10 Cool Lego Sets Your Kids Will Love in 2024
Selina Marie
In the world of building toys, nothing can compare to the expertise of LEGO. They have been making building bricks, albeit made of high-quality wood, since 1932. By 1949, they had already perfected the art of making interlocking plastic bricks-–the same building bricks that everyone enjoys playing with today. And if you are in the search for really cool LEGO sets for your kids, check out our list of the 10 most-popular and coolest LEGO building sets we guarantee your kids will love this year.
In a Hurry? The test winner after 23 hrs of research
Instructions are easy to follow
Entertaining build
Perfect for display once fully built
Designed with authentic and realistic details
10 Best Cool Lego Sets Reviewed
1. Ship in a bottle
Instructions are easy to follow
Entertaining build
Perfect for display once fully built
Designed with authentic and realistic details
May take a while to sort the pieces
With 962 pieces, children ages twelve and up can enjoy piecing together their ship. The ship looks so great once fully built, that it makes the perfect display piece for your mantel. Compatible with all LEGO sets, your child can add to their ship or use these pieces with other sets. Time to get nautical!
Read moreEntertainment Value
Your child’s imagination will be set soaring on the seas as they work to build this ship. The small details enhance the overall look as well as encourages your child to dive into a world of pretend play. Once the ship is fully built your child can leave it up or use the LEGOs to build an original creation.
Educational Value
The authentic details serve as the perfect opportunity to teach your child about old ships. Your child will stimulate their cognitive development as they work through the instruction booklet.
Sensory Stimulation
The pieces are used to create different textures for the ship. For instance, the small blue pieces give the illusion that the ship is sailing on the water.
Effectiveness
The ship features several cannons, masts, a crow’s nest, captain’s quarters, and so much more. This expert-level set is sure to provide your family with hours of fun and a little bit of a challenge.
Accesories
Along with the LEGOs, this set includes a brick stand that will allow your child to display their creation after it is built. The stand even includes a nameplate.
2. Avengers Hydra Showdown
4x4 vehicle has a removable roof and rotating turret to get the enemy from all angles
Thor figure comes with a super jumper accessory to give the impression of his godly flying ability
Stud launcher has a pretty long range and high trajectory
Quick shipping and timely delivery
Instructions were clear making it easy to assemble
Hydra dune buggy breaks apart too easily
Set and box may come damaged from shipping
Your child can become the next Avenger with the Lego Superheros Avengers Hydra Showdown set. They can join forces with Hawkeye and Thor and battle against the Hydra henchman. The 220 pieces in this set give your little one everything they need to build a vehicle for the Avengers and the Hydra.
Read moreEntertainment Value
With the final movie of the Avengers hitting the screen, this LEGO set is perfect for any fan of these heroes. This set includes some fan favorites such as Thor, a Hydra henchman and Hawkeye. Your child will love building their favorite characters in this set. Each character also comes their own special weapon. It’s perfect for your little one to take apart or display once they are finished.
Educational Value
For children who are between the ages of 6 and 12 these LEGO sets are incredibly beneficial to them. They will help increase your child's fine motor skills as they’ll maneuver the cars and minifigures. This set will also increase your child's self-confidence as they’ll want to show you their complete work. It will also help keep your child’s social skills and enhance their vocabulary.
Sensory Stimulation
Your child’s problem-solving skills and concentration will improve as they construct each car. They will be grinning from ear to ear as this set combines their love of superheroes and LEGOs.
Effectiveness
When built, each of the cars is also equipped with their own special set of weapons. The Avengers’ car features a missile shooter that has the ability to rotate
Accessories
They hydra’s offroader is equipped with a stud shooter. If the missiles happen to miss the hydra during a high-speed chase, your child can launch Thor, using the super jumper, right onto the hydra for hand to hand combat.
3. Hidden Side Ghost Lab
Includes three Minifigures
Easy build
Stimulates imagination and development
Combines LEGOs with digital fun
Some reviewers had difficulty downloading the app
LEGOs Hidden Side has modernized the act of playing with LEGOs. The Hidden Side sets combine building LEGOss with an augmented reality game app. While a tablet or smartphone will enhance the experience it is not required. Children ages seven and up can enjoy playing with this set right out of the box.
