Image caption Nick Bright( R) says he has returned to the Lego he loved as a child
At one end of the table, one enthusiast is meticulously laying out Lego pieces ready to construct a James Bond car.
At the other end, a game is being played where each participant adds another block to create a funny looking figure.
Little is unusual about this imaginative play – except that everyone taking part is middle-aged.
They are members of Brighton Bricks, a group of adult Lego fans who meet up to talk, play and swap collections every month in a pub on the south coast.
“There is nothing incorrect with simply playing with it. It is a plaything. As an adult, it is still quite a bit of fun setting off the ejector seat on the Bond car, ” says Nick Bright, the group’s 43 -year-old leader.
“As a kid I was a massive fan of Lego, then I fell out of it. As an adult, the collection of mini-figures returned me to it.”
Image caption Jon Derbyshire says building blocks can help build confidence
Manufacturers and retailers are tuning in to the trend of adults buying games, toys and puzzles. Out of every PS9 of toy spending, PS1 is spent by adults buying something for themselves, research by analysts NPD has found.
Toy spending by adults, for adults, has risen by 8% year-on-year, and has increased by PS30m since 2016.
There is a marketing word for these people – kidults, although that seems rather harsh. Some are building spectacular, and technical, displays with these toys.
Frederique Tutt, global industry analyst at NPD, says toys have become more sophisticated, from board games to drones, and collectable toys have expanded from traditional dolls and action figures into pop culture.
Yet one major reason for the popularity of dolls among adults is that we all just need a break.
“Rather than a nostalgic trend, I’d say much of this is providing an escape from the emphasizes and strains of modern-day living, fulfilling our need to find downtime, ” she says.