The Modern Middle Ages: LEGO Castle Rides Again

LEGO Castle is back! Maybe not in the way we Castle fans like to see it—as a whole theme resurgence—but we do have another castle available to build. That means there are three official classic LEGO castle sets on the market right now. What a time to be a LEGO fan!

Creator 31120 Medieval Castle is still available in some areas, though retiring soon, the fantastic Icons 10305 Lion Castle is still around, and now we have Creator 31168 Medieval Horse Knight Castle.

This doesn’t even count the BrickLink Designer Program sets catering to Castle fans, the new medieval minifigures from the Prize Machine, or even fantasy-based castles like the Dungeons & Dragons Guarded Inn, the Unicorn Castle, or other IP and Architecture castles.

With so many turrets, towers, and taverns to choose from, it almost feels like we’ve time-traveled back to the golden age of LEGO Castle—only with better printing and more factions to choose from.

Hidden in Plain Sight

And that’s before you start branching out to Castle-related sets. Even one of the more Castle-adjacent sets, Creator 31161 Medieval Dragon, holds more significance than it seems. If you look closely, you can actually find the Medieval Horse Knight Castle hidden on the box before it was ever announced!

31168 being teased on the box art

And fun fact—the same Creator Dragon now appears on the box art for the new Horse Knight Castle!

31161 shown on the box art and another unkown building

But is that something in the distance? If you look on the horizon, there is also another castle-like building in the background. Perhaps a teaser for a future Snake Knights Castle? Who knows...

The Horse Knight Castle

Today we are going to focus on the Creator 31168 Medieval Horse Knight Castle. This Creator Castle is a solid set, complete with some desirable new minifigs. The fun part is that it introduces two new factions and a total of four shields—not bad for a midrange Creator set.

What the Medieval Horse Knight Castle set lacks compared to the Lion Knights Castle is… actual horses. Of course, being a Creator set, that’s solved through brick-built horses. I’d call it a solid attempt, but they do look a bit silly. And honestly? I can’t unsee The Emperor’s New Groove inspiration. It feels more llama than horse.

Flags stuck on the backside

And if I were the horse, I probably wouldn’t be thrilled about having a flagpole stuck into my lower back. A clip on the side of the barding might have been a better choice. Still, it’s a fun design that fits perfectly within the Creator spirit. The bricks in the set make it possible to create a horse without a barding, too… because that’s what Creator sets are all about—building or modifying.

Creator and Castle DNA

Speaking of modding sets, I always loved the alternate builds shown on the smaller 80s and 90s sets, and Creator sets are the closest thing we have today that captures that same spirit. So I played around a little bit and recreated two sets I still cherish—the Armor Shop and the Guarded Inn.

Armor Shop

6041 Armor Shop is one of those fun classic sets that did more than just offer a wall or tower. It had personality. That’s why I decided to build one myself—it even shows that a horse can be made without the barding.

armor shop

The best part about these smaller sets was that you could combine them into making a larger city wall. And no city wall is complete without the famous 6067 Guarded Inn.

guarded inn

Guarded Inn

It’s still one of the most charming small Castle builds LEGO ever made, and revisiting it through this Creator set reminds me why these compact medieval vignettes were so memorable.

Playing Around with Kings and Castles

Taking a look at the minifigures, I don’t think we have ever been spoiled with minifigs and accessories like these before in a Creator set. The amount of mixing and matching you can do with these parts is super fun. As shown in the next image. With a few swaps, you can create a king that looks nothing like the one in the instructions or a colorful tournament knight, or more!

The only downside—and yes, it’s nitpicking—is the new shield shape design. I’m not fond of it; to me, it has a Playmobil vibe. But that might be personal taste. What’s less subjective is how LEGO positioned the handle—it prevents minifigures from holding the shield close to their body. Posing it forward only makes it worse. It’s another Playmobil stance moment.

posing is limited with this shield

posing is limited with this shield

Back to the castle itself, it looks great from the front, but it’s clearly designed for playability first. The back is completely open, which makes it perfect for play access but not so ideal for defense. I hope the king realizes that when a siege comes, that open backside means the fortress is there for the taking. Then again, maybe that’s the strategy: invite your enemies to dinner and convince them to retreat afterward.

The back side is completely open

But from the front, the castle is gorgeous. And it’s fun to play around with the courtyard with the different doors and stalls. The only downside is that the four castle parts are held together with one bar and clip connection. I can already imagine my nephews picking it up wrong and the whole castle breaking apart. It also risks wearing down that clip over time. In my opinion, a pin-and-hole connection would’ve been sturdier and longer-lasting.

Clips are holding the castle together.

Modding a Medieval Castle

And now, the fun part… what happens when builders push it beyond the box? AFOLs have already remixed this into some alt-builds worth mentioning.

Theastralbricks turned the Creator castle into a beautiful book nook, easily outshining even the Gandalf vs. Balrog version.

booknook

Lux.bricks designed this elegant drawbridge, complete with a raft. It feels right at home in the visual language that the original set created.

drawbridge

And I’m not the only one who likes the classics. Builder Southernbricks recreated 6074 Black Falcons Fortress by only using this Creator set.

falcon castle

If you think one castle set isn’t enough, Wurger_bricks probably agrees with you. He designed an excellent castle by combining the sets, taking the “parts pack” concept and putting it on steroids.

And if you are thinking that two copies are not enough, Theastralbricks combined even more sets into a towering citadel. The result looks less like a Creator set and more like the kind of fortress that would make the Lion Knights consider a peace treaty.

And Theastralbricks doesn’t stop there, combining SIX sets into what could almost be a medieval Minas Tirith in light grey.

LEGO’s Creator 31168 Medieval Horse Knight Castle might not be the grand return of a full Castle theme, but it keeps the dream alive for fans who love modular builds, alternate designs, and creative flexibility. It’s the kind of set that reminds us why Castle endures not as a single product line, but as an idea that keeps builders experimenting, expanding, and reimagining their own kingdoms.

LEGO Creator 31168 Medieval Horse Knight Castle will be available September 12 for around $130 in the US, EU, CA, UK, and AU.

DISCLAIMER: This set was provided to BrickNerd by LEGO. Any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.

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