Read moreEntertainment Value
Playing with LEGOs and building cool new creations is fun, but adding in a digital experience makes it even better. Using the app, your child can locate ghosts that are floating around the lab and capture them.
Educational Value
Using the app and building the set will stimulate your child’s cognitive development. Your child will increase their ability to solve problems as they work to build the set. Their hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills will also improve.
Sensory Stimulation
The vibrancy of the images and fun sound effects on the app will appeal to your child’s senses. The different pieces in the set provide your child with a variety of textures to explore.
Effectiveness
With only 174 pieces, your child may be able to easily build this set on their own. Even if your child chooses not to use the app, the LEGOs set will still provide hours of imaginative play.
Accesories
The three mini-figures included in this set are Jack Davids, J.B. the scientist, and Elton Douglas the haunted janitor. Spencer the ghost dog is also included.
4. Friends Heartlake Summer Pool
Fun LEGO pool
Two Heartlake Mini-Figures
Pool accessories and swim-up bar
Water slide
Restroom area, lifeguard station, ice cream stand, and hot tub included
Took some users a while to assemble fully
Lots of small pieces; easy to lose
The LEGO friends know how important good company and fond memories can be. Help Andrea and Martina enjoy their lazy summer afternoon. The pool and swim-up bar measure over seven inches high, nine inches wide, and nine inches deep, giving the mini-dolls plenty of room to splash around.
Read moreEntertainment Value
These LEGO pieces are compatible with all LEGO building toys and construction sets. Combine it with other Heartlake sets to expand the fun!
Educational Value
Construction and building toys equip children with improved critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, as well as further opportunities to develop their own creativity.
Sensory Stimulation
This fun summer set will also allow them to engage in imaginative role-playing, helping to build empathy and socialization skills.
Effectiveness
This set has a wide arrange of features, more than most LEGO building kits. It’s a cute theme, with multiple stand-alone pieces that all still fit under the umbrella theme of a luxurious pool for the Heartlake dolls to play in.
Accesories
This Heartlake Summer Pool Set features a pool, diving board, wavy slide, aquarium, shower, fountain, swim-up bar, rubber ring, air mattress, tv screen, and more.
5. Pirate Roller Coaster
Includes three builds in one
Instructions are easy to understand
Four minifigures are included
Stimulates development
Pieces are not packed in order or organized by color
The 923 pieces in this set can be used to build the Pirate Roller Coaster, Skull ride, or the ship ride. With three builds in one set, you will be getting more bang for your buck. Children between the ages of nine and fourteen will be able to have fun with this build while also experiencing a bit of a challenge.
Read moreEntertainment Value
Whichever build your child decides to create, the finished product will still include three fun amusement park attractions. The roller coaster actually works, thus enhancing your child’s imaginative play.
Educational Value
The pieces are designed to mimic a real amusement park. The small details and realistic touches will allow your child to make a connection between the real world and their pretend play.
Sensory Stimulation
The large quantity of pieces provides your child with plenty of sensory stimulation as the pieces are designed with different textures. The variety of colors included in the set will also appeal to your child’s senses.
Effectiveness
Once fully built, the LEGOs create a sturdy structure that is designed to survive countless hours of play.
Accesories
Four Minifigures are included in this set all of which are ready to explore the park. Along with the Minifigures several other accessories are included to enhance the visitor’s fun around the park. Your child an put a golden ticket or bright green balloon in the hands of one of the characters.
6. Minecraft The Cave
Benefit of a popular computer game to engage kids in a more active lifestyle
Cross-generational appeal for all Minecraft fans and Lego set collectors
Imaginative ore-mining activity improves focus and can engender a sense of purpose through play
Can be combined with other Lego Minecraft sets
Price point is true to value
Pieces are hard to assemble and keep interlocked
Many blocks have an unrealistic feel that aren’t authentic to the video game
One of the most popular computer games today is Minecraft where players get to create their very own worlds complete with the different structures and dynamics that they would like to occur. Children playing the Minecraft game will surely appreciate what LEGO has done for them. LEGO’s Minecraft the Cave is the perfect building playset you can ever buy for your Minecraft-playing kid.
