LEGO’s new SMART Play sets bring builds to life with real-time effects

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LEGO has launched LEGO SMART Play, a new way to make LEGO creations more engaging – and it doesn’t require any screens! This interactive platform brings LEGO builds to life through play.

LEGO SMART Play lets LEGO sets react to how you play with them. The sets use sounds, lights, and movements that change instantly depending on how you move, tilt, or interact with the build.

The core of the platform is the LEGO SMART Brick—a regular 2×4 LEGO brick with a special computer chip and several technologies built inside.

The SMART Brick is a versatile device packed with features, including sensors to detect movement and light, a microphone, LEDs, a small speaker that can create sounds, and wireless charging capabilities.

How LEGO SMART Play works

LEGO says its SMART Brick can instantly understand movement, how far away things are, its own position, and magnetic fields.

Sound effects are created in real-time as you play, instead of being pre-recorded or happening on a schedule. How you move, tilt, or gesture with the brick triggers unique sounds, and built-in LEDs create matching lighting and color effects. The technology powering this is incredibly small – the chip inside is just 4.1mm, even smaller than a typical LEGO stud.

The SMART Brick connects with LEGO SMART Tags and Minifigures to bring builds to life. SMART Tags are small, smooth tiles that each have a unique digital ID, helping the brick understand what’s being built. SMART Minifigures look like regular LEGO figures, but they also have hidden digital IDs that unlock special actions and responses during playtime.

SMART pieces work seamlessly with existing LEGO bricks and sets, so you can easily combine them with your current LEGO creations.

Connected builds and BrickNet technology

LEGO SMART Bricks can connect and work together wirelessly using a system called BrickNet. This lets them exchange information and communicate while you’re playing.

LEGO has developed a new system where bricks can actually ‘sense’ each other. Using magnets, the bricks can figure out where they are in relation to each other – how far apart, what direction they’re facing, and their position. This allows LEGO sets to connect and work together automatically, without any complicated building or programming needed.

This system works with many different LEGO creations. LEGO says that just one SMART Brick and tag can be used for hundreds of interactive builds.

LEGO SMART Play launch details

LEGO SMART Play will debut with three LEGO Star Wars sets:

  • LEGO Star Wars SMART Play Luke’s Red Five X-Wing building set
  • LEGO Star Wars SMART Play Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter building set
  • LEGO Star Wars SMART Play Throne Room Duel & A-Wing building set

These first versions are complete sets, and each one comes with a LEGO SMART Brick and its charger, plus at least one LEGO SMART Minifigure and a LEGO SMART Tag.

LEGO SMART Play is launching on March 1, 2026. You can pre-order LEGO Star Wars SMART Play sets starting January 9, and they’ll be fully available from March 1st.

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2026-01-05 23:49