June has been and gone, and for the first time in several years, we have had no news of Bygglek. The collaboration between the LEGO Group and IKEA was first announced at the IKEA Democratic Design Days in 2018, we received more idea of what to expect, last year. Essentially billed as a storage system, allowing children to put a pause on play, while getting their bricks tidied up quickly – which is sure to help please their parents. The trick is then to make it as easy to ‘press go,’ and start playing again, faster than switching on the iPad, and getting it connected to the WiFi. (Read on for more)

From last year’s press release:

The different perspectives might lead to that children experience rules, carried out by their parents, stops them from being as creative and playful as they wish. Parents, on the other hand, feel that playing can be a bit too messy at home, making it harder to fulfil other commitments of the everyday. The overlaying ambition between the collaboration between LEGO Group and IKEA is to overcome these kinds of obstacles. The hope is to move away from “no” to “yes” to play, and at the same time show respect to duties of the everyday.

“To do this, systematic thinking becomes key. We know that children continue the story building in their minds long after they have stopped playing with their toys. So we asked ourselves, couldn’t pause and play be a way to enable quick play? We know that children are playing with screens because it’s easy to get started. So what if we could make the LEGO® play continue? That would make quick play easier and then build on the play that is continuing in the child’s mind anyway”, says Andreas Fredriksson, designer at IKEA.

To enable playing throughout the home with pauses, a solution across generations is needed. Also, different rooms need different solutions that can change after different phases in life.

The coronavirus pandemic put a halt to the Democratic Design Days this year, and nothing was heard… until today. Thanks to Promobricks, we have the first images of the what we might be able to expect: The collaboration appears, at this point, to consist of a series of stud covered boxes, with gaps on the ends and side to insert bricks. The packs were seen in the IKEA store in Mannheim, Germany.

It would appear that there are 3 types of storage/play boxes:

32 x 48 studs x 12 cm high

22 x 32 studs x 12 cm high

And Combo pack, which seems to contain 3 boxes of varying sizes including Two boxes measuring 11 x 16 studs, and another 16×22 – these stack to be approximately the same height as the larger boxes.

There also appears to be a more typical set: 40357 Bygglek – with 201 elements, including 2 minifigures.

At this time, there has been no official publicity of the Bygglek: Is it currently available outside of IKEA in Germany? Let me know if you see it. Otherwise, I am sure we can look forward to seeing these boxes on the shelves around the World a little later in the year.

What do you think of Bygglek? The design is unmistakeably IKEA, but I wonder whether the boxes have ‘LEGO’ molded into the studs or not. And what do the insides of the boxes look like? Are they smooth or studded? Divided, or only large space (in which case, you could probably build dividers for it!

If the European price converts 1:1 with Australian dollars you might expect to pay $25-30 for the larger box. Reality leaves me expecting to be priced a bit higher. We will find out soon enough, I am sure.

Buggy might not be what we (as AFOLs) we’re hoping for from the collaboration. But based on what was said last year, I am not surprised tonsee this. Personally, I can see them as a great place to collate those loose parts that I am keeping out for a Work in Progress, but I am unsure as to whether I would actively build on top.

Why don’t you leave your thoughts below, and until next time,

Play Well.