I didn’t expect to be grinning like an eight-year-old in the middle of CES at the Las Vegas Convention Centre. But there I was, on a noisy CES show floor, crouched over a Lego Star Wars X-wing, making engine noises under my breath. Not for show. The bricks were doing it back.
This was my first proper hands-on with Lego Smart Play, and more specifically, the new Lego Smart Brick. Lego says this is one of the biggest evolutions in its system since the minifigure. That’s a bold claim. After playing with it for a good while, I can see why they’re confident.
What it feels like in real life
The key thing to understand is this: there’s no screen for children. The app is for adults only to help guide play. So there’s no screen telling kids what to do. They build, they play, and the bricks react.
At CES, Lego had several demo tables set up. Some showed the upcoming Star Wars sets. Others were deliberately simpler, proof-of-concept builds meant to show what could be done. A duck. A police car. A dinosaur. Even a small music box.
Everything revolved around the Smart Brick. It looks exactly like a regular 2×6 Lego brick, but inside it’s packed with sensors, accelerometers, light and sound detection, plus a tiny speaker and onboard synthesiser. It wirelessly charges, too, and once fully charged, they’ll last around 45 minutes.
You slot it into a build like any other brick. From there, things get interesting.
Star Wars is the obvious fit
I started with Luke’s Red Five X-wing. Pick it up, and the engines spool up. Tilt it forward, and the pitch changes. Twist it sharply and you get laser fire. It’s not a canned “press button, hear sound” trick. The response feels tied to how you move and play.
Drop R2-D2 near the ship and you get familiar beeps and boops. Move Luke’s Smart Minifigure into position and he’ll start talking. What’s interesting is that all the sounds are generated in real-time, not pre-programmed. The same build feels different depending on who’s “inside” and what tags are nearby.
The Darth Vader Tie Fighter was equally fun. Lift it slowly and the twin ion engines growl. Spin it and the sound warbles, just like the films. Slam it down near the Rebel outpost and blaster fire kicks off.
The Throne Room Duel set is where Lego really leans into storytelling. Place Vader and Luke near each other and you get lightsaber hums. Move Palpatine onto the throne and, yes, you hear The Imperial March. It’s so fun, and adds just enough to play without taking over.
What’s equally fun is that Lego doesn’t tell you all of these things out of the box. Some elements have been left out of the instructions to allow children to discover them by accident.
The unlicensed stuff is fun as well
As good as Star Wars is, the most exciting moments came from the non-franchise demos.
There was a chunky yellow duck. When you waddled it, it quacked. Shake it gently and it chirped. Tip it forward too far and it complains. A Lego duck. With opinions.
The police car was even smarter. Push it fast and you’ll hear the engine. Put the policeman Smart Minifig in and the siren will kick in. Put the robber in the back, and he’ll start complaining.
My favourite was the dinosaur. Stomp it on the table and it roared. Tilt its head down and it growled. Lay it flat and it starts snoring, like it was asleep. There are no buttons and no instructions, just behaviour you learn by playing.
There was also a small music box build. Move it around and it’ll play a tune, all the time reacting to your movement. Turn it faster and the tempo increases. It felt very charming.
As mentioned before, all of this was a demo to show what the Smart Brick is capable of, but I think it would be nice to see some unlicensed Smart Brick sets at some point in the future.
Minimal instructions
What struck me most was how little explanation was needed. Lego staff gave minimal guidance. That’s the real win here. The Smart Brick doesn’t tell you how to play. It reacts to what you do. That’s a crucial difference, and it’s why this doesn’t feel like Lego chasing tech for tech’s sake.
Everything is compatible with existing Lego bricks. You can pull the Smart Brick out of an X-wing and drop it into something completely different. The system adapts.
Yes, there are over twenty patented technologies inside. Yes, the chip is smaller than a Lego stud. But none of that matters when you’re playing with it. What matters is that it feels playful, physical, and surprisingly intuitive.
My honest opinion on Lego Smart Brick
Lego Smart Play is strong. Really strong. This doesn’t replace classic Lego. It enhances it. It adds a layer of responsiveness without stealing imagination away. And crucially, it does it without a screen getting involved.
After 45 minutes of testing, I can see how easy it is to stop thinking about sensors and chips entirely, and just play. That’s the biggest compliment I can give it.
Equally impressive is how quick and responsive everything is. The Smart Bricks respond instantly to input, it’s very technically impressive, considering Lego isn’t primarily a tech brand.
Lego says this platform will expand with new updates and sets over time. If what I saw in Las Vegas is any indication, this could quietly become one of the most important Lego ideas in years.
And yes, I absolutely tried to make the laser-shooting dinosaur fight the X-wing and it was glorious.
Lego Smart Brick price
Lego hasn’t announced a standalone price for the Smart Brick yet. For now, it only comes bundled inside Lego Smart Play sets.
That does mean your entry point into Smart Play is the Star Wars range, at least at launch. There are three All-In-One sets, each with a different price and level of complexity, all arriving on 1 March 2026, with pre-orders opening on 9 January.
Luke’s Red Five X-Wing sits in the middle of the range. It’s a 584-piece set that includes one Smart Brick, two Smart Minifigures – Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia, and five Smart Tags that bring different parts of the build to life. Priced at US$99.99 or £79.99.
Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter is the most affordable way in. With 473 pieces, one Smart Brick, a Smart Minifigure of Vader and a single Smart Tag, it comes in at US$69.99 or £59.99.
At the top of the collection is the Throne Room Duel & A-Wing set. It’s a 962-piece build, includes two Smart Bricks, three Smart Minifigures (Luke, Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine) and five Smart Tags. Priced at US$159.99 or £139.99.
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