Nerdvember 2025: Vacation Edition
November has arrived which means BrickNerd is celebrating Nerdvember! It is a month where we get EXCEPTIONALLY nerdy and dive even deeper into LEGO topics, techniques, themes, history, lore, MOCs and more. But it also means we host our annual contest where you can reimagine our mascot Nerdly to win some amazing prizes!
So what’s the contest theme this year? We’ve done high fantasy, survival and animation themes. We know life is busy right now, so you all deserve a vacation! Welcome to Nerdvember 2025: Vacation Edition!
Pack Your Bags
Whether it’s a weekend getaway or a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, Nerdvember is your ticket to unwind, recharge, and do something fun! And there are TWO ways to win this year:
1 - Take A Photo of Nerdly on Vacation
Take a photograph of our unaltered red mascot Nerdly on vacation! (Here are basic instructions as a PDF download.) Put Nerdly in an exciting or unexpected place in real life. Where can Nerdly go? The top of a mountain? On a safari? Bowling? On a beach? Local park? Take an epic picture of Nerdly surfing, snorkeling, or simply braving airport security lines.
Or you could take Nerdly on a staycation and see a show, go to a theme park, museum, or zoo. Maybe Nerdly is braving your pet, or whatever is under the bed or exploring your backyard. What adventures will Nerdly get up to while on vacation? It is up to you! Make sure the idea is clever and tells a story!
Nerdly exploring the Model Shop at LEgoland NY.
First place photo will receive a LEGO set of their choosing up to $100 USD (or local equivalent), a shiny Golden Nerdly trophy and a BrickNerd swag box! Second and third places will receive a LEGO set of their choosing up to $50 and $25, respectively.
2 - Build a MOC of Vacation Nerdly
This is where you can get creative and customize Nerdly to fit your ideal vacation. What would a safari Nerdly look like? A backpacker? A skydiver? Build a Nerdly that is a slot machine in Vegas! What would a Nerdly cruise ship look like?
Or you can build the scene too as long as you modify Nedly to fit into it. Nerdly lounging on a beach chair? Nerdly in a brick-built forest? Or maybe Nerdly is going fishing, or skiing, or swimming? Maybe Nerdly got a sunburn on the beach! The vacation is up to you.
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First place MOC will receive a LEGO set of their choosing up to $200 USD (or local equivalent), a shiny Golden Nerdly trophy and a BrickNerd swag box! Second and third places will receive a LEGO set of their choosing up to $100 and $50, respectively.
How Do I Build A Nerdly?
The square part is pretty obvious, but the bit with the glasses is a little tricky. Here are the downloadable PDF instructions (and included below).
Judging Criteria and How to Enter
Take a look at the past Nerdvember contests for more inspiration. Remember, we are looking for several key things in your photos/builds:
Concept: Is the idea clever, tells a story, and could it be classified as vacation-themed in any way?
Quality & Presentation: Is the creation built/photographed well and composed in a way that enhances the overall creation?
Nerdiness: Does the creation have a balance of Nerdly features that clearly convey the BrickNerd mascot (color, shape, studs, glasses, etc.)?
You have until the end of November to post your photo of Nerdly on vacation and/or build your vacation Nerdly. Entries should be submitted via Google form (coming soon) and posted in the Nerdvember 2025 Flickr group or on Instagram tagging @bricknerdofficial using the hashtags #Nerdvember2025 #BrickNerd and #Nerdly. The form will help us track entries and give proper credit for linking.
Time Left in Nerdvember 2025Have fun on all of your vacations!
Nerdvember 2025: Vacation Edition Official Rules
Entries must be inspired by Nerdly and themed on a vacation or something related and witty.
The contest will be judged by BrickNerd contributors who will evaluate entries based on concept (is the idea clever and related to a vacation), quality (is the creation built/photographed well), presentation (is the scene composed and photographed in a way that enhances the creation), and nerdiness (does the creation have a balance of Nerdly features that clearly convey the BrickNerd mascot).
Entries should be submitted via Google form (coming soon) and posted in the Nerdvember 2025 Flickr group or on Instagram tagging @bricknerdofficial using the hashtags #Nerdvember2025 #BrickNerd and #Nerdly. If you don’t have a Google account or either Flickr or Instagram, please email your submission to [email protected].
The contest ends on Sunday, November 30th, 2025 at 11:59 pm PST (7:59 am GMT on Dec. 1st for the Europeans). Winners will be announced a few weeks later.
Please only submit one file for each entry (extras will be removed). If you upload an Instagram gallery, please make the first image the one you want to be judged.
You may enter as many times as you want with unique creations. A single builder can win multiple prizes.
All entries must be new creations. Entries may be updated as long as the contest is still open.
Digital renders are allowed, though the creation must be structurally sound and all the pieces must be available physically. Custom, modified and unavailable recolored bricks are not allowed this time around.
These rules and the prizes may be modified at any point, and prizes may be substituted for comparable items depending on the winner’s location.
Are you excited for Nerdvember? Let the extreme nerdiness begin! Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
Do you want to help BrickNerd continue publishing articles like this one? Become a top patron like Marc & Liz Puleo, Paige Mueller, Rob Klingberg from Brickstuff, John & Joshua Hanlon from Beyond the Brick, Megan Lum, Andy Price, Lukas Kurth from StoneWars, Wayne Tyler, Dan Church, and Roxanne Baxter to show your support, get early access, exclusive swag and more.
