There are a lot of Lego sets based on video games, e.g., these Super Mario ones or Minecraft; there are even several models of video games, such as the Gameboy or the Atari 2600 console. There are board games that use a few Lego pieces, such as Monkey Palace and Brick Like This

But there aren’t any board games implemented entirely in Lego. Well, apart from this Chess set.

That is, unless you look elsewhere.

Ideas

The Lego Ideas site is where independent creators can submit their concepts for new sets, having built them physically or using one of the Lego design tools, and the public votes on them. If a concept gets enough votes, there’s a fighting chance that it’ll become a Lego set. (Luxo Jr is one example which entered Lego’s catalogue via this route.)

Do a search for ‘board game’ or similar terms on the site, then enable the ‘expired’ and ‘gathering support’ filters to see the full collection, and you’ll find a treasure trove. Or take the time to wade through all tens of thousands of creations—there’s some amazing stuff there.

Here are a few models I particularly liked.

Forbidden Island

This really does capture the spirit of the game. I especially love the little helicopter and the Statue of the Wind—space limitations mean I’ve included only one picture of each model here, but head to their Ideas pages to see many more. Shame you can’t invert the tiles to show them being flooded, otherwise you could just about play the game with them.

Catan

There are several Catan models, but I reckon this particular one is the nicest looking. It even comes pretty close to the look of the actual 3d version of the game.

Ticket to Ride

The Lego Ticket to Ride is a very nice rendition of the Europe game, though the creator, ColonelIntrepidBoat (!!) says, ‘extra location tiles could be included with the instruction booklets to build the USA or Germany versions or any area of the world that takes your fancy.’

I was in two minds about whether to include this one or not. There are other models where the board and playing pieces are Lego plates (the flat pieces, a third of a brick in height) topped with smooth tiles, such as Dominoes, Monopoly, Qwirkle and Carcassone. However, these feel like they’re not entering fully into the spirit of Lego design—they don’t employ clever tricks to make the pieces do things no non-designer would come up with. Still, this Ticket to Ride example was just too pretty to pass over.

Cluedo

Despite the American spelling, Clue is a pretty and allegedly playable copy of Cluedo. It even comes with all the weapons.

As with Catan, there are several Clue(do) models on the site—you’ll often find alternative takes on popular themes there.

Jumanji

I confess I didn’t know Jumanji existed as a playable board game until I found this model. Bricknificent, its creator, clearly had a lot of fun making it.

Again, there are many more Jumanji sets on the Ideas site.

Chess

If you don’t like the official Lego Chess set I mentioned above, there are many variants to be found on the Ideas site. I was particularly taken with the medieval one, and what can I say about the sheep except that this needs more votes!?

Talisman

This Talisman model is my absolute favourite on the site, overall and not just among the Talisman models; the amount of detail is astonishing, though it does look more like the 4th edition rather than the 5th currently on sale.

There are many other nice examples on the Lego Ideas site, and some are very cleverly designed indeed, but I’ve got to stop somewhere or we’ll be here all day. If you want to see more, head over there and start browsing or searching (and remember to use the filter checkboxes to see everything). And if you especially like some of them, give them your vote; they might eventually become official Lego sets.

Final Words

Much as I like that Talisman model, it’s nothing compared to this humungous work of art. I dread to think how many Lego pieces went into that.

If you’ve tried searching the Ideas site for all possible board game or board game-inspired models, you’ll have discovered how tricky it is to come up with adequate search terms and not be inundated with false hits. Unsurprisingly, that’s even harder on the wider web, even if you limit yourself to Lego fan sites. However, one small corner of the internet caught my eye: Martin Klein, aka Klemmplem, has created a bunch of very pretty models themed on board games, as shown above (and you can find a few more on Reddit). Alas, his store ships the models only within Germany.

I’m always impressed by what talented Lego designers can create, and Lego Ideas is one place where you can find a lot of stuff. The intersection between board games and Lego is much bigger than I’d expected, and I hope you enjoyed this dip into my favourites.

About the author

When not playing board games or blogging about them, L.N. Hunter keeps himself occupied writing fiction: a comic fantasy novel, The Feather and the Lamp, sits alongside close to 100 short stories in various magazines and anthologies, and on websites and podcasts (see https://linktr.ee/L.N.Hunter for a full list). L.N. occasionally masquerades as a software developer or can be found unwinding in a disorganised home in Carlisle, UK, along with two cats and a soulmate.