That's Ball-sy: A Look At LEGO Balls
LEGO has produced lots of balls, so today we are going to take a close look at the “soccer ball”-sized ones. Where did they get their start and where are they going? To find out, let’s get the ball rolling!
LEGO Soccer Sets
The first balls we are looking at came from LEGO soccer sets. LEGO soccer sets were introduced in 1998 with the large stadium, soccer field baseplates and grandstand. You could play with the LEGO soccer ball, but it was not really a play feature.
The play features for these sets started in 2000 with the introduction of a spring-loaded shooter. With this shooter, you could shoot the ball at targets, or with set 3409, you could play a soccer match with a friend.
Set 3409
Part 30488c01 Spring shooter
Part 30492
These soccer sets had great playability. A friend of mine used to own one, and I remember playing hours upon hours with set 3409. The spring-loaded shooter, together with part 30492, made sure that you could shoot the ball with some accuracy.
Set 3425
Part 41819c01
Improving on the design of set 3409, LEGO made set 3425 adding the ability to move players while at the same time as enhancing the playability of the “LEGO soccer system.” The first wave of soccer sets were made from 1998-2006. That’s when we got a new soccer set with a new colored ball (which was great for GBC builders). The set sadly doesn’t have the same level of playability as the old soccer sets but still had its charm.
LEGO Basketball Sets
NBA Ultimate Arena SET 3433
LEGO basketball sets were introduced in 2003 using the “soccer system” baseplates and adding a completely new type of minifig. The minifig had all-new features like spring legs, a torso with the capability to lock in one position, and arms that could hold a ball. With all these added features, they were able to shoot some hoops.
Some of the basketball sets were released in collaboration with the NBA which led to the first black skin tone representation in LEGO minifigures, along with Star Wars character Lando Calrissian. Sadly, the basketball sets lasted for a short time and were discontinued in 2004.
When I discovered these existed, I had to make a GBC MOC with these bendable minifigs so I decided to build my basketball shooter module.
LEGO Friends
Before writing this article, I had no idea that LEGO Friends sets had balls! There are so many LEGO Friends sets with balls that there are too many to mention individually. But there are some sets I’d like to highlight, for example this mechanism where you can move around a minidoll on a rod/axle to play the game with a friend. This is also the first instance of a vibrant yellow ball which will be great for GBC loops as well.
Sports Center set 41744
Goal keeper set 3413
Honestly, the new Friends set looks quite like the old soccer sets! The Friends theme has all kinds of different usages for the LEGO ball, from using it as a sports element to just being a decorative part.
LEGO City
Family House and Electric Car set 60398
There are only four LEGO City sets with a LEGO ball. All of them are used for decorative purposes (no function other than minifig play).
LEGO Spiderman
Attack on the Spider Lair set 76175
I never understood why this Spiderman set has a ball. I have to admit that I am not a big Spiderman fan so I do not know if there is some kind of basketball reference in the movies or TV series. But Attack on the Spider Lair has a small mechanism that makes it possible to shoot a ball into the hoop—nice play feature!
LEGO Puzzle’s
GIF from JK brickworks video marble maze game
In 2016, there was a non-liscenced set that joined the Yellow Submarine and Caterham! Designed by very well-known builder JK Brickworks, he published a video in 2012 with the title LEGO Marble Maze Game. It would take four years to eventually make this into an official LEGO ideas set.
LEGO Ideas Maze set 21305
JK Brickworks reviewing his own ideas set
The game is to get the ball from the green tiles to the red tiles. I sadly do not own this set, but by looking at the video you can see its quite tough to master. Each level is challenging! What I really like about this set is that there are extra parts included in the set so you can make many different levels.
This level is included in the set!
Custom level with moving windmill by JK Brickworks
Each level can vary in skill, combining this with your own parts collection, and you have endless possibilities and difficulty in levels. JK Brickworks even shows off some very nice themed levels, even some with moving parts! Make sure to check out JK Brickworks on YouTube—he makes excellent moving LEGO machines that areare very satisfying to watch.
Magic maze new GWP set 40596
Then there is the new LEGO gift with purchase set 40596 Magic Maze. Looking at the colors, it looks so vibrant. Compared to the Marble Maze Game the controls differ. In this case, you use both your hands on each side to control the pitch and roll. The downside to this is that there is very little control over the movement of the ball compared to the Marble Maze Game.
The ball starts rolling at the top curvy section and then rolls into a blind section where you cannot see the ball. If you listen, you can hear if it passed onto the next phase.
Blind section without top cover
After that comes what I like to call the windy bit, the part of the set that uses sand green and tan parts! Using some 1x1 curved slopes and some wedged sloped tiles the ball moves in a very smooth way.
Then there is by far the hardest part of the new maze with the red crates, only previously available in red in one set. This is VERY hard to do smoothy and it took me over 15 attempts to get this one on video! You must almost shake the entire set to make the ball move into the next crate. Honestly, I was not a big fan of this roadblock.
The next feature is very enjoyable with a nice bee tile and beehive making the ball turn 180 degrees.
In the middle section, there is another challenging bit. First we have the blue section featuring a seesaw. After that there is a recessed bit where the ball rolls in and out of. After this, there is a small wheel that spins when the ball passes.
The yellow slope section is quite tricky because because there are no side walls. Following that, there is the orange section with only support on one side—this part is very enjoyable if you nail it!
Finally after the orange section, there is a pink section with some small obstacles and a green section with a small scene. These are relatively easy to pass and are almost the end. Finally, there is some nice NPU in the last part using the coral clam part to hold the ball at the end! The Magic Maze set will be available soon from LEGO as a Gift With Purchase so keep an eye out.
Balls to the Wall
LEGO introduced soccer and basketball-themed sets with some creative play features. Soccer sets evolved from pure aesthetics to interactive gameplay, while basketball sets featured unique minifigs for hoop-shooting action. Other themes like LEGO Friends, City, and Spiderman, used balls creatively. Puzzle-themed sets like the Marble Maze Game and Magic Maze added complexity and fun. In the world of LEGO, creativity knows no bounds, and these sets, with their ingenious use of balls, truly scored big on the playground of imagination.
DISCLAIMER: This set was provided to BrickNerd by LEGO. Any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.
What other balls did we miss? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
Do you want to help BrickNerd continue publishing articles like this one? Become a top patron like Charlie Stephens, Marc & Liz Puleo, Paige Mueller, Rob Klingberg from Brickstuff, John & Joshua Hanlon from Beyond the Brick, Megan Lum, Andy Price, Lukas Kurth from StoneWars, Wayne Tyler, LeAnna Taylor, Monica Innis, and Dan Church to show your support, get early access, exclusive swag and more.
