The year in review
Posted by Huw,
This year we published more news articles than in any other, and they've been read by more people than ever before. Our 1,600 articles and reviews have been viewed more than 10.5 million times throughout the year, which accounts for about 10% of our total traffic.
It's been an extraordinary year, of course, and we hope that we've helped to keep you entertained and informed during difficult times.
To help us all through the spring lockdown we began publishing user-contributed articles in March, starting with our meet a member and featured set series. In May, we ran a series on members' storage solutions and in July we held our first Brickset Bouts in which Ninjago City fought off the Old Fishing Store in the final to be crowned the best set released in the last 20 years.
Also in July we celebrated our 20th anniversary with a series of articles on the history of the site.
In September, we kicked-off our ongoing building community series and in November we had you write our annual holiday gift guide.
And, let's not forget the awesome building tutorials contributed by benbuildslego, catarino, and others throughout the year and our design a polybag set competition.
So, it's been a busy year, and I've not even mentioned all the set reveals, reviews and other news.
After the break you'll find listings of the most read, most liked and most commented articles that we published during the year.
Most read articles
The most read article was about a poorly-researched report published elsewhere. It's clearly something people are interested in so perhaps we should do it properly sometime, with the help of our readers throughout the world.
Reveals and reviews of anticipated sets make up most of the rest of the chart.
| Article | Date posted | Views | Likes | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who pays the most, and least, for their LEGO? | 07 Nov | 77174 | 108 | 121 |
| 2020 Summer Set Summary | 29 Jan | 67782 | 99 | 134 |
| LEGO Ideas Pirates of Barracuda Bay revealed! | 24 Mar | 61784 | 402 | 271 |
| 75292 Razor Crest renamed following trademark issue | 29 Aug | 56542 | 84 | 159 |
| The Mandalorian sets revealed! | 20 Feb | 51805 | 217 | 161 |
| Next year's modular building revealed! | 27 Nov | 51040 | 256 | 280 |
| Collectable Minifigures Series 20 official images! | 16 Mar | 49496 | 198 | 116 |
| Review: 10276 Colosseum | 13 Nov | 48767 | 222 | 150 |
| Review: 21322 Pirates of Barracuda Bay | 03 Apr | 46856 | 267 | 76 |
| More information about LEGO Super Mario! | 12 Mar | 46158 | 136 | 214 |
Most liked articles
There's quite a mixture of articles in this list -- part numbers, paper bags, minifigure lifecycle, image popups, and Pirates of Barracuda Bay -- but it's great to see our 20th anniversary article at the top.
| Article | Date posted | Views | Likes | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| It's our 20th anniversary today! | 14 Jul | 3872 | 437 | 128 |
| LEGO Ideas Pirates of Barracuda Bay revealed! | 24 Mar | 61784 | 402 | 271 |
| Understanding LEGO part numbers | 23 Oct | 23464 | 357 | 72 |
| Clues to the minifig's lifecycle uncovered in City sets | 26 Nov | 21896 | 357 | 108 |
| Plastic bags inside sets to be replaced with paper ones | 15 Sep | 33424 | 301 | 205 |
| Brickset bouts: The winner is... | 03 Aug | 26357 | 282 | 153 |
| First image of 75290 Mos Eisley Cantina | 03 Sep | 40152 | 279 | 162 |
| Who visited Brickset this year and what did they look at? | 13 Dec | 8860 | 279 | 98 |
| Review: 21322 Pirates of Barracuda Bay | 03 Apr | 46856 | 267 | 76 |
| Popup image on hover over set number links | 08 Oct | 2109 | 265 | 103 |
Most commented articles
An article canvassing for suggestions for a forthcoming poll tops the list of most commented articles by some margin.
