How to tell which LEGO minifigure is in the blind bag or box
LEGO Collectible Minifigures are sold blind on purpose, but that has never stopped collectors from trying to tell one figure from another before opening it. A few techniques have grown up around the packaging over the years, from feeling for a bump to scanning a code on the box. None is guaranteed, and LEGO has quietly worked against some of them, but knowing how each one works, and how much to trust it, is the difference between a good guess and a lucky one.
Bump codes: the original trick, and why it is less reliable now
Early series shipped in foil bags, and collectors noticed small bumps or notches pressed into the packaging that lined up with a particular figure, close enough to feel through the foil or spot printed on the surface. Community-built bump-code charts for those series circulated for years and were reasonably accurate at the time. It works around the format rather than with it, which is why it was never official or guaranteed.
The catch is that a bump code is tied to a specific production run, and LEGO has changed the codes between runs, in part because the whole point of a blind pack is that it should not be reliably decodable. A code that worked for one printing of a series can be wrong for another, and codes can vary by region too, so treat any bump-code chart as a rough guide from one run, not a rule.
Box and scan codes on newer series
More recent series come in small boxes rather than foil bags, and each box carries its own barcode plus a second, smaller square code nearby, a data matrix code, on the bottom panel. Collector sites regularly work out what that second code corresponds to soon after a series launches, and a phone scanner app can usually read it.
As with bump codes, this is unofficial: it is the collector community reverse-engineering a code LEGO did not publish, for one specific series' box run. It tends to hold up more consistently within a series than the old bump-code method did, but there is no guarantee it carries over to the next series, since LEGO can and does change the scheme.
The weight test
Different minifigures in the same series come with different accessories and printed elements, so their sealed packaging can weigh very slightly differently on a precise kitchen or postal scale. Collectors sometimes build a weight chart for a series by weighing confirmed figures and comparing.
On its own it is the least precise of the three methods: several figures in a series can land at a similar weight, and a consumer scale is only accurate to so many decimal places. It works best as a tiebreaker alongside a bump or scan code, not as a stand-alone answer.
Once you have a guess, or the figure in hand
Whichever method got you there, confirm it against the real thing. Browse the full lineup for the series to compare torso print, headgear, and accessories against your guess, and see which figures belong to which series. If you bought a figure loose or the packaging is long gone, check it the same way you would identify anything else: match it against the catalog.
Once you know what you are holding, it is worth a second look for two reasons: sought-after figures are the ones counterfeiters copy most, so it pays to check yours is genuine, and a genuinely rare pull can be worth chasing further within the theme.
Frequently asked questions
Are LEGO minifigure bump codes still accurate?
Less than they used to be. Bump codes were reasonably reliable for a given production run of an early series, but LEGO has changed them between runs and they can vary by region, in part to keep the packaging genuinely blind. Treat any bump-code chart as specific to the run it was made from.
What is the code on the bottom of a LEGO Minifigures box?
Newer series print a small square data matrix code next to the regular barcode on the box's bottom panel. It is not an official identification tool, but collector sites frequently work out what it corresponds to soon after a series launches.
Can weighing the pack really tell you which minifigure is inside?
It can narrow the options, since figures with more accessories or elements weigh very slightly more, but it rarely pins down one answer on its own. It works best combined with a bump or scan code, not as the only method.