Was the LEGO Super Mario series a sign of bigger things to come all this while?
LEGO had a big announcement to kick off CES 2026 with this week: an all-new Smart Play system, which the company touts as its “biggest innovation since… erm… ever!” The Smart Play system comprises a 2x4 “Smart Brick” along with “Smart Tag” tiles and all-new “Smart Minifigures."
All of these objects are able to sense and interact with each other, with the Smart Tags specifically influencing the behaviour of Bricks and Minifigures. Essentially, this is LEGO taking its interactable Super Mario series to the next level, with Smart Play-infused sets now a possibility for all of its gaming lines.
LEGO’s Smart Play system unveiled at CES 2026
LEGO is introducing a new way to make its upcoming sets more interactive than ever before: Smart Play. The system uses Smart Tags, which are 2x2 tiles that house digital IDs telling nearby Lego Smart Bricks and Minifigures how to behave.
Smart Bricks, on the other hand, are 2x4 LEGO Bricks featuring a tiny ASIC chip. Thanks to this chip, the bricks can use magnetic positioning to recognise the positioning of nearby Smart Tags, while also using an LED array to light up, a miniature speaker to emit sounds, and an accelerometer to recognise whether it’s in the air or on the ground.
Here’s how it all works in tandem: upcoming Smart Play LEGO sets will include Smart Tags, which interact with Smart Bricks and Smart Minifigures to breathe life into specific builds. For example, a police car build with a car-themed Smart Tag would allow the Smart Brick to light up like a siren while also making police siren sounds. Likewise, a Smart Minifigure could also light up and speak to the user.
Since the Smart Brick also includes magnetic positioning and an accelerometer, the car would also make different sounds while moving. Smart Bricks can also communicate with each other using a Bluetooth-based protocol called BrickNet, which allows for more complex builds including more than one Smart Brick.
You won’t have to wait long to get your hands on LEGO’s first Smart Play sets. The LEGO Star Wars Smart Play: Luke’s Red Five X-wing and LEGO Star Wars Smart Play: Throne Room Duel and A-wing are set to launch on 1 March, 2026, for a hefty price of US$69.99 and US$159.99, respectively.
What does this mean for the rest of LEGO’s gaming-themed sets?
LEGO has intensified its focus on gaming-themed sets in recent times, arguably culminating with the introduction of its LEGO Super Mario series in 2020. The series debuted with the introduction of an unorthodox Super Mario figure; a chunky figurine that includes a battery, and interacts with specific Lego pieces and figures to get coins and defeat enemies.
This gamified version of the typical LEGO set proved to be a hit, spawning multiple expansions and spin-off sets based in Super Mario’s world. It also wasn’t LEGO’s only collaboration with Nintendo, as the two companies also produced sets based on The Legend of Zelda and the Game Boy, among others.
It’s easy to see how these new Smart Play products might play into LEGO’s future plans. The company has already demonstrated a willingness to incorporate Smart Bricks into sets based on external IP, with the new LEGO Star Wars Smart Play sets. Now, the possibilities are endless.
Upcoming Super Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog, or Legend of Zelda sets could find more uses for Smart Play technology. The big unknown, however, is LEGO’s upcoming Pokémon collaboration. The collaboration is set to make its debut in 2026, and with Smart Play involved, we could see Pokémon come to life in brick-built form with their roars, movesets, and even capture mechanics kept intact.
All of this is mere speculation, of course–we’ll learn more when the Lego Pokémon sets are officially unveiled, potentially around the franchise’s 30th anniversary next month.