The second article was about a product that didn't, and still doesn't, exist but it certainly piqued your interest!
| Article | Date posted | Views | Likes | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What new licensed theme should LEGO produce next? | 15 Mar | 23167 | 106 | 554 |
| Lighting kit boxes on display in Copenhagen | 13 Feb | 33578 | 208 | 288 |
| LEGO Ideas review results announced! | 23 Jun | 29700 | 118 | 282 |
| Next year's modular building revealed! | 27 Nov | 51040 | 256 | 280 |
| LEGO Ideas Pirates of Barracuda Bay revealed! | 24 Mar | 61784 | 402 | 271 |
| Technic Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey cancelled? | 20 Jul | 26243 | 91 | 222 |
| More information about LEGO Super Mario! | 12 Mar | 46158 | 136 | 214 |
| Plastic bags inside sets to be replaced with paper ones | 15 Sep | 33424 | 301 | 205 |
| 71374 Nintendo Entertainment System officially revealed! | 14 Jul | 28419 | 232 | 204 |
| Brickset Awards 2020 - Nominations | 28 Dec | 3809 | 49 | 204 |
Most commented RSOTD
I was hoping that a list of the most commented on random set of the day articles would contain the best ones featured but that's far from the case.
The top two are among the worse sets LEGO has ever made and number three is only interesting because of its packaging and dodgy name.
Number 4, however, is one of the best sets ever made...
| Article | Date posted | Views | Likes | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Random set of the day: Twin Rotor Cargo | 11 Feb | 2205 | 35 | 67 |
| Random set of the day: Nepol and Shimmel | 09 Mar | 2814 | 50 | 65 |
| Random set of the day: Gold Good Guy | 11 Sep | 3004 | 112 | 65 |
| Random set of the day: Alienator | 24 Sep | 1973 | 111 | 62 |
| Random set of the day: Pizza-To-Go | 25 Sep | 2156 | 126 | 53 |
| Random set of the day: Desert Attack | 30 Nov | 1524 | 72 | 53 |
| Random set of the day: Buggy | 30 Jan | 2307 | 37 | 52 |
| Random set of the day: Peril in Peru | 03 Oct | 2046 | 77 | 51 |
| Random set of the day: Paramedic Unit | 24 Jul | 1166 | 87 | 50 |
| Random set of the day: Police Chase | 22 Sep | 1613 | 51 | 49 |
We look forward to serving your LEGO news needs in 2021 and, as always, if you have suggestions for how we can improve or articles you'd like to see us publish, do get in touch via the contact form or the suggestion box.
We hope 2021 is significantly better than this one for you, and that you'll stick around to see what we have in store for you next year.
Happy New Year!
Huw, Chris, Megan and Alice -- the Bricket team
Thanks once again to Dan Ko at dhsign.eu for the awesome lead graphic. The font used for 2020 was designed by Milan Sekiz.
162 likes
42 comments on this article
Don't forget the polybag competition. That was pretty fun.
loved the storage solutions series. Really great seeing other peoples collections and how they store all of it.
Wonderful thumbnail image!
Kudos to whoever decorated the tree.
Nice to see a good spread throughout the year.
Thanks for the Brickset recap and thanks to Dan Ko for another fantastic thumbnail! Love that font, too. Brickset was even more interesting than usual this year and the whole team should take pride in how much you did to help entertain us all. I really enjoyed the storage solutions and meet a member features as they seemed to bring the community a little closer together. I'm very appreciative of all the people who took time to put themselves out there and contribute to those series. Here is to a better 2021 for everyone!
Gold Good Guy is the best article(?) on brickset this year
Thanks for a great 2020 on Brickset, despite being a pretty rubbish year Brickset was the counter opposite this year and offered more for its users. Can't wait to see what 2021 brings to this site.
Just curious what happened to Members Monday where a random User written review was but on the homepage, there was only two and I quite liked them.
I can only assume they didn't do too well in views and comments, would love to see it back again if possible as it gives great reviews more exposure.
Huw, is that you behind the desk...? The fake mustache and wig and face paint aren’t fooling anyone... ;)
Thank you all @Brickset for the great effort you put into this site each and every year, especially @Huw for all the continuous improvement and fresh ideas.
Happy New Year everyone!
Huw, I am so thankful for the featured user, featured set and storage solutions articles this year. Thanks for the work you and the Brickset staff did to get those live. They brought lots of new perspectives and helped tons of readers feel more connected this year. Great windows into the Lego lives of fellow fans!
I like all those user contributed articles, especially featured set series. It was very interesting to see stories behind member’s most favourite sets. And was happy to contribute with my story too :)
Keep making good articles and we will read them.
