Bricks and blocks come together to create everyone’s favorite video game princess with the latest addition to the ongoing LEGO and Super Mario collaboration!
The Adventures with Peach Starter Course is the newest of three different introductory kits in LEGO’s line of interactive Super Mario building sets, inspired by the beloved Nintendo games. Mario and Luigi star in the other two “Adventures with” sets, which debuted in 2020 and 2021, respectively. Now, Peach joins in on the fun with a set recommended for kids ages 6 and up that’s the perfect choice for any princess fan.
The 354-piece set includes pieces kids can use to construct different “levels” or courses to explore with the included interactive Peach figure. Peach has an LCD face that animates her expressions, an LCD screen on her stomach, and a sensor on the bottom that lets her interface with elements of the set. The free LEGO Super Mario app also adds another level to play.
As with any LEGO set, instructions are the first step — but this kit doesn’t come with a paper booklet. Instead, the instructions for building are within the LEGO Super Mario app. The app took a few minutes to download onto my iPhone, so anyone with extra eager kids might want to get it pre-downloaded before giving them the set!
When building courses for Peach, kids might initially miss the usual instructional booklet, but I ended up very much appreciating the in-app instructions. They’re clear and animated, and you can rotate the blocks on the screen to really get an understanding of where you’re supposed to put each piece. This takes away a lot of potential frustration and makes for an easygoing building process.
Kids will follow these instructions to build a variety of course elements, including a tea table, some mushrooms, a tower, an interactive present, and a question-mark block. Peach’s set also includes a yellow Toad, Lenny, and a little lava bubble (who Peach can jump on to get a coin, in classic Mario fashion) as additional characters to build.
Once they finish building these elements, the app will guide kids in how to combine them into one long course and a number of other little platforms for Peach to explore. There are many ways to configure the set, which keeps play fresh and encourages creativity.
Other prep work for this set includes adding batteries to the Princess Peach figure (definitely have a small screwdriver and some AAA batteries handy) and initially updating the figure via Bluetooth. Older or more tech-savvy kids will probably be able to handle getting the figure connected to Bluetooth without help, but younger kiddos might need some assistance.
Though the setup might sound like a lot, it’s well worth Peach’s cute interactivity. The first time kids turn her on, she’ll happily exclaim “LEGO Peach time!”
Most elements of the set are interactive with the electronic Peach figure in some way, generally inspired by the Super Mario World video games. Sit her on the swing and she’ll play a song and get excited as kids move her back and forth. Put her in the pipe at the beginning of the course and she’ll start timing how long it takes to finish. Have her touch the fruit and she’ll get some coins and be immune to the fire bricks. She also reacts to jumping, landing on blocks, and finding coins as kids move her around.
Kids can also take photos of their completed levels using the LEGO Super Mario app, then share them with friends if they have an account. There are two-player features, too, if kids have multiple character figures. In fact, this set is compatible with all products in the LEGO Super Mario line! Combine multiple sets to create an ever-growing Mario kingdom.
The Adventures with Peach Starter Course requires some setup to get going, but ultimately gives kids a fun and incredibly interactive LEGO set to add to their collection. Every day will be “LEGO Peach time!” with this set.
