The Consumer Electronics Show is taking over Las Vegas this week, which means there will be a ton of flashy and often pricey announcements from Nvidia, Sony, Anker and more at the tech show. There’s one brand that’s not on my bingo card that you’ve definitely heard of: Lego. The Danish company has announced Lego Smart Play, which includes its first smart brick, a piece with a microchip, smaller than a Lego stud, that allows the brick (and its built-in tiny speakers, accelerometers and LED arrays) to react as you play with it.
Thanks to all this infused technology, it can tell you when to move, which direction to face, and even how close it is to other smart bricks as you build. The speakers and LEDs then play sounds and light up based on how you actually use the device—much better than standard pre-made sound effects. Smart bricks are just one part of a smart gaming system. It also includes smart figures and smart tags – the latter of which is basically a tiled widget – that can also recognize and respond to.
Lego
What’s surprising is the price of some of these sets. Current non-intelligent 625-piece Lego Star Wars The TIE Bomber model building kit has a suggested retail price of $65 (currently on sale for $52), but the 473-piece Smart Play version is only $5 more.
You can order the Smart Play on Friday, January 9th.
LEGO $70
It’s 2026, so surely an app is needed to enable these features, right? No. LEGO has built a wireless system called BrickNet that allows smart bricks to communicate directly with each other using Bluetooth-based technology. There’s no app to download, no Wi-Fi to set up, and no phone required – you just open the box and start building, just like LEGO has always done. To power these modules, you simply charge them using the included wireless charging pad.
Remember when you used to play with Lego and had to make shooting sound effects? Now, these smart gaming sets will do that for you…and more. (LEGO) (LEGO)
The first Smart Play product is a three-in-one Star Wars Sets, not 10,000 piece sets for adults, but smaller sets that kids can enjoy. While they’re certainly more expensive than standard non-smart devices, thankfully the price increase isn’t crazy. Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter is $70, Luke’s Red Five X-Wing set is $90, and the larger Duel of Thrones and A-Wing combo is a whopping $160.
All three sets will be available for pre-order on Friday, January 9, with the full Smart Play scheduled to launch on March 1.
Lego
This 584-piece set includes two smart minifigures (Luke and Leia, of course), as well as one smart brick and five smart tags.
Lego $90
Lego
This is the largest (and most expensive) of the three sets available for pre-order this week. 962 tracks in total, with iconic performances Return of the Jedi Sound effects, including the buzz of the lightsaber and accompanying A-wing engines. It even plays the “Imperial March” when Emperor Palpatine sits on his throne.
Lego $160