Rent LEGO sets from Pley-worry free about lost bricks

The yin yang of LEGO is that they are awesome. Literally everything is awesome when you’re building and playing with LEGO. The yang is that if you lose a piece to one of the set you risk not having it stay together. The sibling that intentionally hides a piece or two so that the older one can’t finish it, the dog that tasted spaghetti sauce or the sofa that ‘eats’ them-there is a reason the small pieces disappear. Pley is a company that rents LEGO sets. If you lose a piece, no problem, just let them know and you won’t be charged for it.

When I was a kid LEGO didn’t even have sets. They just had boxes of blocks, which were still awesome and I loved every minute of it, but I was unable to build anything with rounded corners. Now kids can build anything, including the Duplo crowd, who can make zoos, farms or any place that a three-year old builder wants to go.

We tried out the fire truck. It was a near perfect build for our five-year old. On the first attempt he needed a little bit of help. However, by the second and other multiple times he was whizzing through construction with no problem at all.

The set was shipped to us in a box. Inside the box was a strong mesh envelope that zipped up. That is where all of the LEGO pieces and instructions were held.

I’m a clean LEGO purist. Start with a clean table, that way you don’t think that you’ve lost any parts and can quickly and easily identify the colors and shapes. Our oldest son is not quite as pure as I am.

He dumps them on the table and looks for each piece. If he were typing I would say that he’s hunting and pecking.  However, it works for him.

We played with the fire truck for a while, took it apart, put it back in another sealed plastic envelope that Pley sent us, printed the shipping label that they sent and boom it was gone.  Well that was simple. If we had an account set up at Pley then the next set that we had requested would’ve been sent our way once they got that one back.

During the course of our assembly and taking it apart, which we did several times, I did lose some pieces.  I was at ease because I knew that is the reason for Pley’s business model. We all love LEGOs, but hate it when we lose a piece or two. In the end I did find the missing pieces, they were under the table, like they always are.

The only downside to Pley is that you can’t keep them. A parent’s legacy of handing down LEGO sets so that their grandchildren can play with them is off of the table. The trade is that your children get to play with and build hundred of sets.  And you could always purchase the sets that you really like after you try them out with Pley. Another upside is that they have LEGO sets for the Duplo crowd, entry level LEGOs, advanced sets and even those cool Architecture sets that you’ve always wanted to build.

There is a free trial for Pley, but if your child (or you) are into building things you’ll want to join. The Builder Class has 155 sets to choose from and costs $19.99 a month. The Master Class has 355 set options and costs $49.99 a month.