Brickelo
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What is Brickelo?
Brickelo is a website that ranks LEGO minifigures using an ELO rating system, the world's largest database of LEGO minifigure ratings with over half a million user ratings. The platform works by presenting users with head-to-head matchups of two randomly selected minifigures, where users vote for their favorite. The ELO algorithm then calculates ratings based on win/loss outcomes, adjusting ratings based on the opponent's prior rating level.
Key features include the ability to filter matchups by popular LEGO themes like Pirates of the Caribbean, The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Star Wars, Marvel, and NINJAGO, allowing users to see minifigures from their favorite themes more often. The site maintains a ranked leaderboard showing all minifigures from highest to lowest rating, with the top 100 list featuring around 17,000 minifigures from the Bricklink catalogue. Brickelo also publishes blog posts with curated rankings like highest-rated minifigures from every year, top Star Wars minifigures, superhero minifigures, and Comic-Con exclusives.
Brickelo is designed for AFOLs (Adult Fans of LEGO), LEGO collectors, minifigure enthusiasts, and anyone curious about which LEGO minifigures are considered the best by the community. It helps users discover minifigures they never knew existed and compare their personal favorites against community rankings. The dark theme design brings minifigures into focus and minimizes bias by presenting minimal information during matchups.
The platform launched in August 2023 and has grown to include over 10,000 minifigures (excluding Duplo figures, mini-dolls, and brick-built figures), making it a comprehensive resource for LEGO minifigure rankings based on scientific ELO methodology rather than subjective 1-10 rating scales.
Brickelo pricing
Pricing model: Freemium
Free - Brickelo is completely free to use with no paid tiers. Users can vote on minifigure matchups, view the full ranked leaderboard, and read blog posts without any cost. The site is maintained by the developer Graham as a personal project.
Brickelo pros
- Uses scientific ELO algorithm originally designed for ranking chess players
- World's largest database with over half a million minifigure ratings
- Low barrier to entry - users can compare 50 minifigures in 5 minutes
- Head-to-head comparisons are quick and simple - just pick your favorite
- Filter by popular themes like Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean
- Dark theme design brings minifigures into focus visually
- Minimal information shown during matchups to reduce bias
- Discover minifigures you never knew existed
- Top 100 list not dominated by most expensive or popular characters
- Over 17,000 minifigures in the database from Bricklink catalogue
- Regular blog posts with curated rankings by theme and year
- Free to use - no paid tier required to vote or view rankings
- Community-driven rankings based on thousands of user votes
- Compare personal favorites against community consensus
- Rating stabilizes after threshold number of matchups for accuracy
Brickelo cons
- React framework not SEO-friendly, content invisible to search engines
- Only about 10% of possible 5 million combinations have occurred
- Overrepresentation of minifigures from filtered themes like Pirates and Lord of the Rings
- Minifigures with more matchups may have artificially higher ratings
- Excludes Duplo figures, mini-doll figures, and brick-built figures
- Low traffic on regular days - only around 10 users without Reddit posts
- No social media presence or marketing know-how from developer
- Few new features rolled out since launch due to traffic challenges
Frequently asked questions about Brickelo
How does the ELO rating system work on Brickelo?
The ELO algorithm was first devised to rank chess players and works by increasing or decreasing a minifigure's rating based on whether it wins or loses a matchup. The amount a rating changes depends on the opponent's prior rating - beating a highly-rated minifigure increases your rating more than beating a low-rated one. Conversely, losing to a low-rated opponent decreases your rating significantly.
How many LEGO minifigures are in the Brickelo database?
The database contains around 17,000 minifigures from the Bricklink catalogue. After excluding Duplo figures, mini-doll figures (LEGO Friends, Elves), skeletons, baby minifigures, and brick-built figures, approximately 10,000 traditional minifigures remain for users to compare.
How do I vote on minifigure matchups?
Visit https://brickelo.com/ranking to vote. You'll be presented with two randomly selected minifigures and simply choose your favorite. Points are gained or lost based on win/loss outcomes. You can easily compare 50 minifigures within 5 minutes.
Why are some themes like Pirates of the Caribbean overrepresented in rankings?
Brickelo added the ability to filter by popular themes so users see their favorites more often. This means minifigures from filtered themes like Pirates of the Caribbean, Lord of the Rings, and The Hobbit appear in more matchups than average, giving them an advantage in accumulating points.
When did Brickelo launch and how many ratings does it have?
Brickelo went live in August 2023. As of its 1-year anniversary, it had just over half a million ratings. The goal is to eventually get at least double that amount for more robust results.
What LEGO themes can I filter matchups by?
Users can filter matchups by popular licensed themes including Pirates of the Caribbean, The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Star Wars, Marvel Super Heroes, DC Comics (Batman, Iron Man, Spider-Man), and NINJAGO characters like Lloyd, Kai, Zane, Jay, Cole, and Nya.
Why isn't Brickelo showing up in search engine results?
React isn't an SEO-friendly framework. Very little of the website's content is pre-rendered, making it effectively invisible to search engines. This is why most traffic comes from Reddit posts rather than organic search.
What makes Brickelo better than 1-10 rating scales used elsewhere?
With thousands of minifigures, a 1-10 scale would leave many unrated since people only rate things they feel strongly about. Selecting a favorite between two minifigures is quick and simple, enabling the massive data volume needed for robust ELO results.
Are the top-ranked minifigures mostly expensive or popular characters?
No, the top 100 list is not dominated by the most expensive minifigures or most popular characters. The rankings reflect genuine community preference, though there is some overrepresentation from filtered themes like Pirates and Lord of the Rings.
Who created Brickelo and what is their background?
Brickelo was created by Graham, who had no web development experience except brief dabbling in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript before starting this solo project. He learned React during development with guidance from his web developer brother. He previously worked on Brick Ranker with his brother for tracking LEGO set values.