Let's Get Medieval With A Review of the 10332 LEGO Town Square

Hear Ye, Hear Ye!!

LEGO have revisited the 2009 Medieval Village Market (10193) and created this beautiful 2024 Medieval Town Square (10332) rendition. As such, the announcement of this new medieval building was met with both excitement and a hint of nostalgic curiosity about how the two versions would compare. The old set had some awesome elements to it, the watermill being the main one and of course the jazzy cows! So how does this match up - let us comenceth the buildingeth to findeth out!

Set Details

Name: Medieval Town Square (10332)

Price: £199.99

Pieces: 3,304

Bag Count: 25 (plus 1 bag of base plates)

Stickers: 1 sheet of 18

Minifigures: 8

Animals: 3

THE BUILD

Bag 1 introduces the first of the eight characters included in this set; the woodcutter/carpenter lady has an axe and a very interesting hairpiece. This first bag has us creating a cute little bread and cheese stall, a little fireplace complete with a candle, goblet and letter (the letter is a sticker on a 1x2 tile as opposed to being a printed tile). There is also a throne, table and a lathe.

Bags 2 and 3 give us the carpenter’s workshop and attic. This has a little blue and white canopy over one entrance and a couple of torches on either side of the other door. We appreciate the method of crafting these torches by assembling smaller stud components; it proves to be a highly effective construction technique. In the carpenter’s attic, there is a crane feature that is simple in its mechanics but is fully usable to allow the character to move those heavy items. The floor also has a neat trapdoor with collapsable ladders to allow traversing from top to bottom floors.

Bag 4 finishes off the carpenter’s abode by building the straw-thatched roof, again, a highly effective use of pieces to create a great aesthetic. The roof rests on top of the structure to allow ease of playability for little hands (or grown-up ones). We also get a little hay cart that can be used for characters or items to be transported.

With bags 5 and 6 we are creating the cheesemaker’s house, a lovely stove/fire and a cobbled doorstep. The 1x1 tiles for the cobbles are a little fiddly but look great. In keeping with the era, this also has a thatched roof but is somewhat repetitive at times. It is worth it in the end and the angled pieces around the window are a great touch - created using 1x1 clips and small “pan” pieces.

Bag 7 contains the tapestry weaver figure complete with a pair of scissors and an over-the-shoulder bag. The outside is full of amazing details and pieces; the beehive with the amazing printed bee tiles, the vegetable patch and some other bits of shrubbery.

Bag 8 contains the cheesemaker’s daughter with a spoon. Bags 8, 9 and 10 provide us with the pieces required to build the tavern. The chequerboard floor is awesome and provides a fair few exposed studs to mount furniture and figures, but these tiny tiles are somewhat arduous to apply and you do find yourself wishing it was done already. However, the arrival of the cat makes it all worthwhile though. There is yet more cheese and another thatched roof. There are white horn pieces to create wispy smoke coming from the chimney, which is a nice little touch.

Bag 11 contains the goat, the animal everyone clamours for, and it’s back in 2024! We get clever use of lances and sticks to create the fence for the goat’s enclosure and a squirrel is keeping a watchful eye.

Bag 12 is a separate build of a tree which can be used with this set or even alongside previous castle releases. There is a nice amount of green foliage on the tree and it’s nice to see different pieces used for trunk/branch formations. There are the wonderful details of a 'goat for sale' poster, a wanted poster for the Wolfpack man (who is also in this bag) and a poster warning of a dragon - possibly a nod to the vintage LEGO Bat Lord 6007 set. This concludes the first instruction manual, hurrah a flagon of mead, please!

On with the second instruction manual and bags 13/14 contain another infusion of 1x1 tiles in all colours and shapes. The finished effect is great but it is a labour of love to complete. However, the printed chessboard tile makes it all seem worthwhile (sometimes we're easily pleased).

Bag 15 sees us repeating the wall technique; 1x2 brick, 1x2 plate, 2x1 brick and 1x2 tiles into multiple sections and then attaching via one stud. This is encasing the kitchen which is comprised of bag 16 too.

Bags 17 and 18 allow us to build the artist’s studio which has some interesting characteristics. Paint splatters, a pottery oven and the shield maker’s anvil are housed here too.

Bags 19-23 help us to create the castle tower (clever use of pieces for the arrow slit), a bed for the king, a writing desk complete with ink pot and quill (a knight’s plume) and the final thatched roof. There was a point whereby the instructions were not clear on the building of the roof, but eventually, we managed to get it together all ok. There is also a hidden feature too - but we have decided on no spoilers!

Bags 24 and 25 are the final two bags and we get the red and blue knight of old, some cool creeping foliage and a very clever use of a beard.

Conclusion

This medieval build has certainly made its mark, albeit the journey was quite lengthy, featuring a few noticeably repetitive sections that come together beautifully in the end. The amount of figures and animals is a definite positive and the fact that this set can blend in seamlessly with earlier castle releases and recent releases. While we can appreciate the final outcome and believe children would enjoy playing with it for hours, we can't help but feel it falls slightly short compared to predecessors.

OUR SCORE: 7/10

What are your thoughts on the newest addition to the Medieval LEGO range?