Good... But Just Too Expensive

2507 Fire Temple

The Chronicler's Rating - 3/5

Price ~ $120.00

Year Released - 2011

I must confess that I am conflicted in attempting to write a review for this set.  The Fire Temple has a lot to recommend it.  First off, it is unique in that no set like it has ever been produced, I struggle to think of almost anything to compare it to.  The building itself is interesting and has an excellent assortment of pieces in good colors.  Furthermore it has great cross over, it can be the Fire Temple, or a training ground for ninjas, or a home in a China Town district in a city, or the mysterious mountain shrine where the pirate crew finally finds the treasure (or gets eaten by a dragon while trying).  In summary across the board it meets many of the criteria of an excellent set.  So what is my hesitation?  One word: price. 

I am pretty forgiving of Lego’s new pricing.  With the economy being what it is and the shift to more detailed and “collectible” minifigures Lego’s production costs have gone up.  Even with all that though I cannot quite get myself to stomach the price tag on this set.  That hesitation is compounded by the fact that the cost puts it nearly at the same price point as the modular buildings Lego has been releasing in the last few years.  Right now I can get, for a mere $30 more, 10211 Grand Emporium. 

That set, beyond being absolutely breathtaking, is completely built out on all four sides (unlike the Fire Temple which is essentially a façade), has approximately 1000 more pieces and contains a completely finished out interior (unlike the Fire Temple which is, for all practical purposes, empty).  What is the cause of that discrepancy?  The Fire Temple includes a variety of very specialized elements and minifigures which are costly to produce while the Grand Emporium’s parts and figures are far more basic.  The end result is that this set just does not feel like you are getting enough for your money. 

FOR PARENTS

The Ninjago theme is, as I have written about extensively on past set reviews, meant to be both a play set and a game.  With the special spinners and cards which are included in many of the sets (which are now packaged to look more like action figures in many cases) your kids can either play pretend or compete with each other in an actual game.  The Fire Temple is 100% play set so if your kid is primarily interested in the game play aspect of this theme there is no need to fork over the extravagant amount of money it will take to get it.  If, however, playing with the ninjas and acting out stories is their main interest this set, despite its price, will make an excellent addition to their collection. 

FOR KIDS

While this set looks really cool I would recommend that you think long and hard before you spend your money on it.  The first question to consider is: do you like Ninjago for the game aspect or the play aspect?  If your primary interest is in collecting spinners and competing with friends then this set will not do much for you as it includes none of those components.  If the dragon is what appeals to you, the one included with this set is almost exactly the same as the one from the, much cheaper, 2260 Ice Dragon Attack.   

CONCLUSION

If you have read any of my other reviews you know that I will forgive just about anything if a set has good playability.  Unfortunately the playability of this one does not quite get high enough marks to overcome the price tag.  If you really want it, then get it, I don’t think you will be disappointed.  If, however, you are more into the game aspect of Ninjago or are wishy washy about whether or not you really want this one I would avoid. 

Happy Building,

The Lego Chronicler

An Old Tactic Revisited

2504 Spinjitzu Dojo
The Chronicler's Rating - 4/5
Price ~ $50.00
Year Released - 2011

With the Ninjago theme Lego resurrected a design tactic which was most prevalent in the late 90s and first few years of the 2000's (primarily with the Lego Sports theme): blurring the line between set and game.  The general gist of this tactic is that every set is designed to both be a standard Lego model used to act out adventures and stories from a child's imagination as well as an actual game with rules that children can compete in.  As I mentioned the heyday of this approach was the Lego Sports theme (which included soccer, basketball, hockey and more) in which the sets depicted sports venues but also contained special elements which actually allowed balls (or pucks) to be passed and shot.  The child didn't just have to act out a soccer match, they could actually compete in one with their friends.  The spinners included with this and many of the other Nijago sets are designed to allow minifigures to actually "battle" by using the spinning action imparted by the players to knock the weapons out of the hand of the opposing minifigure, imagine dueling, spinning tops and you will have the idea.  So the set can be played with normally or used as a game board to compete with friends.

Creating this type of set requires that the designer maintain a very delicate balance.  Making a set both an enjoyable play piece and an amusing game is a tall order and very often the old adage of "something that tries to do everything does nothing well" is proven as one aspect is sacrificed for the sake of the other.  I am pleased to say however that Lego appears to have walked the line well with most of the Ninjago sets including this one. 

FOR PARENTS

The beauty of this type of set is that it appeals to a wider audience.  Growing up I had a sibling who was a sports fanatic.  Quite often the standard Lego set does not appeal to his kind of personality which always wants to be competing.  This type of set bridges that gap while also appealing to someone like me who enjoys the more traditional style of Lego play involving imagining your own adventures by oneself or with friends.  The only caution I would give is this, the value of this set in terms of pieces per dollar is low.  This is very standard with this sort of set because the pieces needed to create the game aspect are often specialized and more expensive to produce.  If value is your primary objective look elsewhere but if you are mainly concerned with playability look no further, this set is a safe bet.

FOR KIDS

If you like to imagine great adventure stories or to compete in games with your friends this set will be a great addition to your collection.  If however you are the type that puts together a set once and then takes it apart to use the parts for your own creations I would recommend that you look for a set that has more and better pieces than this one.  Also, be aware that it only comes with one spinner so if you actually want to have 2 minifigures compete you are going to need to get an additional set that contains a second spinner.

Happy Building

CONCLUSION

Lego made a bold gamble with the Ninjago sets.  I am happy to report that for the most part the theme and this set especially appear to have walked the fine line of making both a rich play experience and a decent game.   The only problem I have with this set is that it is what I call a Façade set meaning that it isn’t a complete building but more of a wall, like a set piece one would see at a theatre production.  This type of set didn’t exist when I was a kid, everything was a complete building so ultimately this set seems incomplete to me, however, I recognize that this does not steal from the play experience very much (you can after all just image the rest of the building) so the set still gets high marks.

TheLegoChronicler