exclusive to this playset). There are torches, some plants, carrot, mature wheat, a “diamond” pickaxe, skeleton’s bow, and pieces to make a furnace, Redstone and lapis lazuli ores, and TNT. Also, you can make fences, lava and water flows with the pieces included.

The playset comes with an instruction booklet with 8 different building options. Being able to make eight different models will keep people entertained and happy. But the real beauty of the set is that there are enough pieces that you don't need to follow the directions and you can come up with some really neat builds, everything from a tiny carrot and wheat farm, caves and scenes from nature to different buildings and houses.

There are two instruction books that come with the set. The first shows you how to put together all of the smaller components of the set (everything from the torches to the different parts of the buildings) and the second book shows you how you can combine those to make 8 different scenes. There are idea pages after that with different scenes you could build, but no instructions to those. Younger children will need help putting these together.

Hint: I recommend the purchase of a large building plate along this playset if you don't have a few lying around. It has made a huge difference for free building as well as setting up a scene from the instructions and being able to move it around.

In my opinion, this is the best Minecraft Lego set you can buy! My recommendation would be to purchase one of the other sets we already reviewed in addition to the Crafting Box, because by itself the set is missing some mobs that really complete the Minecraft look (mainly the Creeper). Personally I would recommend getting The Farm or The First Night in addition to this set. Or, if possible, you may instead choose to spend the money on a total of three Crafting Box sets, which when combined with the First Night, The Farm and The Cave will exponentially increase the building possibilities to the point where they will nearly rival the "real" Minecraft, i.e. the video game. I just love the versatility of this set!

Having a background in Minecraft will probably make this more relatable to kids, but even without knowing what Minecraft is, I really think this would be a set that will be fun for a long time for anyone. Hours of fun!

All in all, this is a great selection of Lego at a great value.

Steve was satisfied at the end of the day. He had built a fence for the pig, found enough wool to make a bed, and now had its own furnace to cook. He took the early hours to make even some glass panels, using the oven and some sand he found.

Although it was built in a hurry, the shelter also left Steve satisfied. The walls were stone, and the ceiling was a ledge of dirt and grass that Steve built underneath, to save time and resources.There was even a tree up there.

Steve looked at everything he had built and was proud of himself, because he had done it all using only wooden tools.

He looked out the window he had made with the glass, and saw the pig out there in the fence. The sun was setting. Soon it was dark out there.

Something suddenly appeared at the window and Steve took a big scare, falling back on the bed. A creeper!

The creeper stood looking out the window with his empty eyes, obsessively looking for any gap to get into the shelter and blow it up! But Steve was safe there, for he had made a wooden door, which would be enough to keep the creeper out.

Steve would be safe while locked inside. He ignored the ugly creeper face and lay on the bed. Soon the creature disappeared from Steve views, and then he slept ...

The other day, Steve looked back through the glass panels. Everything seemed calm out there. The pig was still in his fence. There was no sign of creeper.

Steve opened his chest and grabbed his wooden sword.

He opened the door and stepped outside. He looked around and saw no mob other than the pig.

Steve had confidence enough to get away from home for a few steps.

And suddenly he heard behind him a hiss ...

HISSSSSS ....

He quickly turned back and came across the horrible creeper face ...

BOOM !!!

Lego Minecraft The First Night is fun and engaging. Combine this with The Cave and The Farm and we have endless play possibilities. The sets can be seamlessly combined. Add the Crafting Box and you will have a substantial scenario to create many stories, just like the one above. This box has 408 assorted LEGO pieces, much more than the two previous playsets, The Cave and The Farm. It includes “wooden” pickaxe and axe, a bread,  and pieces to build a fence, bed, furnace, crafting table, chest, plants and a tree, and the shelter. The characters included are Steve, a Creeper and a Pig.

Lego Minecraft The First Night Playset - Review

This set is really nice! The shelter is hinged, allowing that you interact with Steve without having to remove any piece. We can also build a fence to place the pig, and a tree, making a nice outside area too. The bed, crafting table, furnace, chest, wall mount for the tools or weapons are great interior details, just like how it will be in the game.

We can even make Steve sit on the pig. But taking him off will remove some of his back parts, but you can easily fix this by putting a 2 by 2 Lego panel on his back to act as a saddle.

The only complaint for this playset is about the Creeper. His legs are stuck in a walking mode. It would be great if his legs were articulated. This is a weird design for a Lego minifigure, equivalent to “glued” pieces, something that Lego company is vocally against, if we can trust the Lego movie.

Nonetheless, this is the first set in the series containing the Creeper. You can get another Creeper in the Snow Hideout, a playset similarly priced. But If you can get just one of these Lego Minecraft playsets, this is the one you should get. There are many great parts such as the transparent bricks, weapons, the pig, and not forgetting the Creeper itself, the most iconic of Minecraft mobs.

The booklet included gives you different options to build this set. But as with all the other Lego Minecraft playsets, the real fun is to use your own imagination, and create your own Minecraft world.

Overall, for all these reasons and the decent amount of pieces, I think this is a good set for the money.

Steve got up early, grabbed a shovel and with the first rays of sun, went to check on his crop.

    Most of the wheat was ripe, but some were still green. He picked a carrot, looked to the side and had a nice surprise to see how much his pumpkin had grown in recent days.

    When harvesting wheat to take his shelter, he noticed he was being followed by the cow and the sheep. It was then that Steve saw the fence gate was open!