Read moreEntertainment Value
LEGO was kind enough to include this Minifigure in the set together with a zombie which Steve can blow up with his TNT. Make sure you also read our article on the most popular LEGO sets for boys this year.
Educational Value
Just like the original computer game version, Lego’s Minecraft allows kids to create the kind of world that they have envisioned. They can build worlds, demolish it, fix it, remodel, or even renovate their Minecraft worlds depending on their prevailing sentiment.
Sensory Stimulate
This will stimulate your child and exercise their creative and mechanical skills. With the epidemic of childhood obesity on the rise and ever-shortening attention spans, this will allow your child to remain focused while improving on some other much needed skills.
Effectiveness
This is the best alternative to the video game for Minecraft fans! For parent’s, if you want to keep your child active and engaged -- more engaged than usual and away from the computer -- try to appeal to what they already know and like!
Accesories
This playset features a TNT and torch which is typically used to demolish the Minecraft world prior to remodeling. It comes with gold, coal, obsidian, redstone, and iron elements in addition to the other bricks that make up the 249 colorful blocks. Of course, what’s a Minecraft world without Steve?
7. Harry Potter Hogwarts Great Hall
Ten mini-figures
Includes castle build that opens up
Multiple classrooms and Great Hall inside
Fun animal friends
Multiple magical accessories
Some customers received damaged boxes (all LEGOs were unharmed
Whether you’re a Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff, you know that the Great Hall is the place for you. The kit includes the castle tower, Great Hall, a fireplace, benches, tables, the Sorting Hat, reversible house banners, the Mirror of Erised, and a Grand Staircase that leads to the potions room, and treasure room. Wherever you wander, Hogwarts will always welcome you home.
Read moreEntertainment Value
Your child will be able to love building this Hogwarts display. Of course, it’s not actually Hogwarts itself, it does replicate the Great Hall featured in every Hogwarts movie. This set also includes some favorite characters such as: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione, Draco, Professor McGonagall, Hagrid and Albus Dumbledore with a few others. It’s perfect to build along while your child watches the movies and watches their favorite scenes.
Educational Value
Being able to role-play and create will help your child’s imagination. This set will also teach your child social dynamics and help their fine motor skills.
Sensory Stimulation
This kit helps build empathy and creative thinking as well. It’s a great build if you have a family that loves Harry Potter, and especially if there are a couple of siblings. Given how many little characters it comes with, group creative play is easy and no one will have to fight over the chance to play as the hero.
Effectiveness
This fantastical Hogwarts building set allows you to construct the Great Hall and play out some of Harry’s best adventures in it.
Accesories
Ten mini-figures come ready for enchanting action: Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Draco, Hagrid, Dumbledore, Professor Quirrell, McGonagall, and Nearly Headless Nick. This kit also includes some animal friends, such as Scabbers, Fawkes, a buildable Basilisk, and Hedwig.
8. ATV Race Team
Two riders, one boy, one girl
Two ATV racers
Pick-up truck with bed for vehicle
Trailer and attachment to tow ATV
Truck is large and durable, will hold up in rough play
Not a difficult build, best for slightly younger brickers
Ready, set--race! This awesome LEGO ATV Race Team Set comes ready with all the parts and instructions to build your own all-terrain vehicle. Construct a pickup truck with a bed that has room for another vehicle, a trailer hitch, a ramp, a wrench, spare tire, and a fuel barrel. Two suited-up riders are ready to roll straight out of the box
Read moreEntertainment Value
It’s a simple build, but the fun really starts in the aftermath. We love that both men and women drivers are represented here and that there are multiple vehicles for the figures to ride on and share.
Educational Value
Vehicle-based toys help get kids up and moving as they race their cars around the house, as well as working their hand-eye coordination and familiarizing them with the basic concepts of traffic and road rules.
Sensory Stimulation
This set allows kids all of the benefits of the usual build sets, plus the fun of racing their cars.
Effectiveness
This set is aimed at builders ages 5 to 12 years old, and comes with two cars in addition to the pickup truck, making it a great set to share with friends.
