Whether you call them Tokens of Appreciation, Fan Trophies, Trophy Tokens or some other variation of the name, these small LEGO-related items have become well-established at many of the major AFOL events across North America. Although often attributed to the late Arthur Gugick at Brickworld in 2012, there is some evidence of AFOLs leaving tokens as early as 2007 and 2008.

The actual tokens vary greatly but can be mini-MOCs, printed tiles, stickers, cards or some other small item given to an AFOL or placed near their display to recognise that you really liked their MOC or some part of their build. This year, Tokens of Appreciation were introduced to the Brixpo LEGO Fan Event in Adelaide, South Australia.

The Australian version of the Tokens of Appreciation first appeared at Brickvention 2023 in Melbourne. Aspen Arnold surprised a small number of builders by placing a token near their MOCs. As the tokens were a new concept to a lot of Australian AFOLs, there was some confusion over their purpose—and a number of people assumed they were lost property!

The Token of appreciation used by Aspen Arnold at Brickvention 2023

The Brixpo committee was delighted by the concept and decided it was something they should introduce to the South Australian AFOL community for their own event. At Brixpo, the tokens varied greatly from mini versions of a MOC, printed tiles, and mini-comics to thank-you cards, pins and special bricks.

For my own, I choose to combine Clikits with the little trophy provided by the event organisers. If the fates had been kinder, I would have used BrickNerd stickers as originally planned, but it was not meant to be—in fact, I had planned to use them at Brickvention as well so there would have been two lots of tokens at the event in Melbourne, though next year’s shows should be fun!

The Tokens of Appreciation I distributed at Brixpo 2023

Exhibitors at Brixpo were both thrilled and excited to receive their Tokens of Appreciation. A number of AFOLs are keen to continue the concept next year—especially those who enjoyed handing out or receiving the tokens. However, there was some confusion over the purpose of the tokens and a few were disappointed to not have their work acknowledged and believed it was really just another popularity contest.

The Brixpo committee has stated that they are happy for people to continue the tradition of giving Tokens of Appreciation, but they will not actively encourage participation by exhibitors at future events. Tokens of Appreciation can continue to be just that—an expression that your MOC was noticed and caused joy. As long as they are not gamified, I suspect the small items will continue to expand to other AFOL events around the globe. Where will they appear next?

Here is a gallery of some of the Tokens of Appreciation from Brixpo 2023.

Have you ever given or received a Token of Appreciation? What are your thoughts on the concept?

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