Every family has children. These are both his own and younger brothers, sisters, nephews. And it’s not a secret for anyone that their kids are growing rapidly, and strangers are even faster. It seems that only a child crawled, very little time passes and a respectable person already meets you for serious matters. And, importantly, this “boss” always has a busy schedule: food, sleep, activities. After that, looking at adulthood from the side, the realization comes that your own schedule is not a regime at all, but pampering.
Best gift
Sooner or later, the moment comes when you have to go to the "big man" with a present. And, as a rule, by the age of 6 the child has everything - from a radio-controlled machine to all kinds of balls or dolls and combs. Do not rack your brains. To the rescue comes a brilliant invention of mankind - the designer.
This is not only an occasion to unite and talk on a joint topic, but also to create a collective masterpiece: a castle, a robot, a dragon. Next, we consider several manufacturers - Lego and Minecraft, as well as their budget counterparts.
Designer views
The market is full of a variety of plastic bricks and blocks. The price varies no worse than in a car dealership: premium or business class, Mercedes or Toyota. Since Minecraft is an analogue of Lego, the first version of the Lego Duplo brand , Lego Baby, is specifically designed for young children. The blocks are painted in bright colors, ideal for the construction of the first pyramids, turrets, houses, cars.
The second option is appropriate for children of senior kindergarten, primary school years and older.
There are also designer blocks made of wood, but not one of the claimed brands is engaged in their production.
A bit of history
The creation of Lego dates back to the distant 40s of the last century, and designers based on the Minecraft game saw the world in the recent 2012. The Minecraft version is released by Mojang AB.
She also produces Lego sets for little girls. For example, Lego Disney Princess and Lego Friends, or earlier versions: Lego Belvilly, Lego Clikits. Designers consist of small interconnected parts. Parts of these collections can be connected with ordinary Lego bricks, as well as with each other, act as decorative elements.
In fact, this is one line. But the Lego Group would not agree with this statement. The manufacturer has repeatedly filed lawsuits against companies that have borrowed the methodology of the designer’s connecting mechanism from them.
Minecraft
So, what kind of Minecraft designer? First of all, it is a real analogue of a computer game. It transfers from the virtual world to real three-dimensional graphics, which the child is now able to create not with the mouse clicks, but with his own hands.
Accordingly, all released sets and details in them are named after a computer game. At the moment, the world saw such issues: Micro World - The Forest, The village, The nether, The end, The cave, The farm, The first night, Crafting box, The ender dragon, The mine, The dungeon, The snow hideout, The desert outpost, The nether fortress, The iron golem, The end portal, The jungle tree house, The wither, The fortress, The village, The mushroom island, The nether railway. Most of the characters in the Minecraft world are zombies, skeletons, humans, dragons.
What you should know is the number of parts in each series. Have you seen a funny video when father shovels the constructor and scatters the boxes? So, on average, each of these sets holds about 400 parts. It includes both prefabricated (collapsible) blocks and figures, household items, animals, trees. Therefore, get ready, entering the room, you should look under your feet.
And yet the main advantage is that all the parts from the sets are complementary. Therefore, even having lost bricks or figures, you can easily borrow them from any other part of the constructor. Or intentionally mix them and create a new world of figures.
From what age
Not so long ago, there was an opinion that small parts are only for children of the “3+” age. But modern manufacturers have expanded age limits. Now produce a designer for babies from 9 months. Its difference, first of all, in the size, and accordingly the color scheme, configuration. For the smallest, this is a wooden, plastic constructor and even with a scent. Accordingly, the age limit is significantly expanded.
This line will not become an analogue or competitor to the Minecraft designer. After all, it's like in the computer game "0" level for beginners. Its purpose is to develop basic design skills, interest, promote fine motor skills.
In adulthood, such a craze can already enter a new stage of formation. For example, in America, Germany, Poland, there are even clubs for lovers of Lego and Minecraft.
