A new month (and a New Year!) is upon us which means more competitive building! Are you ready? Here’s the latest bunch of LEGO contests and challenges from all around the AFOL community for January 2024 to help you find some inspiration and motivation to build! There’s nothing quite like a theme or a prompt to take you out of your comfort zone and give you something new to try. Besides, contests are the perfect place to interact with other contestants and judges and get to know your fellow builders. And if you’re like me, a deadline helps make sure you actually finish!
We’ve listed them in order of deadline so you can plan your building time to the best advantage. Make sure to check the LEGO activity calendar for local challenges and events near you. Here at BrickNerd, some of our fondest memories, greatest building achievements, coolest trophies, and best friendships came from LEGO contests, so we really hope you try some of these out. We look forward to seeing what you build!
The Twenty-four Hour Animation Contest, or THAC for short, is a Brickfilming competition that lasts exactly 24 hours. All writing, recording, animating, and editing must be completed within the span of one day. It is as challenging as it sounds, but equal parts fun and is a major staple of the community!
Deadline: January 6th-7th (7:00am EST)
Prize: First place will have their choice of Boutique Hotel 10297, Viking Village 21343, and DREAMZzz Fantastical Tree House 71461 – second place their choice of the two remaining prizes, and so on for third.
Where to enter: Via email
Light your fires, and get that anvil ringing! The Iron Forge is back – do you have what it takes to challenge the Iron Builders?
You have until the 12th of January to create a MOC worthy of the Forge using the seed part. The seed part you must feature in your MOC are one of three minifigure helmets: The classic motorcycle helmet or any version of the Classic Space helmet, including Benny’s, in any color or color combination.
Deadline: First round ends January 12th
Prize: The chance to compete in the legendary Iron Builer challenge!
Where to enter: Discord
Do you have what it takes to be a Dragonslayer? Do you deserve a place at the round table with some of the best medieval builders out there? Then come on and start snapping those bricks together! Brickscalibur has returned with six epic medieval categories (and one extra category just for digital builders).
Deadline: January 15th
Prize: First and second prizes (including sets and custom trophies) for each of the six categories (including one digital-only category), first for both members of the collab category, and 21343 Viking Village for the overall winner.
Where to enter: Discord or the Brickscalibur website
BrickLink Designer Program Series 4
Participate in Series 4 of the BrickLink Designer Program to have the chance to get your build produced and sold as a BrickLink exclusive set!
Deadline: January 15th
Prize: Have your build turned into a BrickLink Designer set!
Where to enter: Bricklink
BrickCentral January Contest
Let your imagination run wild with surrealism! Surrealism is primarily visual. It takes us on incredible journeys, immerses in unknown worlds, shows strange characters and always leaves the viewers the opportunity to figure out a lot by themselves.
Show us your wildest ideas, mind-blowing stories and incredible visuals with the widest and most open interpretation possible. Create characters and situations that cannot be considered definitively and that pose unanswered questions, just like this description!
Deadline: January 28th
Prizes: 71469 Nightmare Shark Ship and 71457 Pegasus Flying Horse
Where to enter: BrickCentral Discord
Space Jam is back! Show off your Sci-Fi building skills with six epic categories and push your limits to beyond outer space!
Deadline: January 31st
Prize: There are over $600 worth of great prizes to give away across the six categories, so you won’t want to miss out!
Where to enter: Flickr or Instagram and Discord
The guilds are in a period of relative peace and stability, and commerce is flourishing. From massive cities to remote settlements, caravans and shipping routes bustle with goods from every guild, so build a trading post where your guild’s unique wares can be bought and sold!
Deadline: February 1st
Prize: First place will receive the 21343 Viking Village, second place will win 40657 Dream Village, and a randomly selected participant will win four LEGO castle minifigures.
Where to enter: Eurobricks
Picture Perfect Memories Ideas Contest
What makes the LEGO Ideas Polaroid Camera unique is that it doesn’t take photos! But what if it could?
We’re challenging you to create photos not shot on a LEGO Polaroid Camera. We’re looking for brick-built scenes that feature the iconic Polaroid film frame showing off scenes and memories which are very special to you, or creative wonders that are works of art.
Deadline: February 8th (6:00 am EST)
Prize: Grand Prize Winner will receive 21345 Polaroid Camera, 21342 The Insect Collection, 21343 Viking Village, 21338 A-Frame Cabin, 21335 Motorized Lighthouse, A Polaroid Now Generation 2 Camera in Black, and 2x Polaroid Color i-Type film.
Additionally, two runner-ups will receive 21345 Polaroid Camera, 21342 The Insect Collection, and 21340 Tales of the Space Age
Where to enter: LEGO Ideas
Happy building! See you here next month for our next LEGO community contest list. And if you would like us to add a contest, please email dave@bricknerd.com.
What are your experiences with LEGO contests? Are there any you know of that we missed? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
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