LEGO Life of George

$30, iPhone

Teaches: fine motor skills, logic, timing

CTR Rating: 90%

CTR Review

Lego Life of George lets you test your pattern matching skills under the pressure of a stop watch, providing you have a camera equipped iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad 2, and have downloaded a free app called Life of George from iTunes (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grNO42UK5q8). The app serves as your blueprint, timer, progress tracker, and -- most interestingly -- your judge. The $30 kit contains the basic supplies -- 144 Legos and a special cardboard grid that serves as a backdrop, allowing your camera to "see" your work, using special software called EyeCue (see www.eyecue-tech.com). I spoke to EyeCue President Ronen Horovitz by phone to verify that it was his company that was used in this app. He told me that indeed it was, and that we could expect to see toys that can also "see." (He was understandably vague on details). He told me that his software, with the help of the grid and a ready supply of smart phone cameras, can detect how closely your shape and colors matche the model. This information is combined with your time to calculate your score. Fast accurate building equals louder applause, higher scores, and unlocks harder puzzles. Here's my attempt at a tree http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grNO42UK5q8. Things aren't always perfect. We had some testers complain that their perfect model was sometimes not detected. Testers also wanted to go back to a model to retry, which the app doesn't permit (models are randomly generated). Content includes 12 levels, each with 10 models (120 total). So there's plenty to do. In addition to Game Mode which can be played alone or against one competitor in a pass-and-play format, it is possible to design and capture your own models to be saved in a scrap book. So there you have it -- a set of Legos that requires a smart phone in order to work. Back in the olden days, all you needed were some AA batteries.