If you’ve spent any time watching your kid play Minecraft, you know the drill: they spend hours building a dirt hut, only for a Creeper to blow it up, or they fall into lava and lose their diamond pickaxe, leading to a level of emotional devastation usually reserved for when the Wi-Fi goes out.

LEGO Worlds is the "chill" alternative. Released back in 2017, it’s a procedurally generated open world made entirely of—you guessed it—LEGO bricks. Everything in the game can be dismantled and rebuilt. The game starts with a bit of a "quest" structure where kids travel to different biomes (Pirate islands, volcanic lands, spooky forests) to help NPCs and collect "Gold Bricks." Once they have enough Gold Bricks, they become a Master Builder and get the keys to the kingdom: total creative freedom.

It’s less about "surviving the night" and more about "I wonder if I can build a castle out of gingerbread and populate it with astronauts."

Kids are naturally drawn to the "collectathon" aspect. They aren't just building; they’re scanning every new animal, character, and vehicle they find to add to their permanent library.

If your kid is in that 7-10 age range, they likely have a "completionist" itch. LEGO Worlds scratches that perfectly. They can discover a dragon, scan it, and then suddenly they can spawn ten dragons whenever they want. It feels like having infinite LEGO sets without the $800 price tag or the shelf space requirement.

Also, the humor is peak LEGO. It’s that same self-aware, slightly goofy vibe you see in The LEGO Movie. It doesn't take itself seriously, which is a nice break from the more intense "battle royale" culture of Fortnite.

Ask our chatbot about why kids are obsessed with sandbox games

When we talk about digital habits at Screenwise, we often look at "Community Context." Roughly 40% of elementary students are active on Roblox, and about 30% are still regularly playing Minecraft. LEGO Worlds sits in a smaller, more intentional niche.

Minecraft is a lifestyle. It’s about complex systems, Redstone engineering, and community servers. LEGO Worlds is much more of a "toy box." The building tools in LEGO Worlds are actually more sophisticated for architectural stuff—you can use "paint tools" to drop massive landscapes or "copy-paste" tools to duplicate buildings. If your kid likes the building part of Minecraft but hates the fighting part, this is their game.

This is where the "No-BS" part of Screenwise comes in. Roblox is a social platform disguised as a game engine. It’s built on "entrepreneurship," which is often just code for "convincing kids to spend Robux on digital pets." LEGO Worlds is a "buy it once and you own it" experience. There are no microtransactions. There is no "Skibidi Toilet" themed gambling room. It’s a safe, contained environment where the only thing being drained is the controller battery.

LEGO Fortnite is the shiny new toy in the LEGO digital universe. It’s a survival-crafting game inside the Fortnite launcher. While it’s great, it still lives inside the Fortnite ecosystem, which means your kid is one click away from the Item Shop and "Ohio" memes in the voice chat. LEGO Worlds is a standalone, offline-capable sanctuary.

Learn more about the differences between LEGO Fortnite and LEGO Worlds

Recommended Ages: 7-12

This is one of the "cleanest" games on our radar.

Check out our guide on setting up console parental controls

Let’s be real: the building tools in LEGO Worlds can be frustrating. Trying to place a single 1x1 brick in a 3D space using a console controller is sometimes an exercise in madness. If your kid is getting frustrated, suggest they use the "Large Scale" tools to terraform the land instead of trying to build a brick-by-brick replica of the Eiffel Tower.

In the world of digital wellness, we talk about "high-arousal" vs. "low-arousal" media. Fortnite is high-arousal—it’s loud, fast, and dopamine-heavy. LEGO Worlds is a low-arousal palate cleanser. It’s a great game to suggest when you want them to wind down before dinner without the "just one more round" screaming match.

We’re not going to tell you it’s going to turn your kid into a structural engineer. However, it does encourage spatial reasoning and "if/then" logic. To unlock certain items, they have to solve simple puzzles (e.g., "This caveman wants a steak, I need to find a cow and then figure out how to get the steak to him"). It’s basic problem-solving wrapped in a plastic brick.

If you want to engage with your kid while they play, don't just ask "What are you doing?" (which usually gets a "nothing" or "playing"). Try these:

It shows you’re paying attention to their digital world without being the "Screen Time Police."

LEGO Worlds is a solid, safe, and genuinely creative investment. It’s not a "service" game that’s going to ask you for a monthly subscription or try to sell your kid a "limited edition" skin. It’s just a digital toy box.

If you’re looking to transition your kid away from the more toxic elements of social gaming but they aren't ready to give up the "sandbox" feel, this is an easy win.

Check out our full guide on the best creative games for kids Ask our chatbot about age-appropriate LEGO games