Accesories
The riders both come equipped with helmets, and one is a male, and the other a female, so this set is a great gender-neutral option for racing fanatics. Race, jump and stunt your way through off-roading adventures.
9. My First Number Train
Versatile enough to build beyond the three suggested projects
Fewer action figures and parts for less clutter and easier assembly
Can be combined with Mega Block sets to create new scenarios
Will keep child engaged for hours assembling, disassembling and sorting
Numbers correlate with a unique color creating positive associations
Can be too simple for older children
Price point viewed as too high for such a simple set
LEGO bricks are not just for older children. Toddlers will definitely benefit a lot from the Duplo brand of LEGO . The good thing about this Duplo model is that it can be reconfigured or rebuilt into a dog house, a tunnel, or even a building. It already includes a dog figure as well as a train engineer.
Read moreEntertainment Value
This set may seem simple, but its versatility is phenomenal! The simplicity lies in it just being a boy and his dog as far as the action figures are concerned!
Educational Value
These blocks are ultra-large so they can be easily held by the tiny hands of young kids especially those who may not yet have the necessary fine motor control.
Sensory Stimulation
The My First Number Train features 3 colorful wagon bases to accommodate equally colorful blocks that have been numbered 1 to 10. Duplo is LEGO for very young kids. This guarantees high-quality design that is simply perfect for developing toddlers’ motor skills as well as a number of other skills.
Effectiveness
It says you can build a dog house and a tunnel once the caboose is detached, but we’re thinking much further ahead! Perhaps there’s enough for a tower with a base? If we really want to get imaginative, maybe even a rocket!
Accesories
Easy enough! It has numbers 1-10, which is basic enough! Great for counting while having a train-chugging blast!
10. Space Shuttle Explorer
Three-in-one build
Space Shuttle features cockpit sized for minifigure
Functional doors and hatches on the Moon Station
Space Rover includes drilling arm
Comes with one astronaut minifigure
Tail fits clumsily and falls off of ship
Have a little astronaut on your hands? This three-in-one Space Explorer Kit is the perfect gift for tiny galaxy explorers everywhere. The set can break-down and rebuild into either a Moon Station with a detailed interior, a Space Rover complete with a drilling arm, or a Space Shuttle with a functional payload bay, robotic arm, cockpit, Minifigure astronaut, and satellite with fold-out wings.
Read moreEntertainment Value
Perfect for your young science enthusiast or an astronaut in training, this will get your child into building their own space shuttle. It’s great that it can be broken down and converted into so many different builds. Each of them has at least one cool feature kids will love, and the Minifigure can interact with all three designs in one way or another.
Educational Value
Space: the final frontier. Kids are awed by the world around them, and what has more mysteries yet to solve than outer space? Give curious little ones a fun build that will flex their motor skills and logical thinking, and then allow them hours of role-playing their way through the great unknown.
Sensory Stimulation
This set is compatible with all other standard LEGO toys, so you can build your own universe by combining with other playsets.
Effectiveness
The Moon Station features opening hatches and doors, and the Minifigure can fit into the cockpit of the Space Explorer Shuttle.
Accesories
Although it has 285 pieces, it is a fun but simple build for children ages 7 to 12 years old.
Criteria Used for Evaluation
Entertainment Value
Legos have been around forever. Parents can remember playing and building with them. Every year it seems like the brand is just getting bigger and bigger as time goes on. They bring endless amounts of fun, some you can even display once you’re done building like it’s a work of art. It’s a perfect way for your child to express their creativity, enhance their imagination and just all around be more hands on with their building. If you’re hoping to get your kids away from those big screens, Legos is the perfect way for your child to stay engaged and be lost for hours trying to build the perfect set. Whatever they’re interested in we’re sure Lego has a set just for them!
Educational Value
The research has been extensive throughout the years--more than we can, and should, cover in these brief overviews. As stated before, the sheer fact that LEGO is such a phenomena, a force even, lends itself to so much deserved credibility. The most basic aspect of these blocks can teach spatial awareness that can lead to a greater mechanical aptitude, which can eventually become more abstract in the form of geometric shapes, all the way to algebraic formulations and possibly trigonometry. There are no limits to the possibilities--but, it all has to start somewhere!