@Minifig290 said:
"Thanks for a great 2020 on Brickset, despite being a pretty rubbish year Brickset was the counter opposite this year and offered more for its users. Can't wait to see what 2021 brings to this site.
Just curious what happened to Members Monday where a random User written review was but on the homepage, there was only two and I quite liked them.
I can only assume they didn't do too well in views and comments, would love to see it back again if possible as it gives great reviews more exposure.
"
I paused them while we did the gift guide and Advent calendar articles but I'll resume them in the new year.
I would watch that news show.
Such a great year for Brickset, thanks to @Huw, @CapnRex101, @MeganL and @Alice.
The featured sets, storage solutions and building tutorials were all amazing. The highlights were definitely the Brickset Bouts and the holiday gift guide. It was great to write for them and interesting to see what others had to say, so thanks again @Huw.
Happy New Year bricksetters, have a great 2021!
As expected, the most commented RSotD articles are those that are so good, or so bad. :)
Happy New Year and thanks for another year of great content :)
As a new reader of Brickset, I can wholeheartedly blame you for many of my current lego wishlist items, knowledge and storage set up. Great work guys :)
Thank you for all the wonderful content! Happy New Year to all!
Thanks for everything you all do for us.
Happy New Year!
Thank god this year is almost over.
I wish they still did tips and tricks.
Brickset made 2020 less terrible. Thank you to the whole team.
Don't know about anyone else, but I had a good laugh at the fact that the most popular RSotD articles were Jack Stone, Galidor, and infamous Bionicle freebie, respectively! It's a case of people being more inclined to take a moment to snark at something they don't like than to genuinely comment on something they do, I think...
In any case, looking forward to Huwbot unearthing even more old Lego weirdness over the next year! the RSotD feature is genuinely the main thing that keep me coming back here every day, and I'm glad it's still going strong! :D
Thanks for everything else you all do to make this such a great site, too, and Happy New Year to the whole team! ^^
You started publishing, on the front page, the best user review of the week. You then suddenly stopped. Why?
Answered above.
perfect picture for article with Lego breaking news :) . I would like to see more like this in future :)
I'm surprised the @Huwbot MOC for Ideas didn't get more likes or comments.
I forgot about him. I'll resurrect him in the new year!
Thanks to everyone at Brickset for all that you do. It's wonderful to belong to this community. I visit this site multiple times a day, post comments regularly, add likes and benefit greatly from the reviews provided by members and the gifted staff writers. You have all been a critical part of maintaining my mental health during the pandemic. Thank-you for bringing laughter, reflection, joy and light in a very dark time in human history. God bless you all.
I was really glad for the interviews with Brickset users. It was interesting getting to know a bit more about people.
@Huw said:
" @Minifig290 said:
"Thanks for a great 2020 on Brickset, despite being a pretty rubbish year Brickset was the counter opposite this year and offered more for its users. Can't wait to see what 2021 brings to this site.
Just curious what happened to Members Monday where a random User written review was but on the homepage, there was only two and I quite liked them.
I can only assume they didn't do too well in views and comments, would love to see it back again if possible as it gives great reviews more exposure.
"
I paused them while we did the gift guide and Advent calendar articles but I'll resume them in the new year."
Oh, thanks.
I think the comment section on RSotD has been used as a source of stress-relief, like one of those little rubber dolls you try to squeeze so hard it'll pop, but all that happens is the facial features bug out.
@Huw likes the Alienator so much he even used it as an example in the Lugnet announcement :)
Thank you all for your kind comments.
Happy New Year and thanks for a great site !
Another fantastic year of content by the BEST LEGO site for LEGO fans!
Brickset is my homepage and I visit it several times a day to see what is new. During an unbelievably difficult year it has been a welcome relief and a much needed escape. Speaking of which , any chance someone could do a series of articles on the much loved themes such as classic space, classic trains and classic castle?
I recognize the newsman as the boxer from the Downtown Diner!
@Norikins:
I'm still trying to figure out what actor he reminds me of. It was from a show I didn't watch, but I remember seeing a commercial for the show where an actor I'd seen elsewhere was sporting a shaggy mane and thick moustache.
"three is only interesting because of its packaging and dodgy name."
Turaga Lhikan didn't sacrifice himself and save the entire population of Metru Nui for this