LEGO SMART Play is a new platform designed to make LEGO bricks respond to how kids play. Instead of stopping at the build, creations react with sound and light based on movement, characters, and imagination.
LEGO calls SMART Play its most significant leap since the LEGO Minifigure debuted in 1978. For the first time, LEGO bricks don’t just get built — they play back.
What Is the LEGO SMART Play Platform?
LEGO SMART Play blends classic brick building with responsive technology. Using a SMART Brick, SMART Tags, and SMART Minifigures, physical builds react in real time to how they are moved, tilted, and played with.
The system is completely screen-free. All interaction happens through hands-on play, keeping the focus on creativity rather than devices.
The Three Core Elements of SMART Play
The SMART Brick
At the center of the system is the LEGO SMART Brick. It looks like a standard 2×4 brick, but it is packed with advanced technology.
The SMART Brick includes a built-in accelerometer, responsive lights, a color-recognition scanner, and a sound synthesizer with an internal speaker. Together, these features allow the brick to sense motion, orientation, and nearby elements, then react instantly.
LEGO describes it as the brain of the operation. When you twist, tap, or fly a build through the air, the SMART Brick responds.
SMART Tags
SMART Tags tell the SMART Brick what it should become.
A single tag can transform the brick into a spaceship, helicopter, car, or something more playful. Once detected, the SMART Brick adjusts its sounds and behavior to match that object.
SMART Tags also unlock mini-games, secret missions, plot twists, and Easter eggs. With no limit to how many tags can exist, LEGO positions SMART Play as endlessly replayable.
SMART Minifigures
SMART Minifigures bring character and personality into the system.
Each figure has a unique identity that triggers specific sounds, moods, and reactions when placed near a SMART Brick. The minifigures do not produce sound themselves. Instead, they prompt the SMART Brick to express their personality through audio and light effects.
Different characters react differently to the same scenario, encouraging storytelling and repeat play.
Star Wars Is Among the First SMART Play Themes
LEGO says Star Wars was chosen as one of the first themes because it gives kids a familiar starting point. Characters, ships, and battle play are already second nature for many builders.
That familiarity helps kids focus on experimenting with SMART Play itself. LEGO emphasizes that Star Wars is not the limit of the platform, but an early way to introduce how SMART Play works before it expands into additional themes.
The First LEGO Star Wars SMART Play Sets
According to Disney Parks Blog, three All-In-One LEGO Star Wars SMART Play sets will launch first:
- Luke’s Red Five X-Wing
- Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter
- Throne Room Duel & A-Wing
Each set includes a LEGO SMART Brick with charger, at least one SMART Minifigure, and at least one SMART Tag. They are designed to work right out of the box while remaining compatible with existing LEGO bricks.
Release Date and Availability
LEGO confirms that SMART Play launches in 2026. Preorders open January 8, 2026. LEGO.com.
The first SMART Play sets will be available starting March 1, 2026. They will be sold on LEGO.com and DisneyStore.com, as well as at select retail locations.
How LEGO Built the SMART Play System
Development of LEGO SMART Play began nearly a decade ago. Research showed kids wanted play that was social, reactive, and able to evolve over time.
LEGO assembled teams from engineering, sound design, user experience, and game development to solve a single challenge: bring LEGO creations to life without screens.
After hundreds of prototypes, LEGO committed to hiding powerful technology inside a familiar 2×4 brick. Wireless charging coils double as sensors, allowing SMART Bricks to detect nearby SMART Tags and SMART Minifigures while understanding position and movement.
At the core is a custom silicon ASIC chip, smaller than a single LEGO stud. LEGO also developed a synthetic soundscape, allowing the SMART Brick to generate a limitless range of sounds by manipulating core audio elements.
Backed by more than 25 patents, LEGO describes SMART Play as one of the most technically ambitious projects in its history, built to support the future of physical play.