Sensory Stimulation
Many parents don’t realize that Lego’s actually have a sensory bonus to them. Your child will learn how to mirror the world around them as they can build their favorite object, building or character. Lego’s are also a great way for your child to interact as some of these sets might require partnership. They’re a terrific way to help your child engage and form relationships based on what they’re building. All in all, Lego’s are extremely beneficial for your child to boost everything from their fine motor skills to their creativity and even enhancing their imagination. They’re the perfect gift for any age.
Effectiveness
Most of these Lego sets comes with easy to follow instructions. Your child will be able to fully understand how a building is built, they’ll also learn cause and effect while building. Once they are done your child will be able to either display their masterpiece for everyone to see or they can simply start over and learn the art of destruction. Whatever they choose your child will be spending hours upon hours learning, building and creating. Learning to build and take apart nurtures your child's spatial awareness and reinforces their cognition and interrelating.
Accessories
One of the best things about LEGO sets that parents love is that once you have one set you can use the pieces for another if your child doesn’t choose to keep their creation up. They’ll be able to add on, create something knew and enjoy everything together. Many of the sets that are included on our top ten list even come with multiple pieces to increase the amount of fun that your child will have while playing with their set.
Entertainment Value Educational Value Sensory Stimulation Effectiveness Accessories 
It has come a long way from a 1930s Danish toy workshop! From becoming just another avant-garde European trend in experimental child-rearing--to Legoland theme parks for grown-up kids; the movie and comic hero cult; to the memes of what could be more painful to a parent than stepping on a LEGO! LEGO has done more than go beyond the realm of "cool"--it has redefined it!
It’s supposed to be easy choosing the coolest building sets from LEGO. Unfortunately, as the term “cool” can be very subjective, often dependent on one’s idea of the parameters or characteristics of a really cool toy or object, it was quite a challenge. We knew that we cannot be overly dependent on consumer reviews because, again, these are subjective. But we nevertheless took into consideration what countless other parents are saying about the products.
Other Factors to Consider
Age Range
So, we had to look at the theme of the LEGO playset and try to think like kids. We had to look at the LEGO sets from the perspective of children. We then considered the different developmental tasks of children for each age group that the playset is recommended for. For example, a 4-year-old child will have a different way of looking at the LEGO set compared to an 8-year-old. They will also have different cognitive levels so this was also factored in. We also considered today’s current trends knowing full well that children typically follow a fad. So, we had to be updated with what’s new and hip and try to use this knowledge in determining the appropriateness of the building set.
The process of identifying the coolest LEGO sets was never easy. Nevertheless, our commitment and dedication eventually paid off.<
Emotional Development
There are many reasons why building and construction toys like LEGO are such a huge hit not only during the gift-giving season but also for birthdays and other special occasions. For some parents, they don’t wait for special occasions to give their kids LEGOs; they give them on a regular basis even for no apparent reason at all. And it’s easy to see why.
LEGO and other similar building toys have been described by healthcare and childcare experts as very helpful instruments in the development of the kid’s cognition or brain processing. From memory to spatial reasoning to logical reasoning to problem-solving and to critical-thinking, kids can use building bricks to harness these cognitive processes. These provide the foundation for more complex cerebral functions which can help them later in life as adults.
Creativity
For instance, interlocking plastic bricks that form a certain structure will require certain parts of the young brain to process different information. It needs to recall stored information about shapes and the relationship of the orientation of individual bricks with one another. Children learn to make full use of their understanding of causal relationships. Even before they begin stacking bricks on top of the other, they are already forming a mental image of what they are going to build. They know that to attain the form or shape that they desire they have to use a certain size or shape of building brick as well
Social Development
Their understanding of spatial relationships is also enhanced. Some building models may require the insertion of bricks or other components into a particular slot. The young brain will have to make accurate estimates as to whether or not the bricks will fit into to the slot. If the brick is too big, then it will simply not fit into the slot. If the brick is too small, then it will simply fall off from the slot. Spatial intelligence also makes full use of the coordinated movements of the smaller or finer groups of muscles with feedback from both the tactile and visual senses. If children see that a particular block is supposed to be oriented in a particular direction, the brain can command the muscles of the fingers to make changes in the way the brick is to be positioned relative to the model being built.
