is a senior editor and founding member of The Verge who covers gadgets, games, and toys. He spent 15 years editing the likes of CNET, Gizmodo, and Engadget.
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I was about to be the coolest dad ever. I’d prepared the magic words: “Do you want to help daddy test the new Lego Smart Bricks? I can pick you up from school early!” It worked. My kids literally jumped for joy.
When The Lego Group announced in January that a tiny computer brick would be the company’s “most significant evolution” in nearly 50 years, even Lego fans were skeptical. Why buy bricks that make pew-pew sounds that kids should make with their own mouths? My first reaction was to explain that the Lego Smart Bricks have so much more potential than that: The bricks in these kid toys could lend their smarts to adult robots, too.
The Lego Smart Brick. Up close.
But even my daughters, ages six and nine, weren’t captivated as long as I’d hoped. Though they loved building the sets and trying each little computerized interaction in turn, they rarely came back for more. When I asked them if I should return the sets, they told me to go for it.
My youngest loved the Smart Brick — for a little while.
The problem isn’t the price tag or even the kid-friendly builds; it’s that Lego’s been too stingy with the Smart Brick’s smarts. Half its sensing features aren’t even used in the first eight sets; the ones that are here are underutilized.
For now, these “smart” bricks feel far too dumb. I’m afraid the first Lego Smart Play sets are largely just light and sound like critics feared. And that wasn’t enough to entertain my kids.
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