    He picked up a sheaf of wheat and attracted the cow and the sheep to the pen, but he felt a sudden pain. He had been shot with an arrow! It could have been a skeleton, but Steve knew skeletons did not appear during the day.

    He immediately dropped the carrot, wheat and shovel on the ground, and searched for the origin of the arrow.

    And there it was, under a eucalyptus tree, a skeleton armed  with bow and arrow.

    Surely this enemy had appeared overnight and now sheltered from the sun under the shade of eucalyptus.

    Steve took advantage of the fact that the skeleton could not follow him and ran toward the shelter ...

The short story above is just one example of the many stories that your children can create with this Lego Minecraft The Farm playset. This set comes with our well-known friend Steve, a "wood" shovel for Steve, one Skeleton (and a bow), one Cow, one Sheep, a treasure chest, a pumpkin head, a pair of torches, one crafting table, green and ripe wheat, carrots, bread, and pieces to assemble sugar canes, a eucalyptus tree, a fence with hinged door and translucent and opaque blue pieces to build the water or maybe a small waterfall. This set have a total of 262 pieces, a little more than the whole Lego Minecraft The Cave Playset.

And by the way, Lego Minecraft The Farm is a perfect complement to The Cave Playset. Personally, I recommend that if possible, you start with The Cave and then buy The Farm. Incidentally, all sets of Lego Minecraft combine seamlessly, and all together can form a big, "off screen" Minecraft world,  as if they were a single toy! Another set that complements The Farm very well  is Lego Minecraft The First Night. With these three sets, you can follow the natural order of the game: Steve builds a shelter, and then go out to explore a cave and start a plantation. Then you can proceed to more complex sets, like The Dungeon or The Snow Hideout.

Lego Minecraft The Farm Playset - Review

As with all Lego boxes, this set comes with a booklet showing different ways to build the scenario. But surely, the most interesting way to play, as in a legit game of Minecraft, is to use the Lego pieces to create your own scenarios.

Of course, the set does not come with as many pieces as we would like. It is not possible, for example, to build a dirt shelter for Steve. But I believe this is precisely the purpose of this series: launch the sets with the minimum pieces needed to assemble the proposed scenario. Even because, the more pieces int the box, the higher the price.

Surely it would be nice if this set came with a pig or at least a chicken. And potatoes! It would be the perfect farm!


But nevertheless, I quite recommend the product, it is one of the most versatile sets of the series and it comes with a nice variety of characters (Steve, Skeleton, Cow and Sheep).


Another cool detail is that the pumpkin can be used as a helmet, just like in the game!

After building a safe and comfortable shelter, and a thriving farm, Steve needed new challenges. He needed to go to the Nether! There he would find the real adventure, and powerful resources. But he could reach the Nether without first building a portal. And to build a portal he needed obsidian. And to get obsidian he needed lava! Moreover, it would be good to find a diamond, Redstone to build TNT cannons, and gold to make some golden apples. He needed to find a cave...

This small set is a great choice to start collecting Lego Minecraft. It is the smallest and most affordable of all playsets in the series. Despite being a small box, it contains many interesting and iconic pieces.

Back when Minecraft was first released, people had difficulty explaining the game to others. To facilitate understanding, it was common to say that Minecraft was some kind of "virtual Lego", and this was a very acceptable definition, since the concept is the same: build your own world using blocks!

But then Minecraft became (arguably) so successful as to overshadow Lego, and the situation is reversed; this time, Lego sought inspiration in Minecraft. And now we have Lego sets based on Minecraft. It's the best of two worlds, especially for those who enjoy both.

Minecraft as a game have been widely praised, as it provides children (and even adults) the opportunity to exercise their creativity, and some even learn to read by playing Minecraft. But because the game is so captivating and does not present an "end" goal (not to be confused with the dimension where lies the Ender Dragon), Minecraft can become an obsession, and parents are concerned about the time their kids spend in front of the screen "crafting" things and fighting creepers and zombies.

In that case, Lego Minecraft can be a good option to take the kids away from the screen, but not from their passion for the game.

Lego Minecraft The Cave Playset - Review

The Cave playset comes with 3 Minecraft minifigures: Steve (with an "iron" pick), a Zombie, and a very cool Spider

This small set is a great choice to start collecting Lego Minecraft. It is the smallest and most affordable of all playsets in the series. Despite being a small box (the size of two loaves of bread side by side), it contains many interesting and iconic pieces. Small Lego playsets often do not come with very interesting pieces, and sometimes we feel that maybe the price per piece is too high. Not the case with this playset.

The Cave playset comes with 3 Minecraft minifigures: Steve (with an "iron" pick), a Zombie, and a very cool Spider with jointed legs. Inside the box you will also find a TNT, a chest, a bread, a ladder, and Lego pieces to assemble a lava bucket, a torch, Redstone ore, coal, gold, and iron ores, and various colored pieces to assemble various scenarios: lava, grass, stone, obsidian, waterfall. The set have a total of 249 pieces, a good amount for a small playset, and enough to start building your off-screen Minecraft world.

The booklet that comes with the set features two different designs to build the cave setting, but surely you will want to build your own scenario, especially if you have other playsets of this series.

This playset is a great option for a modest, but fantastic gift, with guaranteed satisfaction for any Minecraft or Lego fan, or better yet, both!