Lego Smart Bricks tried out: Cool for kids, nothing for nerds

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They make noises, they flash, and they react. The new smart Lego bricks are a lot of fun for kids. Because usually, a simple bling-bling and bang-bang is enough to stimulate the imagination and get them playing.

Some adult Lego fans, on the other hand, are disappointed. The Smart Bricks do not meet expectations for super-smart bricks with a thousand functions. The Star Wars sets, which are the first to hit the market with these bricks, also do not correspond to the collector's models that one proudly displays on the shelf. They are toys. Perhaps with a little room for improvement, but with great potential.

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Smart Bricks Suitable for Four-Year-Olds

Although the official age recommendation starts at six years old, we are with our four-year-old daughter at the Germany launch of Lego's Smart Play in Berlin. The daughter has just recently gotten deeply into Lego building. Star Wars hasn't been her world until now, but that has probably changed. Stormtrooper High-Five!

To play with the sets, no prior knowledge is actually required. A short instruction: Shake the bricks to wake them up, place the bricks on spots where small red plates are located, and you're good to go. The plates are Smart Tags; they contain the information that is read and processed by the large Smart Bricks. Bang bang. Whisk. Beep. Red, green, yellow, blue. The bricks can make noises, flash in colors, they recognize distances and positions. Four years old is definitely already a suitable age to get started.

The duel in the throne room is particularly fun for the four-year-old. Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker fight each other as minifigures – for this, you move a rod with a pedestal at the front, on which the minifigure is placed. Whoever falls first loses. The lightsabers make noises. A drawback that I also don't understand: The noises sound a bit different from those in the movies. Lego says it's intentional. For whatever reason. It doesn't bother us.

The daughter also finds Princess Leia cool, who talks to a computer – from the set with Luke's X-wing. Talking here means more like mumbling, but that's also completely sufficient and leaves room for imagination about what Leia hears, says, and does on the computer.

Musicians and a whisk in the Mos Eisley Cantina building set also receive a lot of love. To properly stir the ingredients in the bowl, you have to move a lever back and forth – really fast. The mixer sound corresponds to the speed. This isn't a wow moment full of surprise, nor does it elicit disbelief, but it's fun for kids. At least the children present are visibly enthusiastic.

Lego Demo in a True-to-Scale Smart Brick

The event takes place at Potsdamer Platz, where the "Lego Discovery Center" is also located. Fittingly, adults only have access to the indoor playground if they come with a child. Toys. There was that.

In an oversized but true-to-scale black brick with a transparent plate on top, there is an introductory film about how the Smart Bricks work. Lego originally presented them at CES in Las Vegas.

On the opening day in Berlin, a designer and responsible managers are also present. The team involved in development and sales for more than eight years comprises more than 1000 people. Jake Blais, Senior Marketing and Strategy Manager of the Lego Group, doesn't know how many people are specifically in the development team. There have also been several iterations over the years.

When asked about the target audience, Blais reiterates very specifically that the sets are intended to encourage play and that sometimes not much is needed to become creative. He believes that the design decisions were absolutely right; he is particularly fond of the A-wing model. "A super cool design, even though the models are intended for play for six- to eight-year-olds." This includes the fact that things can break apart and children can simply reassemble them – and continue playing. Without much effort.

No App – No Problem

Playing also means that scratches appear on the plastic and perhaps even a part goes missing. That's a bit unfortunate given the prices. The cheapest set costs from 70 Euros for Darth Vader's TIE-Fighter. This includes a Smart Brick, a Smart Tag, the charging station, the fighter that can shoot and move with sound, a refueling station, two minifigures, of which Darth Vader is smart and can talk. There is also a Rebel gun emplacement. The duel in the throne room then costs 160 Euros. Lego has not been known for being cheap so far. You get quite a bit in the sets. But it's really a lot of money.

In the future, entirely different sets are also planned to be released. With them, you can have a duck race, for example: Who gets closest to the finish stone? The winner's stone turns green, the loser's red. This is also a bit of trivial stuff and precisely why it's a truly fun idea. Duplo has a train with Action Bricks. If you place one on the track, the train makes a sound when it passes over it. Another brick stops the train. Smart Play seems to build on this.

Lego has decided to offer a simple system with Smart Play. Simple means that no app, no screen, no connection is needed to use the Smart Bricks. There is a charger on which you simply place the bricks, and that's it. And that's just excellent. Anyone who owns a Tiptoi pen or a Toniebox knows what it's like when the child gets a book or figure, but then Mom and Dad first have to download the corresponding content. Often it falters, it can't start, and it's annoying. Not to mention the data you disclose. Nevertheless, there is an app for the Smart Bricks, for example for updates – but it is not a constant companion. The simplicity of the bricks seems to me to be an enormous advantage.

Of course, what's inside the brick is not simple at all. Lego has filed 25 patents. The assembly is not quite as simple as the game either. Mom and Dad will have to help the four-year-old – or rather, be allowed to help.

(emw)