Each separate piece of each kit has its own miniature instruction set, along with videos that show exactly how each of the interactive pieces work. Everything is app based, right down to the ubiquitous Lego instructions for guiding you through building the different components of the set. Read next: Takashi Tezuka on the journey to producing Super Mario Makerĭespite that emphasis on physical play, the first thing that struck me when setting things up is how digitally focused everything is, at least at the start.

“So with Lego Mario, pretty early on we decided that the focus of the play - or the core play loop as we call it - should be by touching bricks.” “We think that the joy of Lego is, of course, building and spending your time touching bricks,” explains Bennink. The Super Mario Lego sets are a very different kind of app-integrated toy: unlike other smartphone or video game console-enabled products (like the Skylander games or Lego Dimensions), the focus here is on enhancing the toys, rather than building out a video game world.

The Lego Super Mario starter course set Photo: Lego The finished product is a collaboration between teams of Lego employees (lead by design head Jonathan Bennink) and Nintendo staff (under the direction of Takashi Tezuka, who has produced numerous Mario titles for Nintendo, including the Super Mario Maker series). I’ve had the chance to try out the first sets, which are a fun spin on both the classic Mario and Lego formulas, that play out almost like a Super Mario Maker level come to life. Mario is making the jump from the digital worlds of the Mushroom Kingdom to a new - but fitting - collaboration with Lego that lets players build their own IRL Super Mario levels.

Mario shape magic