The end of June was something of a new start for LEGO Ideas, the brand’s very own platform for inspiring builders to send their custom brick creations in the hope that they may become official sets. It was marked with a new website design, a new logo, and new guidelines. All these changes to the LEGO Ideas platform looked plenty impressive when it went live. But as it turns out, the redesigns were merely the beginning. One major new update to Ideas is the integration of another LEGO platform which will eventually lead to LEGO Rebrick closing down this month.
While it was launched only two years ago in 2016, LEGO Rebrick has proven very popular with plenty of participation in all its contests. Still, in an effort to streamline its online platforms, and with LEGO Rebrick closing, this means that the site’s content will now be a part of the LEGO Ideas Contests page.
Here’s a list of what to expect from the platform, according to the LEGO Ideas blog:
- A new Staff Pick feed that shows both Product Ideas and Contest Entries
- Lightboxes are back! This isn’t new, but it’s useful and we missed them after they were removed in the last release.When you click an image in an idea or entry, it will open a lightbox and you can view it full screen within your browser window.
- Improved look for Contest pages including a full-width header and less visual clutter. Check it out on the Voltron Scene contest.
- New Notifications menu you can find by clicking the bell on the top menu. Customize your alerts in Settings.
- Color-coded flags for news feed items. Product Idea flags are yellow, Contest Entries are blue. We’ve also added a tool tip for context when you hover over them.
- You can now disallow followers in Settings.
- One Contest entry at a time. You can enter contests as many times as you want, but you can only have one awaiting a moderator approval at a time. Quality over quantity!
- More Visible “Submit Product Idea” link, so you can more easily find it on a mobile device.
- Improvements to Ending Soon timer for product ideas on the Discover page. If there’s less than a day left, it now shows hours and minutes.
- Minor Terms of Service update changing language to better support Contests.
Finally, LEGO Rebrick will close for good on September 14. Sad as it may sound, we just hope for the best for this new direction that the LEGO Ideas platform is taking.