LEGO Indiana Jones The Temple of Doom

The Temple of Doom Ages: 8 to 14 Pieces: 652 Requires: Large, flat surface for assembly

What We Think Fun factor: Durability: Ease of assembly: Educational factor: Novelty factor: The Good: Mine-themed adventure set with plenty of cool moving parts. The Challenging: With lots of leggy constructions, this set is a bit fragile and unstable. In a Nutshell: Action-packed building set jump starts imaginative play.

Battle the evil shaman Mola Ram on the scary skull altar to recapture the magical stones and return them to the village! View larger.

Relive the movie with the 37-inch mine track, booby traps and plenty of creepy-crawlies. View larger.

In addition to the 37-inch mine track, this set includes a detailed recreation of the movie's skull altar, two mine carts, booby traps, and plenty of creepy-crawlies. The Temple of Doom comes complete with six mini figures: Indy, his lady-love Willie, his kid sidekick Short Round, the evil shaman Mola Ram, and two menacing temple guards.

In addition, there are plenty of features to keep the set interesting. Just when it seems like Indy is doomed, you can set a trap to derail the temple guards from their evil mission -- position a road block, dump rubble, or let loose a snake.

Building the Temple of Doom
With 652 pieces and a colorful instruction booklet, the Temple of Doom took our two adult testers approximately two hours to construct. The process was challenging, but not too difficult with colorful step-by-step illustrations showing the way.

Overall, this set scores an excellent rating for its clever design elements. Encountering snares on their journey down the extra-long track, the runaway mine cars are a huge hit. Other favorite features are the temple's trap door, the boulder-rigged mine shaft, the chopping sword, and the glow-in-the-dark temple decorations.

One of the best features of this set may be the collection of mini figures, each of which has unique features. Indy comes complete with a removable knapsack and hat, Mola Ram has his signature horned headgear, Willie has long, wavy blond hair, and Short Round is characteristically petite. With such a detailed cast of characters, it's enjoyable to stage battles between Indy's crew and the elusive enemies -- with clubs, swords, guns, and more.

Our testers enjoyed the way the narrative of this set allowed them to reenact Indy's quest to capture the magical stones and end Mola Ram's evil influence. They also appreciated that the storyline is simple enough to make the set entertaining whether or not your child has seen the classic 1984 Indiana Jones movie.

What's in the Box
652 LEGO pieces and instruction booklet.