It’s school holidays, and in case you were worried that the kids have swapped Lego bricks for gaming controllers, the stats say no. Privately-owned Lego says their consumer sales were up 22% in 2021, outpacing the rest of the toy industry. But even if video games are beating out brickheadz, there’s a win to be had with improved dexterity and brain connectivity. Science says so. 👩‍🔬

But combine Lego and video games, and things could be about to get epic! That’s because brick masters Lego are teaming up with Epic Games, which is 40% owned by Tencent (TME), to build a new metaverse for kids and families. 🥽 The deal includes a US$2 billion investment from Sony and Lego into Epic Games, valuing the company at US$31.5 billion, and sets the scene for Epic to take on players like Roblox (RBLX) and Microsoft’s (MSFT) Minecraft. Unlike the so-called ’creepy’ adult metaverse, the new Epic-Lego-verse will be specifically designed ‘with the wellbeing of kids in mind’. 

Meanwhile Meta’s (FB) wasted no time cashing in on their new digital world. The company is levying a hefty 47.5% fee on all digital NFT items sold, and NFT Twitter (TWTR) is pissed. Meta’s Horizon Worlds metaverse can currently only be accessed through virtual reality (VR). But that could be set to change with a new browser version in the works. 👩‍💻 It will need to… teens barely use VR. 

Sometimes though we all need to get outside and touch the grass. Science says that too. If you want the kids to unplug and practise their dexterity navigating the real world, awesome adventures await these school holidays. In Auckland, the Museum is playing host to Peter the T Rex. A ride further south, Rotorua’s brand new $40M lakefront volcanic playground is open for business. Or, give the kids a true taste of Wellywood and piratey fun with KidzStuff production of Pirates vs Ninjas. 🏴‍☠️ Epic!