Indiana Jones

Escape from the Lost Tomb

The Well of Souls, four cracking minifigs, and a price that almost feels like a mistake.

Brick Rated Score

4.3/5

Set 77013 · 2023

Pieces600

Minifigs4

Year2023

Set number77013

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The verdict

This is the one I point people to when they ask which 2023 Indiana Jones set to buy.

For forty dollars you get 600 pieces, four minifigures including Sallah's first ever minifig, the Ark of the Covenant, and a temple that ends up far bigger and taller than the box lets on. The build itself is simple and clearly aimed at kids, so seasoned builders should know they're paying for play and figs rather than technique. If you loved Raiders or you grew up on the old LEGO Adventurers line, this one just makes you happy.

Best for: Raiders fans and nostalgic Adventurers builders who want maximum minifig value

The full review

What it is

This set recreates the Well of Souls sequence from Raiders of the Lost Ark, the moment Indy, Marion, and Sallah break in to grab the Ark of the Covenant before everything goes wrong. The first thing that got me was the scale. On the box it looks like a modest little playset, but built up it sprawls across the shelf and stands surprisingly tall, capped by two Anubis statues keeping watch over the tomb. For a 600-piece set that launched at forty dollars, that presence is not what I expected, and it's the reason this became the standout of the entire 2023 Indiana Jones wave for me.

The catch

I'll be honest about what you're paying for, though. The build is simple and fast. It's designed as a playset for kids aged eight and up, and it builds with that easygoing, chunky rhythm that took me straight back to the old LEGO Adventurers sets. That nostalgia is lovely, but if you live for tricky techniques and satisfying part-locking sequences, this will be over before you've settled in. A few reviewers also wished for more snakes in the pit, and they're right. One snake on a chute and a couple on the floor is fun, but the scene was begging for a proper writhing mass. Some of the prettiest side detailing comes from stickers too, which is always a small sting at this theme's price point.

Who it's for

Get this if you love Raiders, if you want the most minifig-and-play value you can squeeze out of forty dollars, or if you're building a collection where Sallah finally showing up as a minifig actually matters. Skip it if you're an adult builder shopping purely for a meaty, challenging build, because the engineering here is deliberately kept light. But as a display piece with real playability baked in, it punches well above its weight.

The parts story

What the build is actually like, and the pieces worth knowing about.

Building this is a relaxed evening rather than a project. The sections go together in that classic playset way: walls, a secret passage, the two statue towers, and the trap mechanisms that make it all work. The clever bit is the function engineering rather than the parts usage. A flick of a lever topples the Anubis statue so it smashes through the wall and reveals the hidden passage where the mummy lurks, and there's a trap-door reveal plus the snake chute that drops a snake right onto Indy's head. It's the kind of building that makes you grin because you keep testing the mechanisms as you go.

The real treasure here is the minifig and printed-element haul. You get the updated Indiana Jones with his hat (note the molded hair on the back, which does cover his excellent second face), a double-printed Marion Ravenwood, the mummy, and Sallah in his very first minifigure form, which collectors had been waiting years for. The printed Ark of the Covenant is the piece everyone reaches for first. Even the sandy tomb palette gives you a useful pile of tan and dark-tan bricks. For a licensed set this size, the value density on figures and printed parts is the whole story.

Fun facts

01Look closely at the tomb wall detailing and you'll spot R2-D2 and C-3PO worked into the hieroglyphs, a nod to the same Easter egg George Lucas hid in the actual Well of Souls set in Raiders.
02This set finally gave Sallah his first ever LEGO minifigure, decades after the character first appeared alongside Indy on screen.
03It launched at just US$39.99 for 600 pieces and four minifigs, pricing that reviewers repeatedly called some of the best value of any licensed set in 2023.