LEGO reveals one reason for its current Castle strategy

The modern-day LEGO Castle theme seems restricted solely to LEGO Icons sets and gifts-with-purchase – and the LEGO Group has finally shared at least one reason for that strategy. 

If you want to dive into the medieval world of LEGO in 2024, your options are thus: 10305 Lion Knights’ Castle, 10332 Medieval Town Square (as of March), and 31120 Medieval Castle (at least until the end of the year). Over the past couple of years, we’ve also had the recently-retired 21325 Medieval Blacksmith and two gifts-with-purchase in 40567 Forest Hideout and 40601 Majisto’s Magical Workshop.

Of all those sets, only one arrived without an 18+ label on the box (the Creator 3-in-1 31120 Medieval Castle). The rest are or were targeted first and foremost at adults, and typically those with deep pockets – either to stretch to the huge budgets required for the likes of 10332 Medieval Town Square and 10305 Lion Knights’ Castle, or to react to the limited windows of availability (and high qualifying thresholds) for the gifts-with-purchase.

But that wasn’t always the case. As recently as 2013 (so maybe not that recently), the LEGO Group was churning out full waves of LEGO Castle sets targeted towards kids, a phrase which here means ‘at affordable price points’. That wave started as cheaply as £7.99 / $11.99 with 70400 Forest Ambush, a 90-piece set with four minifigures, and topped out at £79.99 / $99.99 with the 996-piece 70404 King’s Castle.

Comparing those sets to the likes of 10305 Lion Knights’ Castle is apples and oranges, though: just look at the detail, scope and techniques in the LEGO Icons set compared to its predecessor. The latest LEGO Castle sets are able to squeeze much more life out of their subjects than any before them. And 10332 Medieval Town Square looks like another solid example, using its budget to deliver something much meatier and more detailed than its spiritual predecessor, 2009’s 10193 Medieval Market Village.

For designer Henrik Rubin Saaby, that’s exactly what sets these Castle sets apart from previous lines, and is seemingly why the LEGO Group is so keen to deliver new medieval experiences within its premium Icons range marketed towards adults.

“I’ve been working very much in the play themes area and the IPs area before, and also some earlier Castle lines back in 2009 and 2010,” says Henrik, who originally started working with the LEGO Group more than 25 years ago. “It was a pleasure to go back to [10193 Medieval Market Village] and revisit it, and have the chance to put in all the details and all the small stories and so on. 

“We can’t always do that in a play theme because it’s for kids, but with this one, you can twist it a little bit so you’re getting more fun stuff in there.”

The argument, then, is this: LEGO Castle sets can fully deliver on expectations – with things like additional details and more involved storytelling – when the designers have the budget and space to really lean into what makes these nostalgic sets tick. Narratives like the goat plummeting in value and the tapestry maker recreating an ‘80s catalogue wouldn’t really fit into a kids’ LEGO Castle set.

You can see some of what Henrik is talking about by comparing 10305 Lion Knights’ Castle and 10332 Medieval Town Square to 31120 Medieval Castle. The Creator 3-in-1 set is a fine fortress at a more accessible price point, but it isn’t what you’d call heavy on details or story moments. And those kinds of intricacies are what elevate the building experience in the LEGO Group’s bigger sets.

Of course, that’s bad news for any younger fans out there (or just those without the means to drop £350 on one castle) who might be hankering for some medieval action. Even the 2013 LEGO Castle sets are now worth double, triple or even quadruple their original price on the aftermarket – and it’s even worse for the Kingdoms range from 2011 – so collecting those is not what you’d call feasible.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like the LEGO Group has plans to bring a resurgent Castle theme to the table any time soon, or else we’d likely have seen 10332 Medieval Town Square as part of that – even with an 18+ label – rather than under the LEGO Icons banner. This is the same strategy we’re seeing with the likes of The Lord of the Rings and Transformers, which have received one-off sets targeted at adults rather than entire play themes.

Which means we’re back to those original options. 10305 Lion Knights’ Castle and 31120 Medieval Castle are available now, while 10332 Medieval Town Square launches on March 1 for LEGO Insiders and March 4 for everyone else.

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