Legos For Girls and Gamers

I am a girl who loves games. My family played board games every weekend. My parents liked education toys and so we grew up playing with Lincoln Logs and Legos. My brother is just two years older so we shared those toys and it never occurred to me that Legos weren't "for girls."
In shopping for Legos for my D&D game, I stumbled upon a subset of Legos that were designed to appeal to girls. There's a zoo set and an animal care set. There's a farm set. They are designed for younger girls. So I looked harder and found the Belville line. What is in this line? Horses. And dogs. That is it, so far.
So I started thinking about girls I know. They are smart, funny and imaginative. What is the perfect combination of Legos for girls? Why not get the girl in your life a "Brickbeard's Bounty" set? Who does not like pirates? This set comes with the "Admiral's daughter" figure, and unlike the website write up, she does not need rescuing. She's in charge of the attack!
If she is into Star Wars, the "Tantive IV" set is great. Princess Leia and the 'droids accent the set. Lego also has tons more space-themed sets.
Of course, the line that got me started on looking at Legos again is the Castle line. Knights, horses, castles and evil magicians! It is perfect for Dungeons and Dragons game play. One set -- the "Drawbridge Defense" set -- comes with a princess. She commands the drawbridge, directing the golden knights and his followers on how to repel the skeletal mage who is bent on conquest!
It is such open-ended game play that makes Legos a great gift for a child. It appeals to gamers for the same reasons. Dungeons and Dragons adventures are intricate and at the same time, very open to improvisation. By using Legos as props to help illustrate the story, the Game Master and the players are acting out the adventure. The little figures are interchangeable so you can quickly change outfits for your Lego. This is a distinct advantage over using more traditional D&D miniatures for game play. I realize you lose some (OK, all) of the "realism" if you do not use D&D minis to represent the characters on the battle mat. For my taste, the Legos offer enough versatility to make up for any lack in realistic representations.
So, if you had not thought of Legos as a perfect gift for you daughter, granddaughter or niece, I hope you give it a closer look. And if you are a gamer, check out the amazing things Lego is up to. It just might surprise you.

For more about Legos for girls click here. To read the adventures of a girl gamer click here.