Lego Castle - Kingdoms (2010-2011)

Kingdoms (2010-2011)

Kingdoms is the name of the new theme that was released June 2010 and replaced the Castle theme that had been in place since 2007. Kingdoms took over the position of LEGO's medieval-related System playtheme from Castle, while Castle was discontinued. Unlike its predecessor, Kingdoms departs from the concept of a fantasy world inhabited by undead, orcs and dwarves, and goes back to the idea of a more realistic world modeled after the European Middle Ages. The only fantasy-elements are the dragon-crests and a wizard minifigure. Thus, it features sets that are more reminiscent of the early sets of the classic Castle theme from the 1980s. Indeed, the set #7946 King's Castle is modeled after the #6080 King's Castle set released in 1984.

In Kingdoms, there are two antagonist factions that are pitted against each other. One side has the role of the attackers, featuring more vehicles and siege engines (The Green Kingdom/Dragon Knights). The other side has the role of the defenders with an emphasis on buildings (The Red Kingdom/Lion Knights). This setting makes the theme similar to the first Knights' Kingdom theme from 2000, but design-wise the sets are more in the tradition of Castle (2007). This theme featured new knight helms, new horse armor, and a new portcullis piece.

The final Kingdoms-themed set, called #10223 Kingdoms Joust, was released on December 26, 2011. The Kingdoms theme was discontinued in early 2012, and replaced by a new licensed theme The Lord of the Rings in Summer 2012. These sets are based on the movie trilogy of the same name, as well as the upcoming The Hobbit movie.