Lego adds spooky augmented reality ghosts to new playsets

Lego is exploring the cutting edge of play with its Hidden Side sets. These include augmented reality (AR) ghosts that children catch on their iPhone or Android.

This upcoming offering from the toy giant is in line with all of AR, which combines the real world with the digital one. 

“At our core we focus on tactile building, but AR presents opportunities to enhance physical Lego play with new action and mastery elements,” said Tom Donaldson, head of the company’s  Creative Play Lab, in a statement.

Ain’t afraid of no Lego ghost

Hidden Side sets include a school, a house, a bus, and a graveyard for kids to assemble. Then they hold their phone up to release virtual ghosts that they must then capture in the AR game.

“Physical manipulation of the Lego models alters the AR experience, and the AR experience prompts new things to discover in the physical models,” said Donaldson. This toy company intends to extend the games with new ghosts and other challenges as time passes.

Lego Hidden Side will be available globally in late summer 2019. There‘s no word yet on price, but the app will be a free download from the App Store and Google Play.

This isn’t Lego’s first exploration of augmented reality. It’s actually been toying with this technology for some time.