Top pick

The interconnecting Animal Crossing playsets allow kids to recreate video gameplay without all the glassy-eyed screen time.

The game’s astronomy fan, owl Celeste, gets her own affordable mini playset that makes us starry-eyed.

Each of the playsets in Lego’s new Animal Crossing series has its charms, but of the five we’ve tested so far, two rose to the top.

The first, Isabelle’s House Visit 77049, wins points for its combination of indoor and outdoor features plus a multitude of whimsical little details featured in the Animal Crossing games, from customizable window frames to a gift delivered via a balloon descending from the sky. You can also harvest fruit from a tree and find tiny treasures inside its leaves.

You don’t need to be a fan of the Animal Crossing franchise to appreciate these sets’ in-game nods. All of the little details aid imaginative play, and the unique head sculpts on mammalian characters offer an animated new take on minifigs.

With Isabelle’s House Visit, the exterior of Fauna’s house is open in the back, like a small dollhouse, and the interior is packed with play features, including a portrait of pup star K.K. Slider (who has a set of his own, Lego K.K.’s Concert at the Plaza 77052, which we have not tested), a tea party set, and a tiny potted plant. A waffle bakes inside an oven while smoke puffs out from the chimney.

The mysterious wrapped package floating down from the sky swivels open to reveal its contents — a tiny paintbrush and palette — and the outdoor craft table includes a slingshot for pretending to shoot the gift out of the sky.

Our second pick from the Animal Crossing series, Stargazing With Celeste 77053, is tiny but mighty. Even though I was the original, kid-at-heart, fan of this set, actual kid testers also backed up my affection for this sweet, affordable option. With its low price and almost absurdly adorable premise, this makes a great entry-level Lego set for a young kid.

Celeste, a tiny red owl with a pink bow in her hair, comes with a map of the stars, a tea set (these animals love their tea!), a telescope, a giant crescent moon chair to sit in, and star fragments that, in the game, players collect. On a scale of 1 to 10, our young builder gave it an 11 for “fun and cute.”

All of the Lego Animal Crossing sets allow you to choose the direction in which the baseplates connect, in order to expand a larger island setting.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

With Isabella’s House, exposed roots give trees and tree stumps an added three-dimensional look, but because the roots fit diagonally between studs instead of over them, our young tester had a bit of trouble attaching them to the baseplates. She also found that the clear piece holding the balloon gift aloft came off the tree a bit too easily.

Our Stargazing with Celeste builder noted that piecing together the crescent moon chair required more attention to detail than the rest of the set, but overall rated it “a 5.5 out of 10 for challenging.”

Key specs

Recommended ages: 6 and up for both sets
Tester age: 6 (Isabella’s House), 7 (Stargazing with Celeste)
Pieces: 389 (Isabella’s House), 78 (Stargazing with Celeste)