All Sorted Ep 34: LEGO Gun Control

Guideline for weapons and conflict in LEGO experiences

• On page 26 of their 2010 Progress Report LEGO wrote:

“A large number of LEGO minifigures use weapons, and are – assumedly – regularly being charged by each others’ weapons as part of children’s role play.  In the LEGO Group, we acknowledge that conflict in play is especially prevalent among 4-9-year-old boys.  An inner drive and a need to experiment with their own aggressive feelings in order to learn about other people’s aggressions exist in most children.  This in turn enables them to handle and recognize conflict in non-play scenarios. As such, the LEGO Group sees conflict play as perfectly acceptable, and an integral part of children’s development.  We also acknowledge children’s well-proven ability to tell play from reality.  However, to make sure to maintain the right balance between play and conflict, we have adhered to a set of unwritten rules for several years. In 2010, we have formalized these rules in a guideline for the use of conflict and weapons in LEGO products. The basic aim is to avoid realistic weapons and military equipment that children may recognize from hot spots around the world and to refrain from showing violent or frightening situations when communicating about LEGO products. At the same time, the purpose is for the LEGO brand not to be associated with issues that glorify conflicts and unethical or harmful behavior.”

You can buy modern and historical weapons online, here are a few examples:

• Brickarms
• Brick Warriors
• Brickmania

• Is LEGO being hypocritical by denying the world realistic modern weapons of war while producing sets full of conflict?
• Would you like to see more weapons, or less released by LEGO?  Let us know.  Please leave a comment, or hit me up on twitter, I’m @StillSorting.