In the late 1990s, the LEGO Company wasn't where it is today. In my opinion, the focus was not on building and construction, but on sets with that could be quickly assembled so you could play with them. Many of the sets had big clunky pieces called BURPs or Big, Ugly Rock Pieces. It's where they made larger pieces that you could use to assemble sets versus the smaller bricks that are more often used today. I can remember at the time that one of my younger cousins took the time to write the LEGO Company a letter to let them know how disappointed he was in the sets. While he enjoyed playing with the sets, he really enjoyed the building aspect.
The LEGO Company's answer, or at least I think it's their answer to my cousin, was to start the Creator line. In 2001, the first sets were released that focused more on the building and less on themes. This line has continued since then and has included houses, vehicles, animals, robots, and various other items. Many of the sets include instructions for 3 different builds out of the parts included with the set. So if you just want to build fun sets, this is one of the ways to go.
I have purchased a few of these in the past and I recently decided to buy another one. Set number 31024 came out in 2014. It comes with 374 pieces and retails from the LEGO Company for $29.99. At around $0.08 per piece, that isn't too bad of a deal considering sets typically average around $0.10 per piece. You can probably search around different retailers to see if anyone is running a sale and get it cheaper than retail price.
The main set shown on the container is a sports car. It uses a majority of the 374 pieces included in the set and the designers did a pretty good job using the pieces on hand to create a sleek looking vehicle despite all of the LEGO studs. It also uses a lot of SNOT techniques or Studs Not On Top. So instead of stacking bricks on top of each other, there are clever ways used to create the sleekness. It says ages 8 to 12, but younger, inexperienced builders may need the help of a parent with this set.
The next design included is a seaplane. This build uses approximately half of the pieces in the set and was not at detailed as the sports car.
The last design included is a T-Rex looking creature. It uses approximately 3/4 of the included pieces and uses some interesting building techniques to ensure that the legs, arm, and mouth all move.
Overall, the 3 designs are all pretty detailed and use some different techniques to help expand your building horizons. If you are looking to just build, then this set or the other Creator sets are the way to go. Plus, 3 is not the limit in this set. With 374 pieces, there are plenty of other things you can try. So if you have this set or plan to get this set soon, enjoy and keep building!