How to choose
Children 1-1.5 years old should give a designer with large building blocks. 3-5 years old - thematic, where the child himself is already able to make a figure, following the instructions, or in a random order the declared model of the aircraft, cars. Accordingly, the older the child, the more difficult sets are offered.
Here comes to the aid the well-known manufacturer Lego, or, as mentioned, its analogue Minecraft. However, the child can not do without the help of adults. Since even basic thematic constructors contain diagrams and assembly instructions. For novice designers, such a scheme can be complicated in execution. In particular, this applies to Minecraft.
First of all, we pay attention to the size of the details: the younger the baby, the larger the building blocks should be. The rest is a matter of taste for the most giving or small builder.
Price quality
The harsh realities are such that not everyone can afford to buy such a large-scale designer as Lego or Minecraft. Therefore, there is an analogue "Minecraft", manufactured by the company "Lepin" (Lepin).
It is produced in China. Since the production technology is similar, the materials are used as in Lego. Actually, like all Chinese products, this designer, an analogue of Lego Minecraft, duplicates some of its releases, sometimes even repeats them exactly. For example, the editions of Lego City, Lego Ninjago, Criitor - sets from an exclusive series. The main difference is the cost. Instead of one Lego kit, you can buy about five Lepin collections.
The company also specializes in producing collections that are no longer produced by the Lego Group: Taj Mahal, Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, 4x4 Crawler Exclusive Edition, Imperial Flagship, Death Star and others.
"Star wars" by Lepin
Minecraft will not be able to discuss many analogues, since only one well-known manufacturer deals with them - Lepin, as mentioned earlier. Yes, and they are sets that are more focused on the Lego collection.
His Star wars set is a prime example. In the consumer market, you simply will not find an analogue worthy. This is evidenced by numerous user reviews. The number of parts duplicates the original, and the build quality is small, which is inferior. In the box, as in other sets, detailed instructions for assembling the spaceship are attached. The quality of the plastic is as close as possible to the original, which is stated on the manufacturer’s website. Bonding of parts is also at a decent level. The kit includes additional figures that duplicate the original.
Therefore, if we talk about analogues of Minecraft, it is more appropriate to consider not design, but computer versions.
For girls
As mentioned earlier, the female part of the young population is also not deprived of collections. The designer based on the famous "Lego" embodied as his analogue "Minecraft."
These are the collections of the series Bela Friends Central Confectionery, Cafe in the City Park, Sports Camp, Olivia and the Caravan, City Pool, Supermarket, Animal Clinic and many others. us into the world of three-dimensional figures.
You can’t meet zombies and dragons here, but your storyline is also present.
Instead of completing
In general, there are designers based on the Minecraft game, but there are very few worthy analogues. For the most part, these are Chinese models that imitate or completely repeat collections.
Developer Mikhail Vogelman, created a brainchild called Craft - a free analogue of Minecraft. In other words, this is the same computer game, but in the public domain and somewhat modernized to the tastes of the domestic consumer. As gamers love to say, it contains interesting Easter eggs and add-ons. Regarding a selection of games similar to Minecraft, the same Mojang development company introduced a great many to their public. The so-called “cubic games” in narrow circles of experts: Creativerse, Portal Knights, Trove, Eco, Unturned, Terraria / Starbound, Block n load, Lego Worlds and some others.
Of course, I want to be “on the topic” of the interests of the younger generation, but everything is also impossible to know. Therefore, we prefer the game in the designer of the computer version. Indeed, the creation of the new will unite children and adults of all ages, will contribute to the development of communication skills, and will help develop imagination and the logical train of thought.
From all that has been said, the most important analogue of Minecraft is any constructor, or a cubic game! And it doesn’t matter what you decide to give the child. The main thing in the gift is what? Attention! But it’s better to show children how to create a world outside of monitors, because gadgets in life take the lion's share of time anyway. After all, to create a creation with your own hands is wonderful. Let not be a work of art, and following the pattern, but maybe this will lay the foundation for something more. But is this not the first small achievement on your child’s long life journey?