Design
Almost everyone knows that building bricks like those from LEGO are very useful in helping facilitate the development of kids’ counterfactual reasoning or thinking. This helps them project into the future all the potential outcomes of every action that they take. This is often regarded as very important in the development of their ability to make more or less accurate predictions. They know that “if” they position a brick one very particular way, “then” it will produce an entirely different outcome. This is the basis of their “what if” reasoning or line of thinking. If developed correctly, this can provide the foundation for the enhancement of the critical-thinking processes of the brain. They will be more inclined to use “what if” in almost all of their activities. When they grow up, they can be excellent managers as they will be inclined to look at all the possibilities before making
Frequently Asked Questions
q: Since there are so many adult afficionados, are there ever any LEGO building competitions?
Yes! There seems to be several all going on at once around the country! To name a few, there is the Radley competition, the Austin Kids Fest competition, the Annual Lisle Library competition, not to mention the nightly building competitions held at Legoland itself! As pointed out, this is just a natural extension of the cross-generationality of this product and the appeal of LEGO culture. The fact that there’s even an architectural series can be seen as a testament to meeting this demand.
q: How accurate are the details to the architectural design play sets?
I would have to say 95-99 percent accurate! Even though we strive to be darned close, nothing can be 100 percent accurate with historical buildings! So many factors come into play when considering the details. There are probably many details that aren’t part of historical record, for instance. Some buildings were built before the advent of photography, so we may not know for that reason. Some areas may be private that only a handful of people could know the details about. And, lastly, there’s the fact that it can be nice to keep things somewhat within the realm of fantasy, without being too detailed. After all, it’s still just a LEGO playset!
q: What is the difference between LEGO blocks and Duplo blocks?
Duplo is made by the LEGO company, developed in the late '60s. Duplo is more geared toward preschoolers. They have a tendency to be larger and width and length. Their divets are a little larger and more open than regular LEGO block, thereby making them more easily interlocking. They can be compatible with regular LEGOs, too, when it come to interlocking them. Duplos tend to come in a limited range of colors--red, yellow, blue, white--and are typically building sets like the train set we reviewed.
q: Will LEGO ever make a playset for the Ghostbusters remake?
Not sure about that! The old Ghostbusters became a classic due to it’s popularity and ratings. LEGO had a deal to make the figures from the franchise going back to the mid-80s! The remake is in a different category on so many levels! The fact that the classic is still being sold has quite a bit to do with customer demand. Many of the prior generation that grew up with the old Ghostbusters wanted it back. So, if the demand is there, the product will definitely be on the shelves!
q: Can I ever buy extra mini figures that are related to some of these sets?
Unfortunately, I don’t believe LEGO sells any extra minifigures! If you really like some of the figures, I would suggest that you buy other LEGO sets that are the same theme--for example the Avengers or Captain America--you can build those sets and combine them! Since the characters will be related, you can use them interchangeably! Also, who is to say that you can’t use action figures from other brands and manufacturers that you may have laying around? The whole part of imaginative play for your child can often be the creation of unlikely scenarios!
q: Does LEGO sell any other holiday-themed playset besides the advent calendar?
Yes they do! Not only do they have the advent calendar, they also have a Creator Holiday train set, that’s incredibly joyous and festive complete with wreath! In addition, they sell a Holiday Bakery set. It gives an old world gingerbread house feel, complete with baker, bread, tourists, and horse-drawn carriage with driver! All three of these sets can be combined to create a joyful winter wonderland for the entire family! Did I mention that the bakery comes complete LEGO-powered light for the interior?! Something to think about!
Sources
- , What Is the Difference Between LEGO & DUPLO?, Blog
- , Lego Duplo, Wikipedia Page
- , LEGO Build-Off Competition , information page
- , Legoland, Wikipedia Page
- , Pteranodon, Wikipedia Page
