New Lego Star Wars Smart Play sets just dropped — preorders are live at Amazon
CES is always one of the most exciting weeks in the world of tech. This year we got announcements of new smart glasses, a $9,000 smart purse, and plenty of robots. But on a more practical level, we got a major Lego upgrade with the arrival of Lego Smart Play sets.
We didn't need another reason to be obsessed with building Lego sets, but the Danish brand has gone ahead and provided it. The Lego Smart Play system introduces an interactive aspect to a build with sounds, lights, and behaviors that add a new layer of fun. Plus, all you need to enter this new realm is a single Smart Play brick.
Mashable Tech Editor Timothy Beck Werth attended the Lego announcement ahead of the official CES kickoff in Las Vegas. Lego demonstrated highlights of the new smart bricks and Beck Werth wrote, "With a single smart brick, the CES demo brought Lego creations, characters, and playsets to life. Lego cars revved their engines, a Lego duck quacked and even snored when placed on its side, and a Lego airplane pilot exclaimed 'woah!' to being flipped upside down."
Lucky for us Star Wars fans, the new Smart Play sets debut with a Star Wars theme. The three builds launch the first two days of March and they're all available for preorder at Amazon. Here are the details.
Lego Star Wars Smart Play: Throne Room Duel and A-Wing
The largest of the Lego Star Wars Smart Play builds takes us back to an iconic scene from Return of the Jedi. The 962-piece Lego Star Wars Smart Play: Throne Room Duel and A-Wing recreates the legendary Luke Skywalker lightsaber battle with Darth Vader. But unlike a standard Lego build, this Smart Play set will hum like a real-life lightsaber battle would. The set also comes with five Lego Smart Tags which add to the interactive experience with extra lights and sounds.
Each Smart Brick battery life is about 45 minutes and the set comes with the charger you'll need to continue playing. The Star Wars build comes with a release date of March 1.
Lego Star Wars Smart Play: Luke’s Red Five X-Wing
Enter Luke's world with this 581-piece build that's a great showcase of the new Lego Smart Play features. A Smart Play block on Luke's X-Wing means it'll come with lifelike sounds and lights like engine sounds, lights, and even repair noises. Smart Luke Skywalker and Smart Princess Leia minifigures are on hand for more interactive and responsive play.
The Lego Star Wars Smart Play: Luke’s Red Five X-Wing comes with a price of $89.99 and has a release date of March 1.
Lego Star Wars Smart Play: Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter
The most affordable of the new Lego Star Wars Smart Play sets is Darth Vader's TIE Fighter build with a price tag set at $69.99. The set has 473 pieces which features Darth Vader, his TIE Fighter, a fuel station, a Rebel Fleet Trooper, and more. In terms of the smart features and interactive additions, you'll get motion-activated engine sounds, lights, and laser-shooting because it simply wouldn't be Star Wars without those sounds. It also has refueling and repair sounds for the TIE.
Like the other Lego sets, this comes with a March 1 release date. This set is designed for Lego builders aged eight and up.